Christian Frederick Charles Alexander (; 24 February 1736 – 5 January 1806) was the last
margrave
Margrave was originally the Middle Ages, medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or a monarchy, kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain Feudal ...
of the two
Franconia
Franconia ( ; ; ) is a geographical region of Germany, characterised by its culture and East Franconian dialect (). Franconia is made up of the three (governmental districts) of Lower Franconia, Lower, Middle Franconia, Middle and Upper Franco ...
n principalities,
Bayreuth
Bayreuth ( or ; High Franconian German, Upper Franconian: Bareid, ) is a Town#Germany, town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtel Mountains. The town's roots date back to 11 ...
and
Ansbach
Ansbach ( , ; ) is a city in the Germany, German state of Bavaria. It is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk, administrative region of Mittelfranken, Middle Franconia. Ansbach is southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the river Fränk ...
, which he sold to the King of
Prussia
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
, a fellow member of the
House of Hohenzollern
The House of Hohenzollern (, ; , ; ) is a formerly royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) German dynasty whose members were variously princes, Prince-elector, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern Castle, Hohenzollern, Margraviate of Bran ...
.
Life
His parents were
Charles William Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach
Charles William Frederick (; 12 May 1712 – 3 August 1757), nicknamed ''der Wilde Markgraf'' (the ''Wild Margrave''), was the margrave of the Principality of Ansbach from 1723 to his death.
Early life
Charles William Frederick was the son of ...
, and
Friederike Luise of Prussia, daughter of King
Frederick William I of Prussia
Frederick William I (; 14 August 1688 – 31 May 1740), known as the Soldier King (), was King in Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg from 1713 until his death in 1740, as well as Prince of Neuchâtel.
Born in Berlin, he was raised by the Hugu ...
, sister of
Frederick II of Prussia
Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself '' King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prus ...
, a granddaughter of the British King George I and niece of the reigning British King George II (who would die aged 76 and leave his grandson, Charles's second cousin, as King George III, when Charles was 24).
After the sudden death of his elder brother Carl Frederick August on 9 May 1737, "Alexander", as he later called himself, became Crown Prince of the principality. From 1748 to 1759, he studied at
Utrecht
Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...
. As the young "Count of Sayn" (the county of
Sayn-Altenkirchen
Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn-Altenkirchen (sometimes called Sayn-Altenkirchen) was a German county located in what is now Rhineland-Palatinate, near the river Sieg.
When Count William III of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn died in 1623 without clear heirs, the ...
in the Westerwald having been absorbed into the
Principality of Ansbach
The Principality or Margraviate of (Brandenburg) Ansbach ( or ) was a principality in the Holy Roman Empire centered on the Franconian city of Ansbach. The ruling Hohenzollern princes of the land were known as margraves, as their ancestors were ...
in 1741) he travelled to
Turin
Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
and
Savoy
Savoy (; ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south and west and to the Aosta Vall ...
.
On 22 November 1754, in
Coburg
Coburg ( , ) is a Town#Germany, town located on the Itz (river), Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Ernestine duchies, Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only ...
, Alexander married
Princess Frederica Caroline of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (1735–1791), daughter of
Franz Josias, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
Francis Josias, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (25 September 1697–16 September 1764) was a duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld.
Biography
He was the fourth living son of Johann Ernest IV, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, the third born by his father's ...
, and
Anne Sophia, Princess of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt.
On 3 August 1757, Alexander became the
Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach
The Principality or Margraviate of (Brandenburg) Ansbach ( or ) was a principality in the Holy Roman Empire centered on the Franconian city of Ansbach. The ruling Hohenzollern princes of the land were known as margraves, as their ancestors were ...
. The ''
Residenz
''Residenz'' () is a German word for "domicile", now obsolete except in the formal sense of an official residence. A related term, ''Residenzstadt'', denotes a city where a sovereign ruler resided, and thus carries a similar meaning to the contemp ...
