Ernest Frederick III Karl, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen (10 June 1727 in Königsberg in Bayern – 23 September 1780 in Seidingstadt), was a duke of

Saxe-Hildburghausen Saxe-Hildburghausen () was an Ernestine duchy in the southern side of the present State of Thuringia in Germany. It existed from 1680 to 1826 but its name and borders are currently used by the District of Hildburghausen. History After the Duk ...

Biography

Ernest Frederick was born on 10 June 1727. He was the eldest son of

Ernst Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen Ernst Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen (17 December 1707 in Hildburghausen – 13 August 1745 in Hildburghausen), was a duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen. Young duke He was the third but eldest surviving son of Ernst Frederick I, Duke of S ...

and Caroline of Erbach-Fürstenau. Ernest Frederick succeeded his father as Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen when he was only eighteen years old in 1745; as a result his mother, the Dowager Duchess Caroline, acted as a regent on his behalf until he reached adulthood, in 1748. Ernst Frederick was considered to be intelligent, talented, and one of the most handsome princes of his time. He donated a library to the city, but finally his excessive prodigality in exaggerated court pomp and military splendor drew the attention of the highest places to the financial situation of his country. The Emperor Joseph II created a

debit commission A debit commission (from the Latin ''debere'' "to owe") was in the Holy Roman Empire a means to resolve the problems of over-indebted states. These states were usually, but not always, sovereign Imperial States. Imperial commissions The Aulic Co ...

under management of the Duchess Charlotte Amalie of Saxe-Meiningen and prince

Joseph of Saxe-Hildburghausen Joseph Maria Frederick Wilhelm of Saxe-Hildburghausen, Duke in Saxony (german: Joseph Maria Friedrich Wilhelm Hollandinus, Prinz und Regent von Sachsen-Hildburghausen; 5 October 1702 – Hildburghausen, 4 January 1787), was a German officer, ...

, the granduncle of the duke, to investigate the demands of the creditors and adjust the incomes and expenditures to 1769. The financial situation of the country was so disastrous that 35 years duration of this commission could not repair conditions completely. After Ernest Frederick made use in 1757 of the ''

Münzregal The right of coinage in the Holy Roman Empire (in German ''Münzregal'') was one of the so-called regalia (also called ''royal privileges'' or ''sovereign rights''). It consisted of the right to issue regulations governing the production and use of ...

'' (Imperial coinage regale), he was entangled in a complaint of the realm treasury. Finally, the huge fire of the city of Hildburghausen in 1779, forced Ernst Fredercik to move to his hunting residence in Seidingstadt, where he died a year later.

Family

In the

Hirschholm Palace Hirschholm Palace, also known as Hørsholm Palace, was a royal palace located in present-day Hørsholm municipality just north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It was rebuilt in the Baroque style in the 1740s and, one of the finest buildings of its time, it ...

, north of

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

on 1 October 1749, Ernst Frederick was first married to Princess Louise of Denmark, daughter of the King

Christian VI Christian VI (30 November 1699 – 6 August 1746) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1730 to 1746. The eldest surviving son of Frederick IV and Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, he is considered one of Denmark-Norway's more anonymous kings, bu ...

. They had one daughter: # Princess Friederike Sophie ''Juliane'' Karoline of Saxe-Hildburghausen (b. Hildburghausen, 5 December 1755 – d. Hildburghausen, 10 January 1756). In the

Christiansborg Palace Christiansborg Palace ( da, Christiansborg Slot; ) is a palace and government building on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the seat of the Danish Parliament ('), the Danish Prime Minister's Office, and the Supreme ...

on 20 January 1757, five months after the death of his first wife, Ernst Frederick was married for the second time to

Christiane Sophie Charlotte of Brandenburg-Bayreuth Christiane Sophie Charlotte of Brandenburg-Kulmbach (15 October 1733 in Neustadt an der Aisch – 8 October 1757 in Jagdschloss Seidingstadt in Straufhain) was a member of the Kulmbach-Bayreuth branch of the Franconian line of the House of Hoh ...

. They had one daughter: # Princess Friederike Sophie ''Marie'' Karoline of Saxe-Hildburghausen (b. Seidingstadt, 4 October 1757 – d. Seidingstadt, 17 October 1757). In

Bayreuth Bayreuth (, ; bar, Bareid) is a town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtelgebirge Mountains. The town's roots date back to 1194. In the 21st century, it is the capital of U ...

on 1 July 1758, nine months after the death of his second wife, Ernst Frederick was married for the third time to

Ernestine Ernestine is a feminine given name. Ernest is the male counterpart of this name. Notable people with the name include: * Ernestine Anderson (1928–2016), American jazz and blues singer * Ernestine Bayer (1909–2006), American athlete * Ernestine ...

, a daughter of Duke Ernst August I of Saxe-Weimar. They had three children: # Princess Ernestine Frederike ''Sophie'' of Saxe-Hildburghausen (b. Hildburghausen, 22 February 1760 – d. Coburg, 28 October 1776), married on 6 March 1776 to

Franz Frederick Anton, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld en, Francis Frederick Anthony , house = , father = Ernest Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld , mother = Princess Sophie Antoinette of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel , birth_date = , birth_place = Coburg, S ...

. She died childless only six months after her wedding. # Princess ''Christiane'' Sophie Caroline of Saxe-Hildburghausen (b. Hildburghausen, 4 December 1761 – d. Öhringen, 10 January 1790), married on 13 March 1778 to her uncle Eugen of Saxe-Hildeburghausen, who was her father's own brother. They had no children. #

Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen (29 April 1763 in Hildburghausen – 29 September 1834 in Altenburg), was duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen (1780–1826) and duke of Saxe-Altenburg (1826–1834). Biography He was the youngest child, but only ...

(b. Hildburghausen, 29 April 1763 – d. Jagdhaus Hummelshain, Altenburg, 29 September 1834). He married Charlotte Georgine of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, sister of the queens of Prussia and Hanover; they became the parents of 12 children

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ernest Frederick 03 of Saxe-Hildburghausen, Duke 1727 births 1780 deaths Dukes of Saxe-Hildburghausen Nobility from Königsberg Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)