House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

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House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Country Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Kingdom of Belgium, Kingdom of Portugal, Tsardom of Bulgaria, United Kingdom
Parent house House of Wettin
Titles
Founder Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Final ruler Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Current head Andreas, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Founding year 1826
Dissolution 1918
Ethnicity Saxon
Cadet branches House of Windsor

House of Koháry
House of Braganza-Coburg

The House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was formerly the Royal House of several European monarchies, and branches currently reign in Belgium through the descendants of Leopold I, and in the United Kingdom and its associated Commonwealth realms through the descendants of Prince Albert. In the United Kingdom, King George V changed the name from Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to the House of Windsor, to avoid a German look, in 1917. The House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha is a line of the Saxon House of Wettin.

Contents

[edit] History

Other members of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha came to rule in various other European countries. Ernst's younger brother Léopold became King of the Belgians in 1831, and his descendants continue to serve as Belgian Head of State. Léopold's only daughter, Charlotte of Belgium, ruled as Empress Carlota of Mexico, consort to Maximilian I of Mexico in the 1860s. The short lived monarchy in Mexico would have had its roots in the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Ernst's nephew Ferdinand married Queen Maria II of Portugal, and his descendants continued to rule Portugal until that country became a republic in 1910.

Another scion of the family, also named Ferdinand, became Prince, and then Tsar, of Bulgaria, and his descendants continued to rule there until 1946. The current head of the House of Bulgaria, the former King Simeon II, goes by the name Simeon Sakskoburggotski and on 24 July 2001 became Bulgaria's Prime Minister. This marked the first occasion in history where a former monarch returned to a position of power via democratic election.

In 1826, a cadet branch of the house inherited the Hungarian princely estate of Kohary, and converted to Catholic creed. The Princes of Kohary were wealthy and are magnates of Hungary and Fuerst in the Austrian Empire. They managed to marry an imperial princess of Brazil, an archduchess of Austria, a royal princess of "the French", a royal princess of Belgium and a royal princess of Saxony. The members of the Ducal House consisted of all male-line descendents of Johann Ernst, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld legitimately born of an equal marriage, males and females (the latter until their marriage), their wives in equal and authorised marriages, and their widows until remarriage.

According to the House law of the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha the full title of the Duke was:

Wir, Ernst, Herzog zu Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha, Jülich, Cleve und Berg, auch Engern und Westphalen, Landgraf in Thüringen, Markgraf zu Meißen, gefürsteter Graf zu Henneberg, Graf zu der Mark und Ravensberg, Herr zu Ravenstein und Tonna usw.

Translation: We, Ernst, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Jülich, Cleves and Berg, also Angria and Westphalia, Landgrave in Thuringia, Margrave of Meissen, Princely Count of Henneberg, Count of the Mark and Ravensberg, Lord of Ravenstein and Tonna, et cetera.

[edit] Branches

[edit] Main branch

[edit] Dukes, 1826–1918

[edit] Heads of the House since 1918

[edit] Other branches

[edit] Kingdom of Belgium

[edit] Names of the Belgian Royal House

Because of the First World War, King Albert I decided in 1920 to no longer use the name Saxe-Coburg and Gotha as the official family name of the Belgian royal family. The decision was done in silence and not enacted in an official royal decree. Therefore there is still some confusion in other countries and even in Belgium that Saxe-Coburg and Gotha still is the family name used by the Belgian royals. The family name was changed to van België, de Belgique and von Belgien ("of Belgium"). As Belgium is a country with three official languages, it was chosen to employ all three language versions as official family name with none having precedence over the other, probably making the Belgian royals the only family in the world with three different but equally valid family names. It is this family name which is used on the royals' identity cards and which they use in all official documents (marriage licenses, etc.)[citation needed]

On the accession of a member of the royal family to the Belgian throne, his/her family name is officially changed to der Belgen—des Belges—der Belgier ("of the Belgians") to denote the fact that Belgium is a popular monarchy.[citation needed]

[edit] Kingdom of Portugal

Note: In Portugal the Royal House is usually not distinguished from the House of Braganza, and when so, it is known as the House of Braganza-Saxe-Coburg and Gotha or Braganza-Wettin.

[edit] Tsardom of Bulgaria

[edit] United Kingdom

When her descendants inherit the throne, the patriline will no longer belong to the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, but will instead belong to the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, a branch of the House of Oldenburg.

