Ernst I, Duke Of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
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Ernest I (; 2 January 178429 January 1844) served as the last
sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title that can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to ...
duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (as Ernest III) from 1806 to 1826 and the first sovereign
duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (), or Saxe-Coburg-Gotha ( ), was an Ernestine duchy in Thuringia ruled by a branch of the House of Wettin, consisting of territories in the present-day states of Thuringia and Bavaria in Germany. It lasted from 1826 to ...
from 1826 to 1844. He was the father of
Prince Albert Prince Albert most commonly refers to: *Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria *Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco Prince Albert may also refer to: Royalty * Alb ...
, who was the husband of
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 ...
. Ernest fought against
Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
, and through construction projects and the establishment of a court theatre, he left a strong imprint on his residence town,
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 ...
.


Early life

Ernest was born on 2 January 1784. He was the eldest son of Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and Countess Augusta of Reuss-Ebersdorf. His youngest brother, Leopold, was later elected the first
king of Belgium The monarchy of Belgium is the constitutional and hereditary institution of the monarchical head of state of the Kingdom of Belgium. As a popular monarchy, the Belgian monarch uses the title king/queen of the Belgians and serves as the ...
. On 10 May 1803, aged 19, Ernest was proclaimed an adult because his father had become gravely ill, and he was required to take part in the government of the duchy. When his father died in 1806, he succeeded in the duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld as Ernest III. However, he could not immediately take over the formal government of his lands, because the duchy was occupied by Napoleonic troops and was under French administration. The following year, after the
Peace 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 of ...
(1807), the duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld was reunited (having previously been dissolved) and restored to Ernest. This occurred through Russian pressure, since his sister Juliane was married to the brother of the Russian Tsar.


Marriages and children

Ernest married Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg 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 ...
on 31 July 1817. They had two children: *
Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Ernest II (; 21 June 181822 August 1893) was Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha from 29 January 1844 to his death in 1893. He was born in Coburg to Ernest III, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. His father be ...
(21 June 181822 August 1893), who married
Princess Alexandrine of Baden Alexandrine of Baden (Alexandrine Luise Amalie Friederike Elisabeth Sophie; 6 December 1820 – 20 December 1904) was Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha from 29 January 1844 to 22 August 1893 as the wife of Duke Ernest II. She was the eldest child ...
on 3 May 1842. *
Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Franz August Karl Albert Emanuel; 26 August 1819 – 14 December 1861) was the husband of Queen Victoria. As such, he was consort of the British monarch from Wedding of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, th ...
(26 August 181914 December 1861), who married
Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom 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 her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days, which was longer than th ...
on 10 February 1840. They had nine children. The marriage was unhappy because both husband and wife were
promiscuous Promiscuity is the practice of engaging in sexual activity frequently with different partners or being indiscriminate in the choice of sexual partners. The term can carry a moral judgment. A common example of behavior viewed as promiscuous by man ...
. As the biographer
Lytton Strachey Giles Lytton Strachey (; 1 March 1880 – 21 January 1932) was an English writer and critic. A founding member of the Bloomsbury Group and author of ''Eminent Victorians'', he established a new form of biography in which psychology, psychologic ...
put it: "The ducal court was not noted for the strictness of its morals; the Duke was a man of gallantry, and the Duchess followed her husband's example. There were scandals: one of the Court Chamberlains, a charming and cultivated man of Jewish extraction, was talked of; at last there was a separation, followed by a divorce."Strachey, Lytton (1921). ''Queen Victoria''. London: Chatto and Windus. pp. 97–98 Ernest and Louise were separated in 1824 and were officially divorced on 31 March 1826. As heirs to Coburg, the children remained with their father. Louise died in 1831. 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 ...
on 23 December 1832, Ernest married his niece Duchess Marie of Württemberg, the daughter of his sister Antoinette. They had no children. This marriage made Marie both Prince Albert's first cousin and his stepmother. Ernest had three illegitimate children: * Berta Ernestine von Schauenstein (26 January 1817Coburg, 15 August 1896), born to Sophie Fermepin de Marteaux. She married her first cousin Eduard Edgar Schmidt-Löwe von Löwenfels, the illegitimate son of her father's sister, Juliane. * Ernst Albert and Robert Ferdinand, twins born in 1838 to Margaretha Braun. They were created ''Freiherren von Bruneck'' in 1856.


