Georg, Prince of Saxe-Meiningen

Georg
Prince of Saxe-Meiningen
Head of the House of Saxe-Meiningen
Reign	29 December 1941 – 6 January 1946
Predecessor	Prince Ernst
Successor	Prince Bernhard
Spouse	Countess Klara Maria of Korff genannt Schmising-Kerssenbrock
Issue
Prince Anton Ulrich Prince Frederick Alfred Princess Marie Elisabeth Regina, Crown Princess of Austria
House	House of Saxe-Meiningen
Father	Frederick Johann of Saxe-Meiningen
Mother	Adelaide of Lippe-Biesterfeld
Born	11 October 1892(1892-10-11) Kassel
Died	6 January 1946(1946-01-06) (aged 53) Tschernpowetz, Siberia

Georg, Prince of Saxe-Meiningen (11 October 1892 – 6 January 1946) was the head of the house of Saxe-Meiningen from 1941 until his death.

Biography

A Medal with the depiction of Prince George, issued in 1978 (obverse)

He was born in Kassel the eldest son of Prince Frederick Johann of Saxe-Meiningen (1861-1914) and Countess Adelaide of Lippe-Biesterfeld (1870–1948). His father was a son of Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen and his mother a daughter of Count Ernst of Lippe-Biesterfeld. Georg studied law at the Universities of Munich and Jena.^[1]

Georg broke off his studies to serve in World War I and saw action as a Captain in a cavalry regiment. His uncle Bernhard III abdicated on 10 November 1918 following the German Revolution as the German monarchies were abolished. After the war he resumed his law studies and for a time served as a substitute judge for the town of Hildburghausen in the Free State of Thuringia.^[1] On 1 May 1933 he joined the Nazis, becoming NSDAP member # 2.594.794

After the death of his uncle Ernst on 29 December 1941, Georg succeeded to the headship of the house of Saxe-Meiningen and assumed the title of Duke of Saxe-Meiningen and style Georg III.

Georg died in the Russian prisoner of war camp near Cherepovets (Tscherepowetz in German) in Northern Russia. His heir was his second and only surviving son Prince Frederick Alfred who renounced the succession, being a monk in 1953, allowing it to pass to his uncle Bernhard.

Marriage and children

He was married in Freiburg im Breisgau on 22 February 1919 to Countess Klara-Maria of Korff genannt Schmising-Kerssenbrock (Darmstadt, 31 May 1895 - Högerhof bei Türnitz, Lower Austria, 10 February 1992). They had four children:

Name	Birth	Death	Notes
Prince Anton Ulrich	23 December 1919	20 May 1940(1940-05-20) (aged 20)	Killed in Action at Albert-sur-Somme during World War II
Prince Frederick Alfred	5 April 1921	18 September 1997(1997-09-18) (aged 76)	Renounced the succession allowing it to pass to his uncle. A Carthusian monk since 1953.
Princess Marie Elisabeth	18 December 1922	31 March 1923(1923-03-31) (aged 0)
Princess Regina	6 January 1925	3 February 2010(2010-02-03) (aged 85)	married (1951) Otto von Habsburg.

Ancestry

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Kaiser's Nephew a Petty Judge". New York Times. 1922-10-29. p. 103. 

Georg, Prince of Saxe-Meiningen House of Saxe-Meiningen Cadet branch of the House of Wettin Born: 11 October 1892 Died: 6 January 1946
Titles in pretence
Preceded by Prince Ernst	— TITULAR — Duke of Saxe-Meiningen 29 December 1941 – 6 January 1946 Reason for succession failure: Duchy abolished in 1918	Succeeded by Prince Bernhard