25 SEPTEMBER 1993, Page 26

Bulgar brolly

Sir: Mr Charles FitzGerald (Letters, 11 September) is correct on two counts — King Boris died soon after returning from a meeting with Hitler at which he suggested Germany had lost the war and he died a king. Having spoken to the pathologist responsible for examining the heart last year, I can assure Mr FitzGerald that the King died of a massive heart attack. There was no trace of poison in either the heart or in the preserving liquid. The umbrella does appear to have been Bulgarian, but I submit that given the above Mr FitzGerald's conclu- sion that poisoning is a 'not altogether an un- Bulgarian way of death' is a non sequitur.

Ivan Stancioff

The Ambassador of Bulgaria, Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria, London