Friedrich Josias, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Friedrich Josias Carl Eduard Ernst Kyrill Harald; 29 November 1918 – 23 January 1998) was the head of the Ducal Family of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and titular 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 1954 until his death. He was a great-grandson 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 ...

Early life

Friedrich Josias was born at Callenberg Castle, the third son and youngest child of

Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Charles Edward (Leopold Charles Edward George Albert; 19 July 18846 March 1954) was at various points in his life a British prince, a German duke, and a Nazi politician. He was the last ruling duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a state of the G ...

, and Princess Victoria Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. Charles Edward was forced to abdicate on 14 November 1918. In 1938, he entered the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

and participated in the occupation of Czechoslovakia, Poland and France. In 1941, he fought in Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union. He fell seriously ill in the winter of 1941. After his recovery, he fought as Oberleutnant in the Caucasus. In 1944, he was an Ordonnanzoffizier under Generalfeldmarschall

Erwin Rommel Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel (; 15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944), popularly known as The Desert Fox (, ), was a German '' Generalfeldmarschall'' (field marshal) during World War II. He served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of ...

on the French coast. He was stationed in June 1944 in Denmark under General von Hanneken, where he was captured by the British in May 1945 but released in autumn 1945. The third of three sons, Friedrich Josias was not expected to succeed as head of the ducal family. However, his eldest brother, Johann Leopold, married unequally and renounced his rights in 1932, and his other brother Hubertus was killed in action in 1943, thus leaving Friedrich Josias as the

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

. He succeeded to the headship upon the death of his father on 6 March 1954.

Marriages and issue

In Kassel on 25 January 1942, Friedrich Josias married his first cousin, Countess Viktoria-Luise of Solms-Baruth (13 March 1921 – 1 March 2003). This marriage ended in divorce on 19 September 1946. The couple had one son: # Andreas Michael Armin Siegfried Friedrich Hans Hubertus (21 March 1943 – 3 April 2025). In San Francisco on 14 February 1948, Friedrich Josias married secondly, Denyse Henrietta de Muralt (14 December 1923 – 25 April 2005). Friedrich Josias and Denyse were divorced on 17 September 1964. They had three children: #Maria Claudia Sibylla (22 May 1949 – 5 February 2016) - In 1971, Maria (Maria Claudia Sybilla) married Gion Schäfer (b. 1945). They have two daughters: Maria Christina Sybilla Schäfer (b. 1972) and Gianetta Antonia Schäfer (b. 1975). The couple divorced in 1998. Maria currently lives in Chile. #Beatrice Charlotte (15 July 1951), who married a distant cousin Prince Frederick Ernest of Saxe-Meiningen and had children #Adrian Vinzenz Eduard (18 October 1955 – 30 August 2011) - His first marriage was to Lea Rinderknecht in Berne, Switzerland in 1984. Lea was born in Zürich in 1960. They had two sons, Simon (b. 1985) and Daniel (b. 1988), both born in Berne. After Adrian’s divorce in 1993, he married a second time to Gertrud Krieg in 1997 in Berne. Gertrud was also of Swiss origin as she was born in Olten, Solothurn. The couple was childless. In

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

on 30 October 1964, Friedrich Josias married his third wife, Katrin Bremme (22 April 1940 – 13 July 2011). This marriage was childless. Friedrich Josias died, aged 79, in Amstetten, Austria.

References

Ancestry

{{DEFAULTSORT:Friedrich Josias Of Saxe-Coburg And Gotha, Prince House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (United Kingdom) Princes of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha British princes 1918 births 1998 deaths People from Coburg German Army officers of World War II Military personnel from Bavaria Sons of dukes Pretenders German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United Kingdom