House of Saxony-Meiningen
The House of Saxony-Meiningen is a German princely house that ruled the Duchy of Saxony-Meiningen . It was a branch of the Ernestines , which in turn form the older branch of the House of Wettin . Their residence was the city of Meiningen in what is now southern Thuringia .
The first Duke of the House of Saxe-Meiningen was Bernhard I , the third son of Duke Ernst I of Saxe-Gotha (1601–1675) and his wife Elisabeth Sophia (1619–1680). The family ruled Saxony-Meiningen as dukes from 1680 until they lost their throne in the November Revolution of 1918, like all German dynasties.
The family still exists today, its current head is Friedrich-Konrad Prince of Saxony-Meiningen .
Dukes of Saxe-Meiningen
Surname | Life dates | Government data | married to | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|
Bernhard I. | 1649-1706 | 1680-1706 | first marriage to Marie Hedwig von Hessen-Darmstadt second marriage to Elisabeth Eleonore von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel |
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Ernst Ludwig I. | 1672-1724 | 1706-1724 | first marriage to Dorothea Maria von Sachsen-Gotha-Altenburg second marriage to Elisabeth Sophie von Brandenburg |
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Ernst Ludwig II. | 1709-1729 | 1724-1729 | died before the age of majority | under the tutelage of Friedrich Wilhelm (Sachsen-Meiningen) and Friedrich II. (Sachsen-Gotha-Altenburg) |
Karl Friedrich | 1712-1743 | 1729-1743 | unmarried | under the tutelage of Friedrich Wilhelm (Sachsen-Meiningen) and Friedrich II. (Sachsen-Gotha-Altenburg) |
Friedrich Wilhelm | 1679-1746 | 1743-1746 | unmarried | as early as 1724 guardian of the dukes Ernst Ludwig II and Karl Friedrich, ruled together with Anton Ulrich |
Anton Ulrich | 1687-1763 | 1743-1763 | first marriage to Philippine Elisabeth Caesar ( Morganatic marriage ) second marriage to Charlotte Amalie von Hessen-Philippsthal |
ruled from 1743 to 1746 together with Friedrich Wilhelm |
Karl | 1754-1782 | 1763-1782 | Princess Luise (1764–1834) Stolberg-Geldern | until 1775 under the tutelage of his mother Charlotte Amalie until 1782 together with her, 1782 with Georg I. |
George I. | 1761-1803 | 1782-1803 | Louise Eleonore zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg | 1782 together with his brother Karl ruled in enlightened absolutism |
Bernhard II. | 1800-1882 | 1803-1866 | Marie of Hessen-Kassel | until 1821 under the tutelage of his mother Louise Eleonore had to abdicate in 1866 after the German war |
George II | 1826-1914 | 1866-1914 | first marriage to Charlotte of Prussia in second marriage with Feodora zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg |
Theater duke |
Bernhard III. | 1851-1928 | 1914-1918 | Charlotte of Prussia | Brother-in-law of Kaiser Wilhelm II. Last ruling duke |
Heads of the House of Sachsen-Meiningen since 1918
Surname | Life dates | Head of family | married to | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|
Bernhard III. | 1851-1928 | 1918-1928 | Charlotte of Prussia (1860-1919) | until 1918 last duke son of George II and Charlotte of Prussia (1831–1855) |
Ernst of Saxe-Meiningen | 1859-1941 | 1928-1941 | Katharina Jensen (1874–1945) | Artist (painter) and colonel son of Georg II and Feodora zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg; 1914–1918 Hereditary Prince of the Duchy |
George of Saxe-Meiningen | 1892-1946 | 1928-1946 | Klara Maria Countess von Korff called Schmising-Kerssenbrock | also Georg III., son of Friedrich von Sachsen-Meiningen |
Bernhard of Saxe-Meiningen | 1901-1984 | 1946-1984 | first marriage (1931–1947) with Margot Grössler (1911–1998) second marriage (from 1948) to Vera Freiin Schäffer von Bernstein (1914–1994) |
youngest son of Friedrich von Sachsen-Meiningen |
Friedrich-Konrad of Saxe-Meiningen | * 1952 | since 1984 | Son of Bernhard von Sachsen-Meiningen, great-grandson of Georg II. |
Other well-known members of the Princely House
- Adelheid von Sachsen-Meiningen (1792–1849), British Queen from 1830 to 1837
- Friedrich von Sachsen-Meiningen (1861–1914), lieutenant general, son of Georg II and Feodora zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg
- Regina von Sachsen-Meiningen (1925–2010), later Regina von Habsburg , daughter of Georg von Sachsen-Meiningen
literature
- Johann Huebners… Three hundred and three and thirty genealogical tables. Tab. 164
- Hans Philippi, The Wettins in Saxony and Thuringia , CA Starke Verlag , Limburg, 1989, ISBN 3-7980-0691-1