George (; 8 August 1832 – 15 October 1904) was king of

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

and member of the

House of Wettin The House of Wettin () was a dynasty which included Saxon monarch, kings, Prince Elector, prince-electors, dukes, and counts, who once ruled territories in the present-day German federated states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynas ...

Early life

George was born in the Saxon capital

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

. He was the second son of King John of Saxony (1801–1873) and his wife, Princess Amalie Auguste of Bavaria (1801–1877), daughter of King

Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria Maximilian I Joseph (; 27 May 1756 – 13 October 1825) was Duke of Zweibrücken from 1795 to 1799, prince-elector of Bavaria (as Maximilian IV Joseph) from 1799 to 1806, then King of Bavaria (as Maximilian I Joseph) from 1806 to 1825. He was ...

(1756–1825).

Marriage

On 11 May 1859 at Belém Palace,

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

, George married, Infanta Maria Anna of Portugal, eldest surviving daughter of Queen Maria II of Portugal and her consort, Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry, and the younger sister of King Pedro V of Portugal. Maria Anna died young and George stayed unmarried for the rest of his long life.

Issue

Military career

George served under his brother Albert's command during the

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War (German: ''Preußisch-Österreichischer Krieg''), also known by many other names,Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Second War of Unification, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), ''Deutsc ...

of 1866 and in the

Franco-German War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Jan ...

. In the re-organisation of the army which accompanied the march towards

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, his brother the Crown Prince gained a separate command over the 4th army (Army of the Meuse) consisting of the Saxon XII corps, the Prussian Guard corps, and the IV (Prussian Saxony) corps and George succeeded him in command of the XII corps.

King of Saxony

Prince George was a

Generalfeldmarschall ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (; from Old High German ''marahscalc'', "marshal, stable master, groom"; ; often abbreviated to ''Feldmarschall'') was a rank in the armies of several German states and the Holy Roman Empire, (''Reichsgeneralfeldmarsch ...

before his ascension. It gradually became clear that George's elder brother, Albert (1828–1902), and his wife, Queen Carola (1833–1907), would not have any children, thereby making George the

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of a person with a better claim to the position in question. This is in contrast to an heir app ...

to the throne. He succeeded Albert as King of Saxony on 19 June 1902, albeit for just a brief two-year reign. On 15 October 1904 he died in

Pillnitz Pillnitz is a quarter in the east of Dresden, Germany. It can be reached by bus, ship, walking along the river or by bicycle. Pillnitz is most famous for its Baroque palace and park, the Pillnitz Castle. Pillnitz Palace consists of the Rivers ...

and was succeeded by his eldest son, Frederick Augustus III (1865–1932), who was deposed in 1918. King George was a controversial figure. He divorced by royal decree his eldest son from his daughter-in-law, Crown Princess Luise. Luise's flight from Dresden was due to her father-in-law's threatening to have her interned in a mental asylum at the

Sonnenstein Castle The Sonnenstein Castle is a castle in Pirna, near Dresden, Germany. It housed a mental hospital, which operated from 1811 to the end of World War II in 1945. During the War, it functioned as an Sonnenstein Nazi Death Institute, extermination cen ...

for life.

Honours and awards

Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Saxony 1806-1918

Ancestry

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:George Of Saxony 1832 births 1904 deaths Nobility from Dresden Field marshals of Saxony Field marshals of the German Empire German military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War People of the Austro-Prussian War House of Wettin Kings of Saxony Burials at Dresden Cathedral Saxon princes German Roman Catholics Members of the First Chamber of the Diet of the Kingdom of Saxony Albertine branch Military personnel from Dresden Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary 2 2