Photos from a May 2024 funeral in Sofia went viral within hours. The woman in the sleeveless dress had arms that could rival most professional athletes. She was 52-year-old Bulgarian royal Kalina.
Within 24 hours, the images spread across Twitter, Instagram, and Reddit. Thousands debated how a princess developed such visible muscle definition. Some praised her dedication to fitness. Others questioned whether it suited royal protocol.
Kalina addressed the fuss in a July 2024 interview with Spanish magazine ¡HOLA!: “I just wore a sleeveless dress. In the 21st century, a woman’s physical form shouldn’t be newsworthy.”
Table of Contents
From Last Tsar’s Daughter to Fitness Advocate
Kalina was born January 19, 1972, in Madrid during her family’s Spanish exile. Her father, Simeon II, became Bulgaria’s last Tsar at age six in 1943 after his father Boris III died under mysterious circumstances following a meeting with Adolf Hitler. Communist forces abolished the monarchy in 1946.
Decades later, Simeon II made an unprecedented political return. His National Movement for Stability and Progress party won 120 of 240 parliamentary seats in 2001. He served as democratically elected Prime Minister from 2001 to 2005, the only European monarch to later govern his country through elections.
Kalina grew up between Spain and France. She attended Lycée Français in Madrid before studying History of Art in London. She speaks Spanish, Bulgarian, French, English, Italian, German, and Arabic fluently.
Her mother, Queen Margarita Gómez-Acebo, lost both parents when Republican forces executed them during the Spanish Civil War. She was under two years old. Relatives raised her until she met Simeon in 1958. Their 1962 wedding required Vatican intervention over religious differences, resolving only after Pope John XXIII personally stepped in.
The Childhood Accident Behind Two Decades of Rumors
Speculation about Kalina’s facial appearance has circulated since the early 2000s. Tabloids suggested botched plastic surgery.
The truth is worse.
At eight years old, Kalina broke two front teeth in a school accident. In 1999, while completing her art history degree in London, she visited a dentist for crown fittings. The dentist drilled too deep into her jaw bone. A severe infection developed.
The infection spread to her nasal cartilage. Weeks later, during a sea expedition with her husband Antonio José “Kitín” Muñoz, the infection reached her eye. Far from hospitals, she tried seawater rinses and antibiotics.
The infection spread faster. An emergency airlift got her to hospital for surgery. Doctors saved her eye and nose. The procedure left permanent facial changes.
“All the absurd theories of Kalina’s different operations and aesthetic treatments are nothing more than misinformation,” Muñoz told ¡HOLA! in 2018, finally addressing years of speculation.
Kalina spent months avoiding public appearances after the surgery. Years later, she turned to weight training.
Four Sets of Twelve
Before bodybuilding, Kalina competed as a professional equestrian rider for 15 years across international circuits. She began strength training in 2000 with her husband under guidance from Bernardino Lombao, an Olympic athlete specializing in distance and speed running.
In 2019, the couple started working with Carlos Flórez, head of the Competition Committee of the International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation.
Her training routine:
- Back pulls at 70 kilograms, four sets of 12 repetitions
- Shoulder presses at 30 kilograms total (15kg per hand), four sets of 12
- Bicep curls at 20 kilograms, four sets of 12
She walks mountain trails near her Borovets home for four hours daily with her dogs. She competes in horseback riding events, skis, and kitesurfs. A vegetarian and animal rights advocate, she works on marine conservation projects and is developing a documentary about Antarctic whales.
“If I don’t train, I don’t feel well. The only reason I do it is to be healthy and feel good,” she explained in the July 2024 ¡HOLA! interview.
Her husband praised her “excellent physical shape” achieved through “a healthy lifestyle, daily training and good nutrition,” adding this reflects “not only in her good muscle tone but also in her beautiful face.”
Fashion Rebellion in Royal Circles
Traditional royal protocol has never constrained Kalina’s personal style.
In 2005, she wore blonde braids studded with silver rhinestones at a royal event. The following year at Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg’s silver wedding anniversary celebration, she appeared in a bralette and lace skirt paired with spider-like eyeliner.
By 2014, she regularly paired sequined garments with chunky biker boots at formal events. In 2018, she attended a memorial mass wearing cornrows and reflective sci-fi style sunglasses.
The Telegraph described her as “an unconventional royal, expressing her personality through unusual hair, make-up and fashion. She once shaved her head because she lost a bet, and has raised eyebrows at society balls by dyeing her locks orange.”
She frequently wears traditional Bulgarian embroidered costumes that belonged to her grandmother Queen Giovanna, pairing historical garments with modern accessories.
Kalina trained in art restoration and furniture conservation. She serves on the Board of Trustees for the King Boris and Queen Giovanna Royal Heritage Fund.
The Drunk Driving Case That Royal Status Couldn’t Fix
Kalina crashed her vehicle into a barrier at a Borovets hotel on August 19, 2023. Police measured her blood alcohol level at 1.5 per mille. She declined to provide a blood sample. Authorities relied on the breathalyzer reading.
