Podcast Summary: The Butterfly King – 5: Caught Red Handed

Podcast: Hell in Heaven: A Mysterious Death in Paradise (The Butterfly King Series)
Host: Becky Milligan
Episode Date: April 11, 2024

Overview

In this gripping fifth installment of “The Butterfly King,” host and journalist Becky Milligan delves deep into the mystery of King Boris III of Bulgaria’s death during WWII. The episode, “Caught Red Handed,” weaves historical intrigue, personal testimony, and expert analysis to explore the enduring suspicion that Stalin’s Soviet Union orchestrated the king’s untimely demise via poisoning, and then spent decades covering it up. Milligan is joined by historians, the late king’s descendants, and local voices to unravel a legacy of paranoia, erased history, and family trauma that endures in modern Bulgaria.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Grave Robbers — Opening Scene (03:35)

• Milligan paints a vivid image: Soviet-aligned grave robbers exhume King Boris’s body in the 1950s, seeking not treasures but the corpse itself.
• The implication: The Communists were desperate to hide something—possibly damning evidence of assassination by poisoning.

2. Uncovering a Lead: The Soviet Motive (06:32 – 09:30)

• A decoded telegram found in archives points to Stalin and the Soviets as culprits.
• King Boris was seen as an obstacle to Soviet control of Bulgaria—a buffer needed for expanded Soviet influence in Eastern Europe.
• Quote:
  “My personal opinion is that the Russian special services killed King Boris. Stalin’s special services killed him.” – George Bozduganov, Bulgarian historian (10:41)

3. Soviet Takeover and Royal Reprisals (09:53 – 12:35)

• After Boris’s death, the Soviets occupied Bulgaria, quickly executing regents and consolidating power through brutal means.
• The royal family, especially the children (Simeon and Maria Luisa), were spared for political reasons but placed under house arrest before being exiled.

4. The Burial Shuffle — Erasing the Monarchy (14:13 – 17:58)

• Boris’s body was repeatedly reburied, first at Rila Monastery, then moved secretly to the palace gardens, then exhumed again.

• The Communists sought to erase Boris’s legacy and minimize popular martyrdom.

• Quote (Maria Luisa on the reburial): “Hideous. It was Holy Thursday and my mother was told, they’ll bring him back tomorrow morning… at dawn a van arrived with a coffin.” (15:46)

5. The Mystery of Boris’s Remains (22:51 – 25:27)

• In the 1950s, after more secret exhumations, Boris’s body vanishes.

• In 1991, a glass jar containing a human heart—confirmed as King Boris’s—was discovered, raising chilling questions about Soviet intentions and methods.

• Quote:
  “It survived because it was checked and it is Papa’s heart. I mean, there’s no doubt about it. So when it was found, of course some people had to parade it. Heart of the King. And my poor mother saw it on the newspaper, which totally unnecessary.” – Maria Luisa (25:51)

6. Means and Methods: The Case for Poison (28:48 – 33:45)

• Soviet expertise with poison assassinations is explored, including secret labs and “undetectable” toxins developed for political killings.
• Quote:
  “From 1938 to 1953, the NKBD, that’s Russian special service, maintained two laboratories for the production of deadly poisons… to do it without leaving any traces.” – George Bozduganov (32:13)
• “Acute heart failure, heart attack. Precisely the official cause of death given for King Boris III.” – Becky Milligan (33:45)
• The diagnosis mirrored results from Soviet poison trials: murder, with no discernible autopsy evidence.

7. The Enduring Legacy and the Battle for History (37:21 – 41:58)

• The Communists rewrote Bulgarian national history, erasing the monarchy’s influence.
• Today, Bulgarians remain divided: royalists blame Soviet assassins for Boris’s death, while others venerate the Communists as liberators.
• Quote:
  “We’re very polarized. And there is a clash between those two kinds of nostalgia which is preventing any sort of normal discussion and truth to come out.” – Anna Blagova & Jana Punkina (Urban Detective podcast) (39:06)

8. Whodunit: Soviet Agents or Bulgarian Communists? (45:21 – 49:58)

• Historian Tessa Dunlop offers a counterpoint: while Soviet involvement is plausible, a Bulgarian Communist inside job is equally possible.
• Becky Milligan weighs these theories, noting Boris had many enemies at home; his life had been threatened before.
• “Whoever hated the king certainly got him in the end. But the fatal poisoning wasn’t a one off attempt. Boris was a marked man from the minute he took the throne. The king had already dodged several serious assassination attempts, and all of them on his own soil.” – Becky Milligan (49:58)

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• George Bozduganov: “That’s why Boris has been killed.” (09:21)
• Maria Luisa: “Obviously, Communists did things always in the dark. That’s part of their system...” (16:23)
• Michael (Tour Guide at Rila): “King Boris III is the most prominent, respected and loved Bulgarian ruler from the modern Bulgarian history… People still venerated King Boris III as a saint.” (35:07 – 35:40)
• Maria Luisa: “Don’t forget that when they occupied us, they took the whole entire Bulgarian archives. State archives. And they’re still in Moscow. They were never returned.” (28:12)
• Tessa Dunlop: “If he was murdered at the command of a Communist, then it would have been done by, I think, a Bulgarian Communist. Someone with the know how, with the wherewithal, and with the contacts. Sorry, but we never look for the most obvious.” (48:08)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 03:35 – Open: Grave robbers and erasure of Boris’s legacy
• 09:21 – 10:53 – Historian points to Soviet involvement
• 15:46 – 16:54 – Maria Luisa recalls traumatic reburial
• 22:51 – 25:27 – Mystery of Boris’s remains and the heart in the jar
• 28:48 – 33:45 – Soviet poison research and parallels to Boris’s official cause of death
• 35:07 – 35:40 – Boris’s posthumous veneration and Communist motives
• 37:21 – 41:58 – Historical legacy, polarization, and generational guilt
• 45:21 – 49:58 – Debating Soviet vs. Bulgarian Communist culpability

Tone and Style

The episode maintains a conversational, investigative tone filled with historical asides, family recollections, and touches of sardonic British humor. Becky Milligan’s narrative voice is curious and skeptical, with moments of empathy and reflection, especially when hearing from the aging royal children.

Conclusion

Episode 5, “Caught Red Handed,” brings listeners to the very edge of the mystery behind King Boris III’s death, strongly suggesting Soviet complicity via poison, motivated by realpolitik and empire-building, but doesn’t rule out the possibility of a domestic plot. Through personal testimony, archival discoveries, and expert opinions, the podcast explores the layers of historical revisionism, generational trauma, and the elusive search for truth amid Bulgaria’s tangled 20th-century legacy.

Stay tuned for Episode 6, where the psychological toll of war on Boris and fresh, spiritual prophecies around his death come into focus.