'' of the principality was at Ansbach, but Alexander preferred his hunting estate and country seat in
Triesdorf. Here, he renovated the "White Castle" for his mistress
Hippolyte Clairon, the "Red Castle" for himself, and built the ''Villa Sandrina'' for another mistress, "Fräulein Kurz", and the "Round Villa" (''Villa Rotunda'') for his mistress (and later wife)
Elizabeth, Baroness Craven.
In 1758, Alexander founded the
porcelain
Porcelain (), also called china, is a ceramic material made by heating Industrial mineral, raw materials, generally including kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The greater strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to oth ...
factory in Ansbach and made ventures into agriculture by importing sheep. In 1769, he acquired the principality of
Bayreuth
Bayreuth ( or ; High Franconian German, Upper Franconian: Bareid, ) is a Town#Germany, town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtel Mountains. The town's roots date back to 11 ...
pursuant to the ''Haus- und Reichsgesetze'' laws of the
House of Hohenzollern
The House of Hohenzollern (, ; , ; ) is a formerly royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) German dynasty whose members were variously princes, Prince-elector, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern Castle, Hohenzollern, Margraviate of Bran ...
.
In 1780, Alexander founded his own bank, the ''Hochfürstlich-Brandenburg-Anspach-Bayreuthische Hofbanco'', out of which later came the ''Bayerische Hypotheken- und Wechselbank'' ("Bavarian Mortgage and Change Bank", today absorbed into the ''
HypoVereinsbank
HypoVereinsbank (HVB), legally registered since late 2008 as UniCredit Bank GmbH, is a significant bank in Germany headquartered in Munich. It has been part of the Milan-based UniCredit group since 2005, and fully owned by it since 2008. As a ...
''). He evidently wanted to avoid supporting the Jewish banking houses that were then overseeing his financial affairs, and to keep as much of his revenue as possible in his own hands by setting himself up as a private banker.
American Revolutionary War
One of Alexander's enterprises earned income from hiring
auxiliary troops to
King George III of Great Britain
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Great Britain and Ireland into the United Kingdom of Great B ...
for the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
. He had nominal command over the "Frankish Army" of 1,644 mercenaries, of whom only some 1,183 returned to their homeland in 1783. The Margrave leased further troops to Holland. With these incomes, he paid down the principality's debts, which amounted to 5,000,000
guilder
Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch and German ''gulden'', originally shortened from Middle High German ''guldin pfenninc'' (" gold penny"). This was the term that became current in the southern and western parts of the Holy Rom ...
s at the time he inherited the throne (1757). By the time of his abdication 34 years later, the principality's debt stood at only 1,500,000 guilders.
The end of the Margraviate
On 16 January 1791, Alexander sold his Margraviate to
Prussia
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
. The contract was arranged by
Karl August von Hardenberg
Karl August Fürst von Hardenberg (31 May 1750, in Essenrode- Lehre – 26 November 1822, in Genoa) was a Prussian statesman and Chief Minister of Prussia. While during his late career he acquiesced to reactionary policies, earlier in his care ...
, who had been Acting Minister in Ansbach since 1790. Under the terms of the contract, Prussia paid the Margrave as compensation an annual stipend of 300,000 guilders. On 2 December, in
Bordeaux, France
Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
, he signed his formal
abdication
Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the Order of succession, succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of ...
as Margrave.
After abdication
Alexander's first wife, Frederica Caroline, died on 18 February 1791 in
Unterschwaningen
Unterschwaningen is a municipality in the district of Ansbach in Bavaria in 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 ...
, where she had lived since separating from her husband. On 19 May of the same year, Alexander left Triesdorf for England. On 13 October or 30 October 1791, in
Lisbon
Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
, Alexander married
Elizabeth Craven, Baroness Craven (1750–1828), the daughter of the
Earl of Berkeley
The title Baron Berkeley originated as a feudal title and was subsequently created twice in the Peerage of England by writ. It was first granted by writ to Thomas de Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley (1245–1321), 6th feudal Baron Berkeley, in 12 ...
and the widow of the
William Craven, 6th Baron Craven
William Craven, 6th Baron Craven (11 September 1738 – 26 September 1791) was an English nobility, English nobleman and a landowner.
