 At that time he held a commission as a lieutenant in the Prussian life-guards at Potsdam.Before proceeding to Bulgaria, Prince Alexander paid visits to the Tsar at Livadia, to the courts of the great powers and to the sultan; a Russian warship then conveyed him to Varna, and after taking the oath to the new constitution at Veliko Tarnovo (8 July 1879) he went to Sofia.The people everywhere "en route" greeted him with immense enthusiasm.