Bernhard III (; 1 April 1851 – 16 January 1928), was the last reigning duke of

Saxe-Meiningen Saxe-Meiningen ( ; ) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine duchies, Ernestine line of the House of Wettin, located in the southwest of the present-day Germany, German state of Thuringia. Established in 1681, by partition of the Ern ...

Biography

Bernhard was born on 1 April 1851 at Meiningen in what was then the

German Confederation The German Confederation ( ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, which had been dissolved ...

, as the eldest son of

Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen (2 April 1826 – 25 June 1914), was the penultimate Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, reigning from 1866 to 1914. For his support for his successful court theatre he was also known as the ''Theaterherzog'' (theatre duke ...

and his first wife

Princess Charlotte of Prussia Princess Charlotte of Prussia (; 24 July 1860 – 1 October 1919) was List of Saxon consorts#Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen from 1914 to 1918 as the wife of Bernhard III, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, Bernhard III, the duchy's ...

. Bernhard had one full sister, Princess Marie Elisabeth, and several half-brothers by his father's second marriage. From 1860 Bernhard was schooled by a Prof. Rossmann before he went to study at

Heidelberg University Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is Germany's oldest unive ...

in 1869. For the war against France he interrupted his studies and served as ''Ordonnanz-Offizier''. After the war ended he resumed his studies at Leipzig. From 1873 he again served in the military and rose into the highest echelons: By 1905 he was ''Generaloberst'' and inspector general of the 2nd Army Inspection (Central Germany). In 1909, he became ''Generaloberst im Range eines Generalfeldmarschalls'' and retired from active service in 1912. Charlotte of Prussia with Bernhard of Saxe Meiningen

Charlotte of Prussia with Bernhard of Saxe Meiningen

He married in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

on 18 February 1878

, his second cousin, daughter of

Frederick III, German Emperor Frederick III (Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl; 18 October 183115 June 1888), or Friedrich III, was German Emperor and King of Prussia for 99 days between March and his death in June 1888, during the Year of the Three Emperors. Known informal ...

and granddaughter of the

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 January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

. They had one daughter:

Princess Feodora of Saxe-Meiningen Princess Feodora of Saxe-Meiningen (Feodora Viktoria Auguste Marie Marianne; 12 May 1879 – 26 August 1945) was born at Potsdam, the only child of Bernhard III, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen and his wife, Duchess Charlotte (the eldest daughter of Em ...

(b.

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

, 12 May 1879 - d. Schloß Neuhoff, 26 August 1945), married on 24 September 1898 to Heinrich XXX of Reuss-Köstritz. His wife's cousin and critic, Queen Marie of Romania, described him in her memoir: "''Her husband, Bernard Erbprinz of Saxe-Meiningen, came with her; she never liked him, but for all that he was devoted to her and he imagined she was the most perfect of wives, which shows how clever she was. Both passionate soldiers,

Uncle An uncle is usually defined as a male relative who is a sibling of a parent or married to a sibling of a parent, as well as the parent of the cousins. Uncles who are related by birth are second-degree relatives. The female counterpart of an un ...

and he would discuss military questions by the hour, but the King preferred still more talking politics with irresistible Charly.''"

Reign

Bernhard assumed the Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen after the death of his father in 1914. With the start of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Bernhard hoped to be assigned command over an army but was disappointed. In reaction he also withdrew from his role in the Duchy's government. After

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

lost the war, the German revolution forced Bernhard to abdicate as duke on 10 November 1918. Like all the German princes he lost his title and state. He spent the rest of his life in his former country as a private citizen. Bernhard died on 16 January 1928 in Meiningen. He is buried next to his wife in the park at Altenstein.

Interests

Despite his military career he also took a great interest in the arts. He was active as a composer, poet and translator. He was known in particular as an expert on

Modern Greek Modern Greek (, or , ), generally referred to by speakers simply as Greek (, ), refers collectively to the dialects of the Greek language spoken in the modern era, including the official standardized form of the language sometimes referred to ...

and was renowned for translating German literature into Greek. For his historical studies, for which he repeatedly travelled to Greece and Asia Minor, the

University of Breslau A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

awarded him an honorary doctorate.

