, consort = yes , succession = Duchess consort of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg , reign = 10 March 1772 – 20 April 1804 , image = Charlotte Amalie of Saxe-Meiningen.jpg , caption = Portrait by

Johann Ernst Heinsius Johann Ernst Heinsius (; 21 May 1731, Ilmenau - 18 October 1794, Erfurt) was a German portrait painter and miniaturist. Biography His father was Johann Christian Heintz (c.1706-1756), a gunsmith who had become an artist at the court of Rudol ...

, spouse =

Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (Gotha, 30 January 1745 – Gotha, 20 April 1804) was the reigning Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg from 1772 to 1804. He was the third but second surviving son of Frederick III, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenbur ...

, issue = Ernest, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

Frederick IV
Prince Ludwig , house =

Saxe-Meiningen Saxe-Meiningen (; german: Sachsen-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. Established in 1681, by partition of the Ernest ...

, father =

Anton Ulrich, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen Anton Ulrich, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen (Meiningen, 22 October 1687 – Frankfurt, 27 January 1763), was Duke of Saxe-Meiningen from 1746 to 1763. Life Anton Ulrich was born on 22 October 1687 at Meiningen. He was the second but first surviving son ...

, mother = Landgravine Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Philippsthal , birth_date = , birth_place =

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian dialects, Hessian: , "Franks, Frank ford (crossing), ford on the Main (river), Main"), is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as o ...

, Free Imperial City of Frankfurt,

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

, death_date = , death_place =

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of t ...

Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia,The name of the state was originally Latin: , or when the kingdom was still considered to include Corsica. In Italian it is , in French , in Sardinian , and in Piedmontese . also referred to as the Kingdom of Savoy-S ...

Princess Charlotte of Saxe-Meiningen (german: Marie Charlotte Amalie Ernestine Wilhelmine Philippine, Prinzessin von Sachsen-Meiningen) (11 September 1751,

, Free Imperial City of Frankfurt,

– 25 April 1827,

) was a member of the

House of Saxe-Meiningen Saxe-Meiningen (; german: Sachsen-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. Established in 1681, by partition of the Ernesti ...

and a Princess of Saxe-Meiningen by birth and a member of the House of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and Duchess consort of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg through her marriage to

Early life and family

Princess Charlotte was born on 11 September 1751. She was the eldest child and daughter of

and his second wife, Landgravine Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Philippsthal. Charlotte was an elder sister of Charles William, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen and George I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen.

Marriage

Charlotte married Ernest, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (later Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg), son of

Frederick III, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg Frederick III, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (14 April 1699 – 10 March 1772), was a duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. Biography He was born in Gotha, the eldest son of Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and Magdalene Augusta of Anhalt-Zerb ...

and his wife

Luise Dorothea of Saxe-Meiningen Luise Dorothea of Saxe-Meiningen (10 August 1710 – 22 October 1767) was a member of German royalty. She was born in Meiningen, the daughter of Ernst Ludwig I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen and Dorothea Marie of Saxe-Gotha. She was Duchess of Saxe ...

, on 21 March 1769 in

Meiningen Meiningen () is a town in the southern part of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in the region of Franconia and has a population of around 25,000 (2021).

. Charlotte and Ernest had four children: # Ernest, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (b.

Gotha Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...

, 27 February 1770 – d. Gotha, 3 December 1779). # Augustus, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (b. Gotha, 23 November 1772 – d. Gotha, 27 May 1822) #

Frederick IV, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg Frederick IV, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (Gotha, 28 November 1774 – Gotha, 11 February 1825), was the last duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. He was the third but second surviving son of Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and Charlotte ...

(b. Gotha, 28 November 1774 – d. Gotha, 11 February 1825). # Prince Ludwig of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (b. Gotha, 21 October 1777 – d. Gotha, 26 October 1777). Charlotte's husband, Ernest, was regarded as an

enlightened Enlightened may refer to: * ''Enlightened'' (TV series), an American comedy-drama * ''Enlightened'' (album), 2007, by Dynamic Duo * The Enlightened, a faction in ''Ingress'' (video game) See also * Enlightened self-interest, a philosophy in et ...

monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...

and a great patron of art and science, who led his country into a cultural flowering. He was assisted in his cultural undertakings by his wife, Charlotte. Like her husband, Charlotte was a

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...

. She counted relief panels for the court

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either o ...

Franz Xaver von Zach Baron Franz Xaver von Zach (''Franz Xaver Freiherr von Zach''; 4 June 1754 – 2 September 1832) was a Hungarian astronomer born at Pest, Hungary (now Budapest in Hungary). Biography Zach studied physics at the Royal University of Pest, and se ...

and she also participated in observations. Charlotte also participated in the First European Astronomy Congress in 1798 at the Seeberg Observatory and independently corresponded with the leading astronomers of her time.

Later life

After her husband's death in 1804, there were difficulties with Charlotte's son, Augustus, upon his succession. Charlotte left Gotha with Zach and spent some time in

Eisenberg Eisenberg is a German name in geography and a surname. Literally translated it means ″iron mountain″. ''Eisenberg'' may refer to: Mountains * Eisenberg (Knüll), a mountain in Hesse * Eisenberg (Korbach), a mountain in Hesse * Eisenberg (Ore ...

. Later she traveled with Zach throughout southern Europe and lived several years in

Marseilles Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

, and later in

, where she died in 1827.

Ancestry

References

* Bärbel Raschke: ''Charlotte Amalie Herzogin von Sachsen-Meiningen (1730–1801). Leben und Wirken im Kontext westeuropäischer und deutscher Aufklärung.'' In: ''Francia 2''. Bd. 25, 1999, , S. 69-103. * Ingeborg Titz-Matuszak und Peter Brosche (Hrsg.): ''Das Reisetagebuch 1807 der Herzogin Charlotte Amalie von Sachsen-Gotha-Altenburg''. Thüringisches Staatsarchiv Gotha, Gotha 2003 (=Reihe: ''Schriften des Thüringischen Staatsarchivs Gotha''. Bd.1. ).

External links

*
Katalog der Theaterbibliothek Herzogin Charlottes von Sachsen-Gotha-Altenburg
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charlotte Of Saxe-Meiningen, Princess 1751 births 1827 deaths House of Saxe-Meiningen House of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg People from Frankfurt 18th-century German astronomers Women astronomers Amateur astronomers Princesses of Saxe-Meiningen Princesses of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg Duchesses of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg 18th-century women scientists