Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Encyclopedia
Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, formerly Ernest III, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
(Coburg
, 2 January 1784 – Gotha
, 29 January 1844) was the duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and from 1826, the first sovereign duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
.
He was the eldest son of Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and Countess Augusta of Reuss-Ebersdorf. His younger brother, Leopold Georg Christian Frederick, was later elected the first King of the Belgians.
On 10 May 1803 he was hurriedly proclaimed an adult, because his father became gravely ill in the spring of that year and he was required to take part in the government of the duchy. When his father died in 1806, he succeeded in the duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld as Ernest III , but could not take the formal government of his lands because the duchy was occupied by the Napoleonic troops and was under French administration. Only after the Peace of Tilsit (1807) was the duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld reunited (first having been dissolved) and returned to Ernest. This occurred through Russian pressure, since his sister Juliane was married to the brother of the Russian Tsar.
Ernest was a Prussian general and participated in fights against Napoleon. He fought in the battles of Auerstedt
(1806), Lützen
and Leipzig
(1813) and drew in 1814 into the French fortress of Mainz. After the defeat of Napoleon in the Battle of Waterloo
, the Congress of Vienna
on 9 June 1815 gave him an area of 8.25 square miles (21.4 km²) with 25,000 inhabitants around the capital St. Wendel. In 1819 this land received the name of Principality of Lichtenberg
. He sold it to Prussia
in 1834.
In Gotha
on 3 July 1817 Ernest married Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
. They had two children:
His marriage was unhappy due to his own acts of infidelity. Ernest and Louise were separated in 1824 and were officially divorced on 31 March 1826. Despite being the innocent party Louise was parted from her children and died at 30
The death in 1825 of the last duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
, Louise's uncle, resulted in a rearrangement of the Ernestine duchies. Ernest at the time was in the process of divorcing Louise, and because of this the other branches objected to him receiving Gotha. They reached a compromise on 12 November 1826: Ernest received Gotha and ceded Saalfeld to Saxe-Meiningen
. He subsequently became Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
In Coburg
on 23 December 1832, Ernest married secondly with his niece Duchess Marie of Württemberg, the daughter of his sister Antoinette. They had no children. This marriage made Marie both Prince Albert's cousin and his stepmother.
Ernest had three illegitimate children:
—With Sophie Fermepin de Marteaux:
—With Margaretha Braun:
He is the patrilineal ancestor of both the Duke of Gloucester and Duke of Kent, as well as being the great-great-great-grandfather of Queen Elizabeth II.
Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
The Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld was one of the Saxon Duchies held by the Ernestine line of the Wettin Dynasty. Established in the 17th century, the Saxe-Coburg-Saalfield line lasted until the reshuffle of Ernestine territories that occurred following the extinction of the Saxe-Gotha line in...
(Coburg
Coburg
Coburg is a town located on the Itz River in Bavaria, Germany. Its 2005 population was 42,015. Long one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined with Bavaria by popular vote in 1920...
, 2 January 1784 – Gotha
Gotha (town)
Gotha is a town in Thuringia, within the central core of Germany. It is the capital of the district of Gotha.- History :The town has existed at least since the 8th century, when it was mentioned in a document signed by Charlemagne as Villa Gotaha . Its importance derives from having been chosen in...
, 29 January 1844) was the duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and from 1826, the first sovereign duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha or Saxe-Coburg-Gotha served as the collective name of two duchies, Saxe-Coburg and Saxe-Gotha, in Germany. They were located in what today are the states of Bavaria and Thuringia, respectively, and the two were in personal union between 1826 and 1918...
.
He was the eldest son of Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and Countess Augusta of Reuss-Ebersdorf. His younger brother, Leopold Georg Christian Frederick, was later elected the first King of the Belgians.
On 10 May 1803 he was hurriedly proclaimed an adult, because his father became gravely ill in the spring of that year and he was required to take part in the government of the duchy. When his father died in 1806, he succeeded in the duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld as Ernest III , but could not take the formal government of his lands because the duchy was occupied by the Napoleonic troops and was under French administration. Only after the Peace of Tilsit (1807) was the duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld reunited (first having been dissolved) and returned to Ernest. This occurred through Russian pressure, since his sister Juliane was married to the brother of the Russian Tsar.
