Ernst August II Konstantin, Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (2 June 1737 – 28 May 1758), was the reigning

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach () was a German state, created as a duchy in 1809 by the merger of the Ernestine duchies of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach, which had been in personal union since 1741. It was raised to a grand duchy in 1815 by resolutio ...

Early life

He was the second (fifth in order of birth) but eldest and only surviving son of Ernst August I, Duke of Saxe-Weimar by his second marriage to Margravine Sophie Charlotte of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, eldest daughter of Georg Friedrich Karl, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth.

Life

Ernst August II Konstantin's father, a splendor-loving ruler with a passion for hunting, had moved his court to Eisenach. The duke neglected his son and heir, so that Ernst August II Konstantin spent his early years under the supervision of the Hofmarschall of

Schloss Belvedere The Belvedere is a historic building complex in Vienna, Austria consisting of two Baroque palaces (the Upper and Lower Belvedere), the Orangery, and the Palace Stables. The buildings are set in a Baroque park landscape in the third district of t ...

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...

. Ernst August I died in 1748, when Ernst August II Konstantin was eleven years old. Since he was still a minor, the dukes Frederick III of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and Franz Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld assumed the regency of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach on Ernst August II Konstantin's behalf. The young duke came to live with Duke Frederick in

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 ...

, who made sure that Ernst August II Konstantin received an appropriate education. In 1755 Ernst August II Konstantin assumed the reins of government. He appointed his former tutor, the

Imperial Count Imperial Count (, ) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. During the medieval era, it was used exclusively to designate the holder of an imperial county, that is, a fief held directly ( immediately) from the emperor, rather than from a prince wh ...

(''Reichsgräf'') Heinrich von Bünau, as his new chancellor. Because the young duke had been a sickly child, he was encouraged to marry quickly in order to ensure an heir for the duchy. The bride was chosen from the

House of Welf The House of Welf (also Guelf or Guelph) is a European dynasty that has included many German and British monarchs from the 11th to 20th century and Emperor Ivan VI of Russia in the 18th century. The originally Franconian family from the Meuse-Mo ...

, in particular, from reigning family of the

Duchy of Brunswick The Duchy of Brunswick () was a historical German state that ceased to exist in 1918. Its capital city, capital was the city of Braunschweig, Brunswick (). It was established as the successor state of the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel ...

, which was blood related to almost all European ruling families.

Marriage

In Brunswick on 16 March 1756, Ernst August II Konstantin married Anna Amalia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, the third surviving child and second daughter of

Charles I, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Charles (German: ''Karl''; 1 August 1713, Braunschweig – 26 March 1780, Braunschweig), Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Bevern line), reigned as Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel from 1735 until his death. Life Charles was the eldest son o ...

and his wife, Princess Philippine Charlotte of Prussia, sister of

Frederick the Great 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 Prussia ...

. The marriage produced two sons: # Karl August, Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Grand Duke from 21 April 1815 (b. Weimar, 3 September 1757 – d. Graditz, 14 June 1828). # Frederick Ferdinand Constantine (b. posthumously, Weimar, 8 September 1758 – d. Wiebelskirchen, 6 September 1793) who died unmarried.

Death

Ernst Augustus II Konstantin died on 28 May 1758 in

. When he died, the hereditary prince Karl August was still an infant. Ernst August Konstantin's widow, the Duchess Anna Amalia, presided as regent over an excellent tutelary government which propelled Weimar into the classical period, most prosperous period of the country. He was buried in the Palace Church of

Schloss Weimar Schloss Weimar is a ''Schloss'' (palace) in Weimar, Thuringia, Germany. It is now called ''Stadtschloss'' to distinguish it from other palaces in and around Weimar. It was the residence of the dukes of Saxe-Weimar and Eisenach, and has also been ...

, but in 1825, his grave was transferred to the Ducal Vault in the Historic Cemetery, Weimar.

Ancestry

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ernest Augustus 02 of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Duke 1737 births 1758 deaths Nobility from Weimar Dukes of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Dukes of Saxe-Weimar Dukes of Saxe-Eisenach Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)