According to the official website of the British Monarchy, however, "the only British monarch of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha was King Edward VII, who reigned for nine years…. King George V replaced the German-sounding title with that of Windsor during the First World War. The name Saxe-Coburg-Gotha survived in other European monarchies, including the former monarchies of Portugal and Bulgaria and in the Belgian Royal Family until 1920."[1]

[edit] Names of the British Royal House

Ernst I's younger son, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, became Prince Consort to Queen Victoria, Ernst's niece through his sister Viktoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. As a consequence of their marriage, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha became the Royal House name of the British Royal Family from the accession of Edward VII in 1901 until changed to Windsor by King George V in 1917 because a German name was deemed unpatriotic during World War I.

Contrary to common belief, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was not the personal surname of either Prince Albert, his wife or their descendants. Neither Albert nor Victoria, in fact, knew their actual surname (royalty had no need of and never used such common labels) until in the late 19th century Queen Victoria launched an inquiry to identify her surname. After an exhaustive search her advisors concluded that Prince Albert (and thus the Queen — by virtue of her marriage) had the surname Wettin.

George V changed both Wettin and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to Windsor in 1917. However, an Order-in-Council in 1960 again separated the Royal House name and the personal family surname of the monarch and her family. It decreed that while the Royal House name would remain Windsor, the descendants of Queen Elizabeth II and of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh would use the surname Mountbatten-Windsor. However, Prince Philip belongs to the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg/House of Oldenburg, and, technically, so will his descendants in the male line.

[edit] Patrilineal descent

Patrilineal descent, descent from father to son, is the principle behind membership in royal houses, as it can be traced back through the generations—which means that the historically accurate royal house of the monarchs of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha was the House of Wettin.

Descent before Conrad the Great is taken from [2] and may be inaccurate.

House of Wettin

  1. Burkhard I, Duke of Thuringia, d. 870
  2. Burchard, Duke of Thuringia, 836–908
  3. (possibly) Burkhard III of Grabfeldgau, 866–913
  4. Dedi I, Count of Hessegau, 896–957
  5. (probably) Dietrich I of Wettin, d. 976
  6. (possibly) Dedi II, Count of Hessegau, 946–1009
  7. Dietrich II of Wettin, 991–1034
  8. Thimo I of Wettin, d. 1099
  9. Thimo II the Brave, Count of Wettin, d. 1118
  10. Conrad, Margrave of Meissen, 1098–1157
  11. Otto II, Margrave of Meissen, 1125–1190
  12. Dietrich I, Margrave of Meissen, 1162–1221
  13. Henry III, Margrave of Meissen, c. 1215–1288
  14. Albert II, Margrave of Meissen, 1240–1314
  15. Frederick I, Margrave of Meissen, 1257–1323
  16. Frederick II, Margrave of Meissen, 1310–1349
  17. Frederick III, Landgrave of Thuringia, 1332–1381
  18. Frederick I, Elector of Saxony, 1370–1428
  19. Frederick II, Elector of Saxony, 1412–1464
  20. Ernest, Elector of Saxony, 1441–1486
  21. John, Elector of Saxony, 1468–1532
  22. John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony, 1503–1554
  23. Johann Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Weimar, 1530–1573
  24. John II, Duke of Saxe-Weimar, 1570–1605
  25. Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha, 1601–1675
  26. John Ernest IV, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, 1658–1729
  27. Francis Josias, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, 1697–1764
  28. Ernest Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, 1724–1800
  29. Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, 1750–1806
  30. Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, 1784–1844
  31. Albert, Prince Consort, 1819–1861
  32. Edward VII of the United Kingdom, 1841–1910
  33. George V of the United Kingdom, 1865–1936

[edit] References

  1. ^ Bulgaria: Timeline—BBC, London, 27 June 2007. Retrieved on 2007-07-28.
  2. ^ Former king marks first year as Bulgarian Prime Minister—Radio Free Europe, 26 July 2002. Retrieved on 2007-07-28.
  3. ^ Bulgarian (or Spanish) Prime Minister?—Bulgaria Development Gateway, 24 July 2003. Retrieved on 2007-07-28.
  4. ^ Lord Alderdice speaking in the UK's House of Lords on 19 May 2005, Hansard, Lords. Retrieved on 2007-07-28.

[edit] External links

*Royal House*
House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Cadet branch of the House of Wettin
New title Ruling House of the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
1826–1918		 Duchy Abolished
Ruling House of the Kingdom of Belgium
1831–present		 Incumbent
Preceded by
House of Braganza		 Ruling House of the Kingdom of Portugal
1853–1910		 Monarchy Abolished
Preceded by
House of Battenberg		 Ruling House of the Tsardom of Bulgaria
1887–1946
Preceded by
House of Hanover		 Ruling House of the United Kingdom
1901–present
Name changed to House of Windsor, 1917		 Incumbent
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