PM Zhelyazkov Invites King Charles III to Visit Bulgaria

Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov met with His Majesty King Charles III in London, where he extended an official invitation for the monarch to visit Bulgaria. The two spoke during a royal reception hosted as part of the Berlin Process Summit, which is being held in the British capital, the Council of Ministers announced.

During the conversation, Zhelyazkov shared his impressions and memories of the King’s previous visits to Bulgaria, describing them as significant moments in the history of bilateral relations. He expressed hope that a future visit by King Charles III would further strengthen the partnership and deepen the friendship between Bulgaria and the United Kingdom.

The royal reception was attended by a number of Western Balkan leaders, including Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, Kosovo’s Albin Kurti, Montenegro’s Milojko Spajic, and North Macedonia’s Hristijan Mickoski. The event was co-hosted by King Charles III and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

This year’s Berlin Process holds special symbolic importance. It marks 30 years since the Dayton Peace Agreement and the Srebrenica genocide, 50 years since the Helsinki Final Act, and 80 years since the end of World War II and the creation of the United Nations. The summit serves as a platform for dialogue and cooperation between the EU and the Western Balkans.

King Charles III has visited Bulgaria twice before, both times while he was still Crown Prince. His first visit took place in 1998, marking the first-ever official visit by a British heir to the Bulgarian throne. The trip was made at the invitation of then-President Petar Stoyanov and was part of a wider regional tour that included Slovenia, Romania, and North Macedonia.

During that visit, Prince Charles held a private meeting with President Stoyanov at the Boyana Residence, where he received a symbolic gift: a copy of a Neolithic ritual clay table found near the village of Galabnik in Pernik.

On November 6, 1998, he also attended the official founding ceremony of the Bulgarian Business Leaders Forum at the Sheraton Hotel in Sofia. The event marked the 30th international initiative supported by the Prince through the organization he established in 1990 to promote ethical business practices. At the time, 12 companies were part of the forum, which had already launched 49 projects aimed at strengthening the public sector and civil society in 12 Bulgarian cities.

King Charles visited Bulgaria again in 2003, continuing his longstanding engagement with the region. Now, more than two decades later, Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov’s invitation opens the door for a potential third royal visit: one that could reaffirm the historic ties and evolving partnership between Sofia and London.