Biography
William Craven was the son of Revd John Craven, Vicar of Stanton Lacy, Shropshire (1708–1752) ...
, who had died shortly before.
Alexander sailed to England as a private citizen with his new wife, and there the couple dedicated themselves to breeding horses. By December 1791, he had found a property near the
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...
,
Brandenburgh House at
Fulham
Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...
, and in 1798, he acquired the
Benham Park estate at
Speen near
Newbury in
Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...
. On 5 January 1806, aged 69, Alexander died after a short illness caused by
lung
The lungs are the primary Organ (biology), organs of the respiratory system in many animals, including humans. In mammals and most other tetrapods, two lungs are located near the Vertebral column, backbone on either side of the heart. Their ...
disease. Today, a memorial in St Mary's Church in
Speen, simply records "In Memory of the Margrave of Anspach, who died at Benham 5th January 1806".
The Franconian region over which Alexander had ruled changed hands many times. On 15 December 1805, in the first
Treaty of Schönbrunn
The Treaty of Schönbrunn (; ), sometimes known as the Peace of Schönbrunn or the Treaty of Vienna, was signed between France and Austria at Schönbrunn Palace near Vienna on 14 October 1809. The treaty ended the Fifth Coalition during the N ...
, Prussia ceded the
Principality of Ansbach
The Principality or Margraviate of (Brandenburg) Ansbach ( or ) was a principality in the Holy Roman Empire centered on the Franconian city of Ansbach. The ruling Hohenzollern princes of the land were known as margraves, as their ancestors were ...
to
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
in exchange for the
Electorate of Hanover
The Electorate of Hanover ( or simply ''Kurhannover'') was an Prince-elector, electorate of the Holy Roman Empire located in northwestern Germany that arose from the Principality of Calenberg. Although formally known as the Electorate of Brun ...
; in 1806, Ansbach was acquired by the
Kingdom of Bavaria
The Kingdom of Bavaria ( ; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1806 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German Empire in 1871, the kingd ...
in exchange for the
Duchy of Berg
Berg () was a state—originally a county, later a duchy—in the Rhineland of Germany. Its capital was Düsseldorf. It existed as a distinct political entity from the early 12th to the 19th centuries. It was a member state of the Holy Roman Emp ...
, and soon afterwards the Prussian defeat at
Jena
Jena (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 in ...
on 14 October 1806 resulted in the
Principality of Bayreuth
The Principality of Bayreuth () or Margraviate of Brandenburg-Bayreuth (''Markgraftum Brandenburg-Bayreuth'') was an immediate territory of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by a Franconian branch of the Hohenzollern dynasty. Since Burgrave Frederi ...
also being ceded to the French in the
Treaty of Tilsit
The Treaties of Tilsit (), also collectively known as the Peace of Tilsit (; ), were two peace treaties signed by French Emperor Napoleon in the town of Tilsit in July 1807 in the aftermath of his victory at Friedland, at the end of the War o ...
of July 1807.
[Thiers, M. A. ''History of the Consulate and the Empire of France under Napoleon.'' Translated by D. F. Campbell. Henry Colburn, London, 1847. Vol. 6, p. 190; Vol. 7, p. 357.]
Naval Intelligence Division. ''Germany: History and Administration.'' Admiralty, London, 1944. Volume II, pages 118-119. In 1810, Bayreuth was acquired by Bavaria. In 1871, Bavaria became part of the new
German Empire
The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...
under the King of Prussia, but retained its internal independence, and it continues as a Land of the present-day
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 ...
.
Arms
Ancestors
See also
*
Ansbach-Bayreuth in the American Revolution
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*
External links
Christian Friedrich Karl Alexander Markgraf von Brandenburg-Ansbachat Thepeerage.com
at Exulanten.com
at Freundetriesdorf.de
at Berkshirehistory.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach
1736 births
1806 deaths
German allies of the British Army during the American Revolution
Fellows of the Royal Society
Margraves of Bayreuth
Margraves of Brandenburg-Ansbach
Monarchs who abdicated
People from Ansbach
People from Hammersmith
People from Speen, Berkshire
Soldiers of the Imperial Circles