Prince Leopold Franz Julius of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, 31 January 1824 –

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, 20 May 1884) was a German prince of the

House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry The House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry is the Roman Catholic, Catholic cadet branch of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, founded after the marriage of Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Maria Antonia Koháry de Csábrág, Princess ...

. Born ''Prince Leopold Franz Julius of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Duke in Saxony'', he was the third son of

Ferdinand, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry Prince Ferdinand Georg August of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (28 March 1785 – 27 August 1851) was a German prince of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and a general of cavalry in the Austrian Imperial and Royal Army during the Napoleonic Wars. Despite ...

and

Princess Maria Antonia Koháry de Csábrág et Szitnya Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...

. Leopold was a younger son and was unlikely to inherit titles or land, so he entered the Army in the service of the Austrian Empire. At one point Leopold was considered as a potential husband for

Isabel II of Spain Isabella II ( es, Isabel II; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904), was Queen of Spain from 29 September 1833 until 30 September 1868. Shortly before her birth, the King Ferdinand VII of Spain issued a Pragmatic Sanction to ensure the successi ...

. This did not, however, prove to be realistic, given the resistance of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and other European powers.

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

had been the scene of Great Power rivalry throughout the period since 1815 and all the Great Powers were seeking to exert their influence by supporting different candidates. The

Saxe-Coburg Saxe-Coburg (german: Sachsen-Coburg) was a duchy held by the Ernestine branch of the Wettin dynasty in today's Bavaria, Germany. History Ernestine Line When Henry IV, Count of Henneberg – Schleusingen, died in 1347, the possessions of th ...

family was perceived to be too closely linked with British interests. The

Coburg Coburg () is a town located on the Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only in 1920. Until the revolution of 1918, it ...

influence extended widely. In

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

and her husband Prince Albert were Leopold's first cousins, while

Leopold I of Belgium * nl, Leopold Joris Christiaan Frederik * en, Leopold George Christian Frederick , image = NICAISE Leopold ANV.jpg , caption = Portrait by Nicaise de Keyser, 1856 , reign = 21 July 1831 – , predecessor = Erasme Loui ...

was Leopold's paternal and

's maternal uncle, and Leopold's brother was King

Ferdinand II of Portugal ''Dom'' Ferdinand II (Portuguese: ''Fernando II'') (29 October 1816 – 15 December 1885) was a German prince of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry, and King of Portugal '' jure uxoris'' as the husband of Queen Maria II, from the birth of ...

, husband of Queen

Maria II of Portugal , image = Queen Maria II by John Simpson.jpg , caption = Portrait by John Simpson, 1835 , succession = Queen of Portugal , reign = , predecessor = Pedro IV , successor = Miguel I , reg-type = Regents , regent ...

. Leopold's candidature in the affair of the Spanish Marriages was used by

as the excuse to negotiate the hasty marriage between Queen

Isabella II of Spain Isabella II ( es, Isabel II; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904), was Queen of Spain from 29 September 1833 until 30 September 1868. Shortly before her birth, the King Ferdinand VII of Spain issued a Pragmatic Sanction to ensure the successio ...

and her cousin Francis of Spain, at the same time as that between the son of

Louis Philippe Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary War ...

and the Queen of Spain's younger sister. Later, Leopold met

Constanze Geiger Constanze Therese Adelaide Geiger, Freifrau von Ruttenstein (16 October 1835, Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code ...

, a common woman. She bore him a son, called Franz, in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

on 12 October 1860. Leopold and Constanze married six months later, on 23 April 1861. Immediately, he recognized his son, who was created ''Freiherr von Ruttenstein'' on 24 July 1862. The same day, Constanze was created ''Freifrau von Ruttenstein'' in her own right. Because the marriage of his parents was unequal (and thus

morganatic Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spous ...

), Franz was barred from the succession of Koháry and Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Regardless, he died childless and unmarried on 29 August 1899. Leopold is buried in the ducal mausoleum at ', Coburg.

Honours

* : Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold (military), ''3 May 1850'' *

Ernestine duchies The Ernestine duchies (), also known as the Saxon duchies (, although the Albertine appanage duchies of Weissenfels, Merseburg and Zeitz were also "Saxon duchies" and adjacent to several Ernestine ones), were a group of small states whose num ...

: Grand Cross of the

Saxe-Ernestine House Order The Saxe-Ernestine House Order (german: link=yes, Sachsen-Ernestinischer Hausorden)Hausorden
Herz ...

, ''March 1842''''Adreß-Handbuch des Herzogthums Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha'' (1843). "Herzoglich Sachsen-Ernestinischer Hausorden"
p. 3
/ref> * : Grand Cross of the

Order of the Tower and Sword The Ancient and Most Noble Military Order of the Tower and of the Sword, of the Valour, Loyalty and Merit ( pt, Antiga e Muito Nobre Ordem Militar da Torre e Espada, do Valor, Lealdade e Mérito), before 1910 Royal Military Order of the Tower an ...

, ''19 June 1843''

References

*E. Jones-Parry, The Spanish Marriages, 1841-1846 (London, 1936) {{DEFAULTSORT:Leopold Of Saxe-Coburg-Kohary, Prince 1824 births 1884 deaths Princes of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha-Koháry Nobility from Vienna Burials at the Ducal Family Mausoleum, Glockenburg Cemetery, Coburg