Frederick III, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (14 April 1699 – 10 March 1772), was a duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg.

Biography

He was born 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 ...

, the eldest son of

Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (28 July 1676 – 23 March 1732), was a duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. He was born in Gotha, the fifth child and first son of Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and Magdalena Sibylle of Sa ...

and Magdalene Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst. After the death of his father, in 1732, Frederick III assumed the duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. In 1734 he began a flourishing soldier trade with the

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

, to the Prince of Waldeck and to the

King of Prussia The monarchs of Prussia were members of the House of Hohenzollern who were the hereditary rulers of the former German state of Prussia from its founding in 1525 as the Duchy of Prussia. The Duchy had evolved out of the Teutonic Order, a Roman C ...

, which put him into the position to create a tax in his own duchy. The duchy had to suffer for Frederick with difficulty in the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

and he forced the duchy into a war with his neighbour, duke Anton Ulrich of Saxe-Meiningen (The "''Wasunger War''").

Issue

In Gotha on 17 September 1729, Frederick married Luise Dorothea of Saxe-Meiningen, his first cousin. They had nine children: # Frederick Louis, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (b. Gotha, 20 January 1735 – d. Gotha, 9 June 1756) died unmarried. # Louis (b. Gotha, 25 October 1735 – d. Gotha, 26 October 1735) died young. # stillborn son (Gotha, 25 October 1735), twin of Louis. # stillborn twin sons (1739). # Fredericka Louise (b. Gotha, 30 January 1741 – d. Gotha, 5 February 1776) died unmarried. #

Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (Gotha (town), Gotha, 30 January 1745 – Gotha, 20 April 1804) was the reigning Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg from 1772 to 1804. He was the third but second surviving son of Frederick III, Duke of Saxe-Go ...

(b. Gotha, 30 January 1745 – d. Gotha, 20 April 1804). # Sophie (b. Gotha, 9 March 1746 – d. Gotha, 30 March 1746) died young. #

August August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Southern Hemisphere, August is the seasonal equivalent of February in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, August ...

(b. Gotha, 14 August 1747 – d. Gotha, 28 September 1806). From 1748 to 1755 he was regent of the duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach on behalf of Ernst August II Konstantin. From 1750, he acted as regent alongside his kinsmen Franz Josias, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. He died in Gotha, aged 72.

Ancestors

References

* * Christian Ferdinand Schulze, ''Leben des Herzogs von Sachsen-Gotha und Altenburg Friedrich II.''
Digitaliat
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Frederick 03 of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Duke 1699 births 1772 deaths House of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg Knights of the Garter People from Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg People from Gotha (town) Dukes of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)