Prince Albert of Saxe-Altenburg (Albert Heinrich Joseph Carl Viktor Georg Friedrich;

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 ...

, 14 April 1843 – Serrahn, 22 May 1902) was a German prince of the ducal house 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 kilomete ...

Biography

Family and early life

Prince Albert was the eldest son (third in order of birth but the only one who survived to adulthood) of

Prince Eduard of Saxe-Altenburg Prince Eduard of Saxe-Altenburg (Hildburghausen, 3 July 1804 – Munich, 16 May 1852), was a German prince of the ducal house of Saxe-Hildburghausen (of Saxe-Altenburg from 1826). Family He was the seventh but fourth surviving son of Frederic ...

(youngest 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 ...

) and his second wife, Princess Luise Caroline Reuss of Greiz. He entered the Russian army early in life, and attained the rank of Major-General in this service, but subsequently exchanged it for the Prussian army, where he became a general of cavalry.

Marriages

He was first married in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

on 6 May 1885 to Princess Marie of Prussia, widow of Prince Henry of the Netherlands. They had two daughters: * Princess Olga Elisabeth Carola Victoria Maria Anna Agnes Antoinette of Saxe-Altenburg (Schloß Albrechtsberg, 17 April 1886 – Münster, 13 January 1955); married on 20 May 1913 Karl Frederick, Count of Pückler-Burghauss and Freiherr von Groditz (1886–1945). * Marie ( Schloß Albrechtsberg, 6 June 1888 –

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, 12 November 1947); married on 20 April 1911 Heinrich XXXV, Prince von Reuss of Köstritz (1887–1936, son of

Heinrich VII, Prince Reuss of Köstritz Heinrich VII, Prince Reuss of Köstritz (german: Heinrich VII. Reuß zu Köstritz; 14 July 1825, Klipphausen – 2 May 1906, Trzebiechów) was a German diplomat. Early life Prince Heinrich VII Reuss of Köstritz was born in 1825 as the f ...

); they divorced in 1921, and Heinrich remarried to

Princess Marie Adelheid of Lippe-Biesterfeld , house = Lippe , father = Count Rudolf of Lippe-Biesterfeld , mother = Princess Luise von Ardeck } Princess Marie Adelheid of Lippe (30 August 1895 – 25 December 1993) was a socialite and writer who was acti ...

. Marie adopted in 1942 Theodor Franz ( Graf Praschma) von Sachsen-Altenburg (1934–2012). Princess Marie died in 1888 from the effects of puerperal fever. A few years later on 13 December 1891, at

Remplin Remplin is a village and a former municipality in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Since 7 June 2009, it is part of the municipality Malchin. Palace Complex The town includes the remains of a once lar ...

, Albert married

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 ...

. The couple had no children. Albert was a conspicuous figure in Berlin society, and was a great favorite due to his "clever" mind, genial disposition, pleasant address, and enthusiasm as a sportsman. Marie died in 1888. Sources reported that the Emperor′s "arbitrary manners" became so intolerable to Albert and others, as they were used to the days of social courtesy under the old

Wilhelm I William I or Wilhelm I (german: Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig; 22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888) was King of Prussia from 2 January 1861 and German Emperor from 18 January 1871 until his death in 1888. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the f ...

. Prince Albert died on 22 May 1902 at

, his death "sincerely regretted" by all the royal houses in Germany.

Honours

He received the following orders and decorations:''Staatshandbücher für das Herzogtum Sachsen-Altenburg'' (1902), "Genealogie des Herzoglichen Hauses
pp. 7
8

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Albert Of Saxe-Altenburg 1843 births 1902 deaths Nobility from Munich House of Saxe-Altenburg Generals of Cavalry (Prussia) Princes of Saxe-Altenburg Recipients of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Fourth Degree Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 3rd class Recipients of the Iron Cross, 2nd class