The Samokov District Court issued an initial ruling in April 2024. Sofia District Court upheld the decision in September 2024:
- Eight months suspended sentence with probation
- 200 lev fine (approximately £85)
- 17,953 lev (approximately £7,328) compensation for vehicle damages
- Driving ban for the probation period
Her father, now 88-year-old Simeon II, stated publicly that “everyone is equal before the law.” Muñoz described the incident as minor and noted his wife’s full cooperation with authorities.
Bulgarian news agency BNR reported the case attracted significant media attention because of her royal status, but courts applied standard sentencing for drunk driving offenses. The royal family made no further public statements.
Marriage to a UNESCO Ambassador
Kalina married Spanish explorer Antonio José “Kitín” Muñoz on October 26, 2002, at Tsarska Bistritsa Palace. The ceremony marked the first Bulgarian royal family wedding in the country since Tsar Boris married Queen Ioanna in 1930.
Muñoz, a former Spanish Army special forces commando, became a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador in 1997. Inspired by Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl, he attempted to cross oceans in reed boats to prove ancient seafaring theories.
Their son Simeon Hassan Muñoz was born March 14, 2007, at Lozenetz Hospital in Sofia. He became the first Bulgarian royal family member born in the country in 70 years. His name honors both his grandfather Simeon II and the late King Hassan II of Morocco, reflecting close ties between the royal families during exile years.
King Mohammed VI of Morocco and Princess Irene of Greece served as godparents at his Orthodox baptism on April 25, 2008.
From Morocco to the Rila Mountains
The family lived near Rabat, Morocco, for 12 years. Simeon Hassan attended the Bulgarian Embassy school while learning Bulgarian, Spanish, English, French and Arabic.
In 2022, they moved back to Bulgaria full-time, settling at Tsarska Bistritsa Palace. The property, originally built by Tsar Ferdinand I, was returned to the family by Bulgaria’s Constitutional Court in 2020.
A Son’s Path to Shaolin
Eighteen-year-old Simeon Hassan made international headlines in November 2025 by becoming the first Bulgarian royal family member to participate in the Youth Guard parade. The ceremony took place November 1 during the Day of the National Awakeners, a holiday honoring teachers and leaders who preserved Bulgarian culture during Ottoman rule.
With his grandfather King Simeon II’s blessing, the young prince received Youth Guard insignia from Dr. Denislava Angelova, president of the association. He marched with the 22nd Student Guard unit from the Vasil Levski Institute and participated in the traditional torchlight procession.
The mayor of Elin Pelin noted that King Boris, Simeon Hassan’s great-great-grandfather, originally established this national holiday. The prince told Bulgarian national television: “I thank my mother for having been born here and for being Bulgarian.”
Eleven days later on November 12, 2025, he entered the Shaolin Monastery in China’s Henan province. The monks accepted him for intensive kung fu training.
Simeon Hassan began martial arts as a child in Morocco. At 16, South Korea named him a Global Ambassador of Taekwondo after he excelled in the Hanmadang Championship. He completed three sessions at Spain’s Don Pelayo military camp, training with active Special Operations Command members.
His goal is qualifying for Spain’s elite Green Berets special forces unit. At 18, he speaks five languages and plays piano and bass.
Life in the Rila Mountains
Since gaining Bulgarian citizenship in 2013, Kalina has competed in international equestrian events representing Bulgaria. She sits on the heritage fund board alongside Prince Kyril and holds the Grand Cross of the Royal Order of St. Alexander for service to Bulgarian heritage.
Her marine conservation work continues. She rescues sea turtles, collects abandoned fishing nets from Mediterranean seabeds, and is working on a documentary about Antarctic whales.
Her father maintains the title Tsar Simeon II by courtesy, though Bulgaria’s government doesn’t officially recognize former royal titles. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church announced in 2015 that Simeon would be called Tsar of Bulgaria in all church services. “My father is young in spirit and understands me very well. He was always my great support,” Kalina said in 2022.
What the Viral Photos Revealed
When those funeral photos circulated in May 2024, reactions split. Some praised her fitness dedication at 52. Others questioned whether visible musculature suited royal dignity.
Kalina addressed critics with one quote, then explained her training routine to ¡HOLA! in July 2024.
Prince Harry detailed drug use in his memoir. Prince Andrew gave a disastrous BBC interview about Jeffrey Epstein connections. Kalina accepted her drunk driving sentence, paid her fines, said nothing publicly.
Her son trains with Shaolin monks in China. She pulls 70 kilograms in back exercises. She walks mountain trails for four hours daily with her dogs.
The Bulgarian monarchy officially ended 80 years ago. But at 53, Kalina competes internationally in equestrian events, lifts weights that would challenge athletes half her age, and supports her teenage son training at one of the world’s most rigorous martial arts institutions.
In January 2026, she continues her daily four-hour mountain walks in Bulgaria’s Rila Mountains. Her son trains with Shaolin monks in China. Her father, at 88, remains one of only two living heads of state from World War II.
She wears what she wants. She trains how she wants. Those funeral photos that went viral in May 2024 merely showed what she’d been doing quietly for years.
Sources:
- Hello Magazine: Medical History and Transformation Details
- ¡HOLA!: Prince Simeon Hassan’s Youth Guard and Shaolin Entry
- Novinite: DUI Court Case Final Ruling
- Bulgarian Royal Family Official Website: Biography
- Wikipedia: Bulgarian Royal Family History
Article current as of January 15, 2026
