Prince William Charles Christian of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (German: ''Wilhelm Carl Christian von Sachsen-Gotha-Altenburg''; 12 March 1701,

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 ...

– 31 May 1771, Tonna) was a German prince of the

Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg () was a duchy ruled by the Ernestine branch of the House of Wettin in today's Thuringia, Germany. The extinction of the line in 1825 led to a major re-organisation of the Thuringian states. History In 1640 the sons of the l ...

house, a junior line of the

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 ...

Wettins. He served as a

Generalfeldzeugmeister ''Feldzeugmeister'' was a historical military rank in some German and the Austro-Hungarian armies, especially in use for the artillery. It was commonly used in the 16th or 17th century, but could even be found at the beginning of the 20th century i ...

in the armies of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

Family

He was the second surviving son of

Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (28 July 1676 – 23 March 1732), was a duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. He was born in Gotha, the fifth child and first son of Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and Magdalena Sibylle of Saxe-W ...

(1676–1732) and his wife Magdalena Augusta (1679–1740), daughter of

Charles, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst Charles William, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst (16 October 1652, in Zerbst – 3 November 1718, in Zerbst), was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Zerbst. He was the third (but eldest surviving) son of John ...

. On 17 May 1750 he was one of three godparents to

Prince Frederick of Great Britain Prince Frederick William of Great Britain (13 May 1750 – 29 December 1765) was a grandchild of King George II and the youngest brother of King George III. He was the youngest son of Frederick, Prince of Wales and Princess Augusta of Saxe-Goth ...

, youngest son of William's younger sister Augusta and

Frederick, Prince of Wales Frederick, Prince of Wales, (Frederick Louis, ; 31 January 170731 March 1751), was the eldest son and heir apparent of King George II of Great Britain. He grew estranged from his parents, King George and Queen Caroline. Frederick was the fath ...

– the other two godparents were the child's elder siblings Augusta and

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

Military career

In 1734 he became Generalwachtmeister in the forces of

Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor , house = Habsburg , spouse = , issue = , issue-link = #Children , issue-pipe = , father = Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor , mother = Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg , birth_date ...

, commanding the same two regiments that his elder brother

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 ...

had led against the French. In 1738 he became a Generalfeldmarschallleutnant and in 1750 a Generalfeldzeugmeister. He made two failed petitions to rise to Reichsgeneralfeldmarschall in 1753 and 1760 and soon afterwards resigned as a Generalfeldzeugmeister to take up residence in Tonna.

Marriage

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

on 8 November 1742 he married Anna (1709–1758), daughter of Christian August of Holstein-Gottorp, Prince of Eutin and aunt of Catherine II of Russia. They had no children.

Bibliography

*
Johann Georg August Galletti: ''Geschichte und Beschreibung des Herzogthums Gotha'', Gotha, 1779, S. 354
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilhelm Von Sachsengothaaltenburg People from Gotha (town) 1701 births 1771 deaths

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

Generals of the Holy Roman Empire Sons of monarchs