Ernest was a Prussian general and participated in fights against Napoleon. He fought in the battles of Auerstedt
Battle of Jena-Auerstedt
The twin battles of Jena and Auerstedt were fought on 14 October 1806 on the plateau west of the river Saale in today's Germany, between the forces of Napoleon I of France and Frederick William III of Prussia...
(1806), Lützen
Battle of Lützen (1813)
In the Battle of Lützen , Napoleon I of France lured a combined Prussian and Russian force into a trap, halting the advances of the Sixth Coalition after his devastating losses in Russia. The Russian commander, Prince Peter Wittgenstein, attempting to undo Napoleon's capture of Leipzig, attacked...
and Leipzig
Battle of Leipzig
The Battle of Leipzig or Battle of the Nations, on 16–19 October 1813, was fought by the coalition armies of Russia, Prussia, Austria and Sweden against the French army of Napoleon. Napoleon's army also contained Polish and Italian troops as well as Germans from the Confederation of the Rhine...
(1813) and drew in 1814 into the French fortress of Mainz. After the defeat of Napoleon in the Battle of Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
, the Congress of Vienna
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars,...
on 9 June 1815 gave him an area of 8.25 square miles (21.4 km²) with 25,000 inhabitants around the capital St. Wendel. In 1819 this land received the name of Principality of Lichtenberg
Lichtenberg
Lichtenberg is the eleventh borough of Berlin, Germany. In Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it absorbed the former borough of Hohenschönhausen.-Overview:...
. He sold it to Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
in 1834.
In Gotha
Gotha (town)
Gotha is a town in Thuringia, within the central core of Germany. It is the capital of the district of Gotha.- History :The town has existed at least since the 8th century, when it was mentioned in a document signed by Charlemagne as Villa Gotaha . Its importance derives from having been chosen in...
on 3 July 1817 Ernest married Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg was the wife of Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and the mother of Duke Ernst II and Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria.-Family:Princess Louise was the only daughter of Augustus, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and his first wife Louise Charlotte...
. They had two children:
- Ernest II Augustus Charles John Leopold Alexander Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
- Francis Augustus Charles Albert Emmanuel, better known as Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria and Prince ConsortPrince consortA prince consort is the husband of a queen regnant who is not himself a king in his own right.Current examples include the Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh , and Prince Henrik of Denmark .In recognition of his status, a prince consort may be given a formal...
of the United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
His marriage was unhappy due to his own acts of infidelity. Ernest and Louise were separated in 1824 and were officially divorced on 31 March 1826. Despite being the innocent party Louise was parted from her children and died at 30
The death in 1825 of the last duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg was a duchy ruled by the Ernestine branch of the House of Wettin in today's Thuringia, Germany.It was nominally created in 1672 when Frederick William III, the last duke of Saxe-Altenburg, died and Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha , inherited the major part of his possessions...
, Louise's uncle, resulted in a rearrangement of the Ernestine duchies. Ernest at the time was in the process of divorcing Louise, and because of this the other branches objected to him receiving Gotha. They reached a compromise on 12 November 1826: Ernest received Gotha and ceded Saalfeld to Saxe-Meiningen
Saxe-Meiningen
The Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine line of the Wettin dynasty, located in the southwest of the present-day German state of Thuringia....
. He subsequently became Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
In Coburg
Coburg
Coburg is a town located on the Itz River in Bavaria, Germany. Its 2005 population was 42,015. Long one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined with Bavaria by popular vote in 1920...
on 23 December 1832, Ernest married secondly with his niece Duchess Marie of Württemberg, the daughter of his sister Antoinette. They had no children. This marriage made Marie both Prince Albert's cousin and his stepmother.
Ernest had three illegitimate children:
—With Sophie Fermepin de Marteaux:
- Berta Ernestine von Schauenstein (b. 26 January 1817 - d. Coburg, 15 August 1896), married her first cousin Eduard Edgar Schmidt-Löwe von Löwenfels, the illegitimate son of her father's sister, Juliane.
—With Margaretha Braun:
- Ernst Albert Bruno von Bruneck (d. 1838).
- Robert Ferdinand von Bruneck (d. 1856), created in 1856 Freiherr von Bruneck.
He is the patrilineal ancestor of both the Duke of Gloucester and Duke of Kent, as well as being the great-great-great-grandfather of Queen Elizabeth II.