Francis Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Saalfeld
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:


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, Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Holy Roman Empire , death_date = , death_place = Coburg, Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld , place of burial = , religion = Lutheranism } Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (15 July 1750, in Coburg – 9 December 1806, in Coburg), was one of the ruling Thuringian dukes of the House of Wettin. As
progenitor In genealogy, the progenitor (rarer: primogenitor; german: Stammvater or ''Ahnherr'') is the – sometimes legendary – founder of a family, line of descent, clan or tribe, noble house, or ethnic group.. Ebenda''Ahnherr:''"Stammvater eines G ...
of a line of Coburg princes who, in the 19th and 20th centuries, ascended the thrones of several European realms, he is a patrilineal ancestor of the royal houses of Belgium, Bulgaria and Portugal, as well as of several queen consorts.


Biography

Francis was born on 15 July 1750. He is the eldest son of Ernest Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and Sophia Antonia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.''Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser, Band'' IV. "Haus Sachsen". C.A. Starke Verlag, 1956, pp. 157-164. (German), Francis received a private, careful and comprehensive education and became an art ''connoisseur''. Francis initiated a major collection of books and illustrations for the duchy in 1775, which eventually expanded to a 300,000-picture collection of copperplate engravings currently housed in the Veste Coburg. Francis was commissioned into the allied army in 1793 when his country was invaded by the Revolutionary armies of France. The allied forces included Hanoverians, Hessians, and the British. He fought in several actions against the French. Francis succeeded his father as reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld in 1800. In the discharge of his father's debts the Schloss Rosenau had passed out of the family but in 1805 he bought back the property as a summer residence for the ducal family. Emperor Francis II dissolved the Holy Roman Empire on 6 August 1806, after its defeat by Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz. Duke Francis died 9 December 1806. On 15 December 1806, Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, along with the other Ernestine duchies, entered the Confederation of the Rhine as the Duke and his ministers planned.


First marriage

In Hildburghausen on 6 March 1776, Francis married Princess Sophie of Saxe-Hildburghausen, a daughter of his
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 ...
kinsman, Duke Ernst Friedrich II and Princess Ernestine of Saxe-Weimar. She died on 28 October 1776, only seven months after her wedding. There were no children born from this marriage.


Second marriage and children

In Ebersdorf on 13 June 1777, Francis married Countess Augusta Reuss of Lobenstein-Ebersdorf, daughter of Heinrich XXIV, Count Reuss of Ebersdorf and his wife Countess
Karoline Ernestine of Erbach-Schönberg Karoline is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Karoline Amaral (born 1984), model *Karoline Bjørnson (1835–1934), Norwegian actress * Karoline Bruch-Sinn (1853–1911), Austrian writer *Karoline Dyhre Breivang (born 1980), No ...
. They had ten children, seven of whom survived to adulthood: His
male-line Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritanc ...
descendants established ruling houses in Belgium, United Kingdom, Portugal and Bulgaria, while retaining the duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha until 1918. His son Leopold ruled as
Leopold I of the Belgians Leopold may refer to: People * Leopold (given name) * Leopold (surname) Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Leopold (''The Simpsons''), Superintendent Chalmers' assistant on ''The Simpsons'' * Leopold Bloom, the protagonist o ...
. A grandson reigned ''
jure uxoris ''Jure uxoris'' (a Latin phrase meaning "by right of (his) wife"), citing . describes a title of nobility used by a man because his wife holds the office or title ''suo jure'' ("in her own right"). Similarly, the husband of an heiress could becom ...
'' as King Ferdinand II of Portugal while a great-grandson named Ferdinand became the first modern king of Bulgaria. One of his granddaughters was Empress Carlota of Mexico, while another was Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. The latter's son, Edward VII, a patrilineal as well as matrilineal great-grandson of Francis, inaugurated upon his accession to the British throne in 1901 the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the name of the ruling dynasty of the United Kingdom until the house name was changed to Windsor by King George V in 1917.


Ancestry


References

* August Beck: ''Franz Friedrich Anton, Herzog von 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 Aca ...
'' (ADB) vol. VII, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1877, p. 296. * Carl-Christian Dressel: ''Die Entwicklung von Verfassung und Verwaltung in Sachsen-Coburg 1800 - 1826 im Vergleich'', Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2007, . * Christian Kruse: ''Franz Friedrich Anton von Sachsen-Coburg-Saalfeld: 1750 - 1806'', in: ''Jahrbuch der Coburger Landesstiftung'', Coburg 1995. {{DEFAULTSORT:Francis Frederick Of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfield 1750 births 1806 deaths People from Coburg Dukes of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld House of Wettin