Estates

After 1813, Ernest was a Prussian general and participated in military actions against
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
. He fought in the battles of Lützen and
Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
(1813), and drew in 1814 into the French fortress of Mainz. After the battle of Leipzig, he commanded the ''5. Armeekorps''. After the defeat of Napoleon in the
Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium), marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army (1804–1815), Frenc ...
, the
Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...
on 9 June 1815 gave Ernest an area of 450 square kilometres with 25,000 inhabitants around the town of St. Wendel. Its area was somewhat augmented by the second Treaty of Paris. In 1816, this estate received the name of Principality of Lichtenberg. Ernest sold it 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, ...
in 1834. In 1825,
Frederick IV, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg Frederick IV, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (Gotha (town), Gotha, 28 November 1774 – Gotha, 11 February 1825), was the last duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. He was the third but second surviving son of Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg a ...
, who was the uncle of Ernest's first wife Louise, died without an heir. This resulted in a rearrangement of the Ernestine duchies. It was only as a member of the Ernestine dynasty (and not as Louise's husband) that Ernest had a claim on the late duke's estates. However, he was at that time in the process of divorcing Louise, and the other branches used this as a leverage to drive a better bargain for themselves by insisting that he should not inherit Gotha. They reached a compromise on 12 November 1826: Ernest received Gotha, but had to cede
Saalfeld Saalfeld () is a town in Germany, capital of the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district of Thuringia. It is best known internationally as the ancestral seat of the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha branch of the Saxon House of Wettin. Geography The town is situated ...
to
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 ...
. He subsequently became "Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha". Although he had given a constitution to Coburg in 1821, he did not interfere in the system of government in Gotha. At Coburg, Ernest was responsible for various construction projects, including the establishment of the '' Hoftheater'' in its new building. The ''Schlossplatz'' as it appears today is largely due to work under his rule. He is chiefly remembered for the economic, educational and constitutional development of his territories, and for the significant international position attained by the house of Coburg.


Death and burial

Ernest died on 29 January 1844 and was initially buried in the Morizkirche but later reinterred in the newly built mausoleum in '.


Honours

He received the following awards:''Staatshandbücher für das Herzogtum Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha'' (1843), "Genealogie des Herzoglichen Hauses
pp. xxiii-xxiv
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Ancestry


References

* August Beck: '' Ernst I.: Herzog Ernst Anton Karl Ludwig von Sachsen-Koburg-Gotha. In: ''
Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB; ) 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 Academy of Sciences between 1875 and 1912 in 56 volumes, printed in Lei ...
'' (ADB). Band 6, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1877, p. 313–317. * Carl-Christian Dressel: ''Die Entwicklung von Verfassung und Verwaltung in Sachsen-Coburg 1800–1826 im Vergleich.'' Duncker & Humblot Berlin 2007, . * Friedrich Knorr
Ernst I., Herzog von Sachsen-Coburg-Saalfeld
In: ''Neue Deutsche Biographie'' (NDB). Band 4, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1959, , pp. 620. * Heide Schulz: ''Freue Dich, Coburg. Die Ode H. C. A. Eichstädts zum Royal Wedding 1840'', in: ''Coburger Geschichtsblätter'' 20, 2012, p. 25–54, ISSN 0947-0336. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ernest 01 Of Saxe-Coburg And Gotha, Duke 1784 births 1844 deaths People from Coburg Dukes of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Princes of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Dukes of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld Burials at the Ducal Family Mausoleum, Glockenburg Cemetery, Coburg Prussian commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Fourth Degree Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Grand Crosses of the Order of Christ (Portugal) Extra Knights Companion of the Garter Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour Military personnel from Bavaria 18th-century German nobility