Miriam, Princess of Turnovo


Miriam, Dowager Princess of Turnovo, Duchess in Saxony is a Spanish gemologist, jewellery designer, and member of the Bulgarian royal family. She served as the Director of Fine Jewellery for the Spanish brand Carrera y Carrera, later forming her own brand, MdeU, in 2014. She was the wife of Kardam, Prince of Turnovo, the eldest son of Simeon II of Bulgaria. After her husband's death in 2015, her eldest son Prince Boris, became the heir apparent to the former Bulgaria throne.

Early life

Miriam was born Doña Miriam Ungría y López on 2 September 1963 in Madrid to Don Bernardo Ungría y Goiburu and Doña María del Carmen López y Oleaga. She is a member of the Spanish nobility by birth and is of Basque descent.

Career

Miriam has a degree in history and geography, with a concentration in art history, from the Complutense University of Madrid. She later studied gemology, jewellery manufacturing, wax molding, gemstone setting, and jewellery design at the University of Oviedo's European Centre of Gemology and Jewellery.
In 1991 she launched her first jewllery collection and founded the Spanish Jewellery Appraiser's Association, serving as the association's president.
In 2000 she joined Carrera y Carrera as the brand's director of fine jewellery. She launched the Garden of Roses collection in New York in July 2002.
In 2014 she launched own jewellery line, MdeU. Her collection, including rings, pendants, bracelets, and earrings, is sold at El Corte Inglés. In 2017, with support from members of the Jordanian royal family, she opened an exhibition of jewels and MdeU pieces at the Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts.
In February 2017 Miriam presented her jewellery design collections in Bulgaria for the first time, with a three-day exhibit titled Miriam de Ungria: Exquisite Touch at the Radisson Blu Hotel.

Personal life

On 11 July 1996 she married Kardam, Prince of Turnovo, the eldest son of Simeon II of Bulgaria and Doña Margarita Gómez-Acebo y Cejuela and heir to the defunct throne of Bulgaria, in an Eastern Orthodox ceremony at St. Andrey and St. Dimitar Orthodox Church in Madrid. Her wedding dress is on display in an exhibit in the Museo del Traje. Upon their marriage, she became the Princess of Turnovo. They have two sons, Prince Boris and Prince Beltrán.
On 15 August 2008 Miriam and her husband were involved in a serious car accident in El Molar. Miriam was taken to the Hospital Universitario La Paz to be treated for her injuries. Her husband sustained a serious brain injury. Miriam's husband died in 2015. Her son assumed the title of Prince of Turnovo and she became styled as the Dowager Princess of Turnovo.
She lives in South Kensington, London.