Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Leopold Franz Julius of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (born January 31, 1824 in Vienna ; † May 20, 1884 ibid) was a Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha from the Catholic sideline Koháry and Austrian major general .
Life
Leopold was the youngest child of Duke Ferdinand Georg August von Sachsen-Coburg-Saalfeld-Koháry (1785–1851) and his wife of the Hungarian Hereditary Princess Marie Antonie Gabriele von Koháry (1797–1862). His brother was the Portuguese King Ferdinand II.
Leopold was proposed in 1845 by the Spanish regent Maria Christina as the husband of her daughter Queen Isabella II . This marriage did not take place, however, because the French Louis Philippe , the father-in-law of Leopold's sister Victoria , sought the Spanish throne for a member of his house . Leopold had risen to major general in Austrian service. He was the bearer of the Grand Cross of the Duke of Saxony-Ernestine House Order and the Royal Portuguese Order of Tower and Sword .
Prince Leopold married on April 23, 1861 in a morganatic marriage in the Viennese Schottenkirche Konstanze Geiger (1835-1890), who was raised in 1862 by Duke Ernst II of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to the " Baroness of Ruttenstein ". There had been a love affair between Leopold and Konstanze for years. Konstanze Geiger, a composer and actress known throughout Vienna, was a close friend of the composer Johann Strauss . The connection had met with rejection in Leopold's family and was considered an insult to the house. Leopold prevailed and celebrated his wedding as lavishly as possible. He drove to church in a state carriage and since the court and his own family ignored the wedding, all members of the Geiger family as well as countless actors and theater people had appeared.
On February 7, 1861, Johann Strauss performed the waltz "Grillenbanner op. 247", dedicated to Prince Leopold, for the first time in the Dianabadsaal in Vienna's Leopoldstadt . With “Grille”, another expression for “mood”, “crazy idea”, Strauss alluded to the anger to be expected about this improper connection in the then powerful House of Coburg. There was close friendly contact between Prince Leopold, Konstanze and Johann Strauss until the 1880s. The couple met at the old artists' meeting place "Gasthaus zum golden Lamm" in Leopoldstadt, Praterstrasse 7 on the Danube Canal. The family lived there during their stays in Vienna and Prince Leopold died here in 1884. The couple also lived in Schloss Friedrichsthal near Gotha and in Paris in the Villa Constance. The music-loving couple used to interact with famous artists, including Alexander Girardi , Sarah Bernhardt , Benoît Constant Coquelin and Josefine Gallmeyer .
Leopold has his final resting place in the ducal mausoleum on the Coburg cemetery on Glockenberg .
progeny
From his inappropriate marriage, Leopold had a son:
- Franz (1860–1899), Baron von Ruttenstein
literature
- Ralph Braun: in Twenty Years of International Coburg Johann Strauss Encounters ( PDF ) p. 27, Coburg 2007.
- Westermannsmonthshefte, Volume 17 , G. Westermann, 1865, p. 603 f. ( Digitized version)
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Adreßhandbuch the Duchy Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , Meusel, 1854, p. 20
- ^ Ernst Heinrich Kneschke : New general German Adels-Lexicon , Volume 7, F. Voight, 1867, p. 626.
- ↑ Page no longer available , search in web archives:
- ^ Harald Sandner: The House of Saxony-Coburg and Gotha 1826 to 2001; Documentation on the 175th anniversary of the parent company in words and pictures . Druck- und Verlagsanstalt Neue Presse, Coburg 2001, ISBN 3-00-008525-4 , p. 321.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Leopold Franz Julius Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Austrian major general |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 31, 1824 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Vienna |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 20, 1884 |
| Place of death | Vienna |