Maxim Behar: Testimonies of Time - The Bulgarian Meetings with King Charles III

Maxim: Perhaps for a monarchy, tradition is half of what it is, i.e., all hereditary and not only hereditary rules and manners must be followed. We saw how Charles III himself came into power, though not yet formally crowned, he was proclaimed king, with all that solemnity, with all the details. Now, 2022, even more so that after 70 years Queen Elizabeth II on the throne, traditions are a very strong thing. And we have seen them and will continue to see them for the next few years.

Host: Before inheriting the British throne, Prince Charles visited Bulgaria twice - in 1998 and in 2003. Before the second visit to Bulgaria, at the end of 2002, Prince Charles extended an official invitation to lunch at St. James's Palace in London to Maxim Behar. He was instructed in detail at the Royal Automobile Club on how to pass the business and ethics luncheon. After lunch, the future King Charles III surprised his Bulgarian guest.

Maxim: He told me "Sir, I have a present for you!" I replied: "Oh Your Highness, thank you very much, I am so thrilled!" I was sure he would give me some souvenir - a teacup with St James's Palace written on it or a book on the history of the monarchy. Then he told me that there were some business friends in the next room and asked me to have tea with them. And Prince Charles surprised me by announcing that I have 15 minutes to "sell" my country Bulgaria to them." Within 15-20 seconds I had to come up with something interesting, because to face these people and say "Bulgaria is a country in Europe, it is north of Greece and Turkey, south of Romania, we have mountains, we have a sea "... these people know everything because they read this long ago on Wikipedia.

Host: Popularizing a country is sometimes quite a complex and difficult task, because Bulgaria is on the periphery of the European continent. An original approach is needed to attract the attention of big British business.

Maxim: And then I came up with the famous phrase that Bulgaria is a WWW country. There was silence and Prince Charles said, “Ah yes, I hear you have very fast internet”. I answered him that it means something else - Weather, Women, Wines. I literally came up with it in seconds, but I felt it sounded very unethical and a bit sexist. So, I explained that Weather means we have 4 seasons, we have mountains, sea, beaches, spa resorts and everything else. Wines is not only wine, but it is our entire cuisine, left over from the Ottoman Empire, with many Arab, but also many European elements in it. And finally, I said that Women does not mean only women by any means, it is the people.

Host: After that lunch, a few months later, the then heir to the British crown arrived on a second visit to our country, where he had meetings with President Georgi Parvanov, as well as with the Prime Minister and his relative Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. The results of this visit become evident in a very short time.

Maxim: He is arriving in Bulgaria with a plane full of British business representatives and all your possible fellow journalists - from BBC 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ... as far as they can be listed and as many as there are. The visit was extremely well received in Britain. The businessmen returned, began to tell stories. Everyone remembers in Bulgaria this hysteria of 2003-2007 when British people bought houses in Bansko, in Pamporovo, by the sea, wherever... The British newspapers were full of ads "invest in Bulgaria, buy houses, it's very nice and safe there.” Several times after that, British companies came to my office, and I asked them why they chose Bulgaria. And they answered me: "Well, why not? We saw you there with Prince Charles, you know, we were with him!

Host: According to Maxim Behar, the role of Queen Elizabeth II is to unite, to be a factor, in the name of an institution that has long become a tradition. In times of the strongest doubts about the historical meaning of the monarchy, she successfully managed to lead it through all kinds of trials and left a feeling of love. Now he is looking for a positive example for Bulgaria as well.

Maxim: Now there were many voices around the death of the Queen, with reason - “look at how the British are united, how they look positively at their future king, although there was a lot of criticism when he was a prince. Looking through the prism of what is happening in London and in Buckingham at the moment, I think we can learn a lot and say: "What are we sharing in Bulgaria?" We don't divide anything... Left, right, conservatives, liberals... I'm sorry to say it, but it's complete nonsense. We must be united because we have the most difficult period since the World War II in the world, including in Bulgaria. We must have our priorities, we must do something together, not fight, to make the elections so that in the end no one wins. And then to have elections again. And it's not a matter of spending money again, we'll waste time. And it is the most valuable capital now. And if we manage to take a small example from what is happening in Great Britain... Let's share all kinds of opinions, let's discuss all kinds of points of view, but in the end let's have a single goal - that Bulgaria is a better place to live in and for doing business in!

Watch the whole video here.