Honours

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 numb ...

: Grand Cross of the

Saxe-Ernestine House Order The Saxe-Ernestine House Order ()Hausorden
Herzogliche Haus Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha was a ...

, ''1869''; Joint Grand Master, ''25 June 1914'' *

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

: **

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

(1870), 2nd Class ** Grand Commander's Cross of the Royal

House Order of Hohenzollern The House Order of Hohenzollern ( or ') was a dynastic order of knighthood of the House of Hohenzollern awarded to military commissioned officers and civilians of comparable status. Associated with the various versions of the order were crosses an ...

, ''2 April 1877'' ** Knight of the

Order of the Black Eagle The Order of the Black Eagle () was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg (who became Friedrich I of Prussia, Friedrich I, King in Prussia, the ...

, ''23 April 1877''; with Collar, ''1878'' * : Grand Cross of the

Order of the White Falcon Order of the White Falcon () is a grand-ducal order of the Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, founded by Duke Ernest Augustus on 2 August 1732, and renewed in 1815 by Charles Augustus. Description In the early 20th century it had four classes a ...

, ''1870'' * : Grand Cross of the Grand Ducal Hessian Order of Ludwig, ''18 February 1878'' * : Grand Cordon of the

Order of Leopold Order of Leopold may refer to: * Order of Leopold (Austria), founded in 1808 by emperor Francis I of Austria and discontinued in 1918 * Order of Leopold (Belgium), founded in 1832 by king Leopold I of Belgium * Order of Leopold II, founded in Congo ...

(military division), ''25 February 1878'' * : Grand Cross of the House and Merit Order of Duke Peter Friedrich Ludwig, with Crown in Gold, ''18 February 1878'' * :''Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden'' (1888), "Großherzogliche Orden
pp. 6273
/ref> ** Knight of the

House Order of Fidelity The House Order of Fidelity () is a dynastic order of the Margraviate of Baden. It was established by Charles III William, Margrave of Baden-Durlach as a reward for merit and to mark the laying of the foundation stone of his residence at Kar ...

, ''1881'' ** Knight of the

Order of Berthold the First The Order of Berthold the First () was a dynastic order in the Grand Duchy of Baden The Grand Duchy of Baden () was a German polity on the east bank of the Rhine. It originally existed as a sovereign state from 1806 to 1871 and later as par ...

, ''1881'' * : Knight of the

Order of the Rue Crown The Order of the Rue Crown () or Order of the Crown of Saxony was a dynastic order of knighthood of the Kingdom of Saxony. The order takes its name from the green floral crown of rue ('' crancelin'') found in the coat of arms of Saxony. It occup ...

, ''1885'' *

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

: Grand Cross of the Royal Hungarian Order of St. Stephen, ''1887'' * : Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

(civil division), ''21 June 1887''Shaw, Wm. A. (1906) ''The Knights of England'', I, London
p. 212
/ref> * : Grand Cordon of the Supreme

Order of the Chrysanthemum is Japan's highest Order (decoration), order. The Grand Cordon of the Order was established in 1876 by Emperor Meiji of Japan; the Collar of the Order was added on 4 January 1888. Unlike European counterparts, the order may be Posthumous award, ...

, ''5 February 1896'' * : Knight of the Imperial

Order of St. Alexander Nevsky The Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky was an order of chivalry of the Russian Empire first awarded on by Empress Catherine I of Russia. History The introduction of the Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky was envisioned by Emperor ...

, ''1896''

Ancestry

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bernhard 03 Of Saxe-Meiningen, Duke 1851 births 1928 deaths Colonel generals of Saxony Dukes of Saxe-Meiningen People from Meiningen Monarchs who abdicated Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Annulled Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Recipients of the Iron Cross (1870), 2nd class German military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War Military personnel from Thuringia Pretenders