Prince Eduard of Saxe-Altenburg (

Hildburghausen Hildburghausen (IPA adapted from: ) is a town in Thuringia in central Germany, capital of the district Hildburghausen. Geography It is situated in the Franconian part of Thuringia south of the Thuringian Forest, in the valley of the Werra river ...

, 3 July 1804 –

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, 16 May 1852), was a German prince of the ducal house of

Saxe-Hildburghausen Saxe-Hildburghausen () was an Ernestine duchy in the southern side of the present State of Thuringia in Germany. It existed from 1680 to 1826 but its name and borders are currently used by the District of Hildburghausen. History After the Duk ...

(of

Saxe-Altenburg Saxe-Altenburg (german: Sachsen-Altenburg, links=no) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine branch of the House of Wettin in present-day Thuringia. It was one of the smallest of the German states with an area of 1323 square kilometer ...

from 1826).

Family

He was the seventh but fourth surviving son of

Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen (29 April 1763 in Hildburghausen – 29 September 1834 in Altenburg), was duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen (1780–1826) and duke of Saxe-Altenburg (1826–1834). Biography He was the youngest child, but only ...

(of Saxe-Altenburg from 1826) and

Duchess Charlotte Georgine of Mecklenburg-Strelitz , succession = Duchess consort of Saxe-Hildburghausen , image = Charlottesahi1800.JPG , caption = The Duchess of Saxe-Hildburghausen, 1800 , reign = 3 September 1785 – 14 May 1818 , spouse = , issue = , issue ...

Life

Military career

Eduard accompanied his nephew

Otto Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', ''Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fro ...

to Greece as head of the Bavarian military contingent. After the

London Conference of 1832 The London Conference of 1832 was an international conference convened to establish a stable government in Greece. Negotiations between the three Great Powers (Britain, France and Russia) resulted in the establishment of the Kingdom of Greece unde ...

had decided that Greece should have a monarchy, it was offered to Otto, who accepted, and he became the first King of the newly independent Greece in 1832, and the Bavarians led by Otto arrived in the same year. Otto made Eduard governor of

Nafplio Nafplio ( ell, Ναύπλιο) is a coastal city located in the Peloponnese in Greece and it is the capital of the regional unit of Argolis and an important touristic destination. Founded in antiquity, the city became an important seaport in the ...

. Eduard's stay in Greece was brief, however, and he had returned to Bavaria by 1834, where he served as a senior officer. He served as a commander of the Bavarian forces in the

First Schleswig War The First Schleswig War (german: Schleswig-Holsteinischer Krieg) was a military conflict in southern Denmark and northern Germany rooted in the Schleswig-Holstein Question, contesting the issue of who should control the Duchies of Schleswig, ...

on the side of the

German Confederation The German Confederation (german: Deutscher Bund, ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, w ...

. He remained in military service until a year before his death in 1852.

Marriages and issue

He married firstly in

Sigmaringen Sigmaringen (Swabian German, Swabian: ''Semmerenga'') is a town in southern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Situated on the upper Danube, it is the capital of the Sigmaringen (district), Sigmaringen district. Sigmaringen is renowne ...

on 25 July 1835 to

Princess Amalie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen , title = Princess Eduard of Saxe-Altenburg , image = , caption = , spouse =Prince Eduard of Saxe-Altenburg(m. 1835) , issue = Princess Therese, Duchess of Dalarna Antoinette, Duchess of Anhalt Prince Ludwig Josep ...

. They had four children: # Therese Amalie Karoline Josephine Antoinette (b. Ansbach, 21 December 1836 - d. Stockholm, 9 November 1914), married on 16 April 1864 to Prince August of Sweden. # Antoinette Charlotte Marie Josephine Karoline Frida (b. Bamberg, 17 April 1838 - d. Berchtesgaden, 13 October 1908), married on 22 April 1854 to

Frederick I, Duke of Anhalt , image = Friedrich I Anhalt.jpg , caption = Frederick I, Duke of Anhalt , succession = Duke of Anhalt , reign = 22 May 1871 – 24 January 1904 , coronation = , predecessor = Leopold IV , successor ...

. # Ludwig Joseph Karl Georg Friedrich (b. Bamberg, 24 September 1839 - d. Munich, 13 February 1844). # Johann Friedrich Joseph Karl (b. Sigmaringen, 8 January 1841 - d. Munich, 25 February 1844). He married secondly in

Greiz Greiz () is a town in the state of Thuringia, Germany, and is the capital of the district of Greiz. Greiz is situated in eastern Thuringia, east of state capital Jena, on the river ''White Elster''. Greiz has a large park in its center (Fürstl ...

on 8 March 1842 to Princess Luise Caroline Reuss of Greiz, daughter of Heinrich XIX. They had two children: # Albert Heinrich Joseph Carl Viktor Georg Friedrich (b. Munich, 14 April 1843 - d. Serrahn, 22 May 1902). He married first Princess Marie of Prussia and secondly

Duchess Helene of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Duchess Helene of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (16 January 1857 – 28 August 1936) was a daughter of Duke Georg August of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and his wife, Grand Duchess Catherine Mikhailovna of Russia. She was the second wife of Prince Albert of Saxe-A ...

. # Marie Gasparine Amalie Antoinette Karoline Elisabeth Luise (b. Munich, 28 June 1845 - d. Sondershausen, 5 July 1930), married on 12 June 1869 to

Charles Gonthier, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen Charles Gonthier, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen (german: Karl Günther, Fürst von Schwarzburg-Sondershausen; 7 August 1830 – 28 March 1909) was the ruler of the principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, a constituent state of the Ger ...

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eduard Of Saxe-Altenburg, Prince House of Saxe-Altenburg People from Hildburghausen 1804 births 1852 deaths Princes of Saxe-Altenburg Sons of monarchs