The Bulgarian Royal Anthem

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Anthem of His Majesty the Tsar or God Save the Tsar (Himn na Zarstvo Balgarija) was the royal anthem of the Kingdom of Bulgaria from 1908 to 1944. It was composed by Emanuil Manolov, and the lyrics were written by Major General Georgi Agura. The Anthem of His Majesty the Tsar was performed only in the tsar's presence. During this period, the national anthem of the Kingdom of Bulgaria was Shumi Maritsa composed by Ivan Vazov and written by N. Zhivkov. The royal anthem always took precedence over the national anthem.

The anthem was in use from 1885 to 1944, when during the abolition of the monarchy, a new anthem, "Republiko nascha sdrawej", was created. It was in use until 1950 after the communist party gained power. It was composed by Georgi Dimitrov and written by Krum Penev.

Emanuil Manolov (7 January 1860 – 2 February 1902,) was a Bulgarian composer. Born at Gabrovo, Manolov is thought to be one of the founders of the Bulgarian professional musical culture. In 1899, he composed the first Bulgarian opera "Siromahkinia" (Poor Woman) based on the work of Ivan Vazov with the same title, consisting of two parts. Very popular are his works in the genres of the kitka and the school song. One of his famous works is the song "What a girl I saw, mama" (Kakva moma vidiah, mamo). He died at Kazanlak. His music reflects the intonation atmosphere of the music life in the Bulgarian town at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century.

The stamp above features Vazov, the composer of the first national anthem of Bulgaria issued in 2000. Below is the royal anthem composer, Manolov issued in 2010.

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