Charles Edward, last reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, reigned 1900-1918; Credit – Wikipedia
On March 26, 1675, Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg died. Initially, his sons governed the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, as set out in their father’s will. On February 24, 1680, the seven brothers concluded a treaty of separation, with each brother getting a portion of the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha Altenburg and becoming a Duke.
- Friedrich I became Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
- Albrecht became Duke of Saxe-Coburg
- Bernhard I became Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
- Heinrich became Duke of Saxe-Römhild
- Christian became Duke of Saxe-Eisenberg
- Ernst became Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen
- Johann Ernst IV became Duke of Saxe-Saalfeld
Albrecht of Saxe-Coburg and Heinrich of Saxe-Römhild died without male heirs. Upon their deaths, Johann Ernest took possession of Coburg (in 1699) and Römhild (in 1714). In 1699, Johann Ernst became Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld.
In 1825, 145 years after the initial split, the House of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg became extinct and the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg was split. Saxe-Gotha passed to the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld who in turn gave Saalfeld to the Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. The Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen received Saxe-Altenburg and gave the district of Hildburghausen to Saxe-Meiningen.
As a result:
- Ernst III, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld became Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Ernst I had two sons: his heir, the future Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the husband of Queen Victoria.
- The Duchy of Saxe-Hildburghausen ceased to exist. Friedrich, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen became Friedrich, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg.
- Bernhard II, Duke of Saxe-Meinigen remained Duke of Saxe-Meiningen but had the additional land that encompassed Hildburghausen and also Saalfeld.
- The Duchies of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Saxe-Altenburg, and Saxe-Meiningen continued to remain the same until the abolition of the German monarchies after World War I.
The territory that encompassed the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in now in the German states of Bavaria and Thuringia.
The Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha within the German Empire; Credit – By Milenioscuro – Own work based on: File:Deutsches Reich (Karte) Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha.svg, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=35265395
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Below is an indexed listing with links to biographical articles about the Saxe-Coburg- Saalfeld and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha families at Unofficial Royalty. Also listed below are links to the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha wedding articles and the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Content Areas.
House of Wettin – Dukes of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and Dukes of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1699-1918)
Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (1699 – 1826)
Family of Johann Ernst IV, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
- Johann Ernst IV, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (Duke of Saxe-Saalfeld from 1680 – 1699, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld from 1699 – 1729)
- Sophie Hedwig of Saxe-Merseburg
- Notable Issue: Christian Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (see below)
- Charlotte Johanna of Waldeck-Wildungen
- Notable Issue: Sophia Wilhelmina of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Princess of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt
- Notable Issue: Franz Josias, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (see below)
Christian Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
- Christian Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (reigned 1729 – 1745) morganatically married Christiane von Koss, no issue
Family of Franz Josias, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
- Franz Josias, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (reigned 1745 -1764)
- Anna Sophie of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt
- Notable Issue: Ernst Friedrich, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (see below)
Family of Ernst Friedrich, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
- Ernst Friedrich, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (reigned 1764 – 1800)
- Sophie Antonia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (wife of Ernst Friedrich)
- Notable Issue: Franz Friedrich Anton, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (see below)
Family of Franz Friedrich Anton, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
- Franz Friedrich Anton, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (reigned 1800 – 1806)
- Augusta Reuss of Erbesdorf, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (wife of Franz Friedrich Anton)
- Sophie of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Countess of Mensdorff-Pouilly
- Antoinette of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Duchess of Württemberg
- Juliane of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Grand Duchess Anna Feodorovna of Russia
- Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (see below)
- Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
- Notable Issue: Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, King Consort of Portugal married Queen Maria II of Portugal
- Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Duchess of Kent
- Karl, 3rd Prince of Leiningen (from first marriage to Emich Karl, 2nd Prince of Leiningen)
- Feodora of Leiningen, Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (from first marriage to Emich Karl, 2nd Prince of Leiningen)
- Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom (from second marriage to Prince Edward, Duke of Kent)
- Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, King Leopold I of the Belgians
- Charlotte of Wales (1st wife of Leopold)
- Louise-Marie of Orléans, Queen of the Belgians (2nd wife of Leopold)
Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1826 – 1918)
Family of Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
- Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld from 1806 – 1826, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha from 1826 – 1844)
- Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1st wife of Ernst I, divorced)
- Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (see below)
- Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Prince Consort of the United Kingdom
- Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom (wife of Albert)
- Victoria, Princess Royal, German Empress and Queen of Prussia
- King Edward VII of the United Kingdom
- Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine
- Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
- Princess Helena, Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein
- Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll
- Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught
- Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany
- Princess Beatrice, Princess Henry of Battenberg
- Marie of Württemberg, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (2nd wife of Ernst I, no issue)
Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
- Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (reigned 1844 – 1893)
- Alexandrine of Baden, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (wife of Ernst II, no issue)
Family of Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
- Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (reigned 1893 – 1900)
- Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, Duchess of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (wife of Alfred)
- Alfred of Edinburgh, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
- Marie of Edinburgh, Queen of Romania
- Victoria Melita of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Grand Duchess of Russia
- Alexandra of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg
- Beatrice of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Duchess of Galliera
Family of Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
- Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (reigned 1900 – 1918, monarchy abolished)
- Viktoria Adelheid of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (wife of Charles Edward)
Pretenders to the Throne
- LAST REIGNING: Carl Eduard, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
- Former: Friedrich Josias, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
- Current: Andreas, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Other Saxe Royals
- Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Princess of Wales (daughter of Friedrich II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg)
- Luise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (granddaughter of Friedrich II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg)
- Dorothea of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein (great-great-granddaughter of Franz Friedrich Anton, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld)
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Wedding Articles
- Wedding of Prince Albert of Sax-Coburg and Gotha and Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom
- Wedding of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna of Russia
- Wedding of Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden