Ernest Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (8 March 1724, in

Saalfeld Saalfeld (german: Saalfeld/Saale) is a town in Germany, capital of the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district of Thuringia. It is best known internationally as the ancestral seat of the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha branch of the Saxon House of Wettin. Geography ...

– 8 September 1800, in

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 ...

), was a Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld.

Biography

He was the eldest son of

Francis Josias, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld Francis Josias, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (25 September 1697, in Saalfeld – 16 September 1764, in Rodach) was a duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. Biography He was the fourth living son of Johann Ernest IV, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, the thi ...

and Anna Sophie of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. Ernest Frederick succeeded his father in the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld when he died in 1764 and established his definitive residence shifted in

. Because of the high indebtedness of the duchy he was compelled by Emperor

Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 un ...

in 1773 to work with 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 ...

''—an obligatory administration of debts assigned by the emperor—for over thirty years.

Issue

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; nds, Wulfenbüddel) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District. It is best known as the location of the internationally renowned Herzog August Library and for having the largest ...

on 23 April 1749 Ernest Frederick married with Sophia Antonia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. They had seven children: # Franz Frederick Anton, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (b. Coburg 15 July 1750 – d. Coburg, 9 December 1806), father of

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 Lou ...

and grandfather of Leopold II, Empress Carlota of Mexico, Queen Victoria of Great Britain, and her husband Prince Albert. # Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand (b. Coburg, 21 November 1751 – d. Coburg, 16 February 1757). # Fredericka Juliane (b. Coburg, 14 September 1752 – d. Coburg, 24 September 1752). # Caroline Ulrike Amalie (b. Coburg, 19 October 1753 – d. Coburg, 1 October 1829), a nun at Gandersheim. # Ludwig Karl Frederick (b. Coburg, 2 January 1755 – d. Coburg, 4 May 1806); he had an illegitimate son by some Mademoiselle Brutel de la Rivière: ''Ludwig Frederick Emil von Coburg (b. Hildburghausen, 1779 - d. Coburg, 1827)''. In turn, the five children of Ludwig Frederick were created ''Freiherren von Coburg''. His descendants are still alive. # Ferdinand August Heinrich (b. Coburg, 12 April 1756 – d. Coburg, 8 July 1758). # Frederick (b. Coburg, 4 March 1758 – d. Coburg, 26 June 1758).

Ancestry

References

* August Beck: '' Ernst Friedrich, Herzog zu Sachsen-Koburg-Saalfeld. In:

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB, german: Universal German Biography) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language. It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Ac ...

'' (ADB). Band 6, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1877, S. 317. * ''Das herzogliche Haus Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha: Seine Geschichte und gegenwärtige Stellung in Europa'', C. Macklot, 1842, S. 236
Digitalisat
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ernest, Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld Dukes of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld 1724 births 1800 deaths Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)