Ernest Constantine (; 8 August 177125 December 1849) was Landgrave of Hesse-Philippsthal from 1816 until his death.

Life

Ernest Constantine was born in Philippsthal on 8 August 1771 to Landgrave William of Hesse-Philippsthal and Ulrike Eleonora, daughter of

William, Landgrave of Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld William of Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld (1 April 1692 – 13 May 1761) was a member of the House of Hesse and was Landgrave of Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld from 1721 to 1761. Life William was a younger son of Landgrave Philip of Hesse-Philipp ...

. Until 1796 he was an officer in Dutch service. In 1797, he acquired the porcelain manufactory in Volkstedt (a suburb of

Rudolstadt Rudolstadt is a town in the German federal state Thuringia, within the Thuringian Forest, to the southwest, and to Jena and Weimar to the north. The former capital of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, the town is built along the River Saale inside a wide ...

), which he sold two years later. In 1808 he became Grand Chamberlain of the

Jérôme Bonaparte Jérôme Bonaparte (born Girolamo Buonaparte; 15 November 1784 – 24 June 1860) was the youngest brother of Napoleon, Napoleon I and reigned as Jerome Napoleon I (formally Hieronymus Napoleon in German), Kingdom of Westphalia, King of Westphal ...

, the King of

Westphalia Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...

. After the dissolution of the kingdom of Westphalia, Ernst Constantine succeeded his brother

Louis Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also ...

as Landgrave of Hesse-Philippsthal in 1816. He also re-entered Dutch service, where he was appointed

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

. Ernest Constantine died on 25 December 1849 in

Meiningen Meiningen () is a town in the southern part of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in the region of Franconia and has a population of around 26,000 (2024).

and was later buried in Philippsthal.

Marriage and issue

Ernest Constantine married Louise (1775-1808), the daughter of Prince Frederick Charles of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (1736-1793), on 10 April 1796 in

, with whom he had the five children: * Frederick William (1797-1797) * Ferdinand (1799-1837) * George Gustav (1801-1802) * Charles II (1803-1868), who succeeded him as Landgrave of Hesse-Philippsthal, married the

Duchess Marie of Württemberg Marie of Württemberg (Antoinette Friederike Auguste Marie Anna Herzogin von Württemberg; 17 September 1799 – 24 September 1860) was a daughter of Duke Alexander of Württemberg and Antoinette of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. She was Duchess of Saxe- ...

(1818-1888) in 1845 * Francis (1805-1861), created Baron of Falkener in 1841, married (

morganatically Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spouse ...

) Mary Catharine Kohlmann (1819-1904) Later, he married his niece, Caroline of Hesse-Philippsthal (1793-1869), daughter of his elder brother Prince Charles of Hesse-Philippsthal, on 17 February 1812 in

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...

. From his second marriage he had two children: * Victoria (1812-1837) * William Edward (1817-1819)

Ancestors

References

* Johann Samuel Ersch
''Allgemeine Encyclopädie der Wissenschaften und Künste in alphabetischer ...'' p. 297 f.
* Otto Wigand
''Wigand's Conversations-lexikon'' p. 633

''Genealogisches Staats-Handbuch'' p. 93
Landgraves of Hesse House of Hesse 1771 births 1849 deaths 18th-century German nobility {{Germany-noble-stub