- Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Prince Ferdinand Georg August of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (
March 28 1785 -August 27 1851 ) was a prince of thehouse of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and a general of cavalry in theAustro-Hungarian Army during theNapoleonic Wars .Birth and family
Ferdinand was born at
Coburg as Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, the second son ofFrancis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and of his wife, CountessAugusta Reuss-Ebersdorf . In 1826 his title changed from "prince of Saxe-Coburg and Saalfeld" to "prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha" when his brother Duke Ernst I made a territorial exchange with other members of the family.Ferdinand's nephews and nieces included Queen
Victoria of the United Kingdom and her husband Prince Albert, as well as Empress Carlota of Mexico, and her brother KingLeopold II of Belgium .Military career
On
December 10 1791 Ferdinand was commissioned as Unterleutnant in the Dragoon-Regiment Coburg Nr. 6. He was promoted toOberleutnant onMarch 1 1796 and to Second-Rittmeister onNovember 18 1798 . OnFebruary 1 1802 he transferred to theAustro-Hungarian Army serving in the Chevauxleger-Regiment Fürst Rosenberg in which he was promoted toMajor onSeptember 29 1804 . OnJanuary 1 1805 he transferred to the Husaren-Regiment Graf Blankenstein Nr. 6 in which he was promoted toOberstleutnant onAugust 6 1805 .On
September 15 1808 Ferdinand becameOberst in the Husaren-Regiment Erzherzog Ferdinand d'Este Nr. 3. It was in this regiment that he served in theWar of the Fifth Coalition under Field Marshall Prince Hohenzollern. He received the knight's cross of theMilitary Order of Maria Theresa . Before theBattle of Wagram he was named General of the Kavallerie Fürst Liechtenstein. OnApril 15 1811 he was named Generalmajor.During the
War of the Sixth Coalition Ferdinand fought at theBattle of Kulm . In 1813 he fought at theBattle of Leipzig . In 1814 he received the commander's cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa.On
May 8 1822 Ferdinand became Inhaber (proprietor) of the Uhlanen-Regiment Fürst Karl Schwarzenberg. OnNovember 22 1828 he became Inhaber of the Husaren-Regiment Nr. 8. Shortly thereafter he was promoted to the rank of General der Kavallerie.Marriage and children
In
Vienna onNovember 30 1815 , Ferdinand married PrincessMaria Antonia Koháry , daughter and heiress ofFerenc József, Fürst Koháry de Csábrág et Szitnya . When Antonia's father died in 1826, she inherited his estates inSlovakia andHungary . Ferdinand then added the surname "Koháry" to his own.Ferdinand and Antonia had four children all of whom were raised Catholic:
# Ferdinand, King Consort of Portugal (1816 - 1885).
# August (1818 - 1881); he was the father of Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria.
# Victoria (1822 - 1857), marriedLouis, Duke of Nemours .
# Leopold (1824 - 1884).Death
Ferdinand died at Vienna. He is buried in the Mausoleum auf dem Glockenberg in Coburg.
Bibliography
" [http://www.literature.at/webinterface/library/ALO-BOOK_V01?objid=11806&zoom=3&ocr=&page=394&gobtn=Go%21 Biographisches Lexikon des Kaisertums Österreich] ", II, 392-394.
Ancestry
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1= 1. Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
2= 2.Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
3= 3. Princess Augusta Reuss of Ebersdorf
4= 4.Ernest Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
5= 5.Duchess Sophia Antonia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
6= 6.Heinrich XXIV, Count of Reuss-Ebersdorf
7= 7.Karoline Ernestine of Erbach-Schönberg
8= 8.Francis Josias, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
9= 9.Princess Anna Sophie of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt
10= 10.Ferdinand Albert II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
11= 11. Antonietta Amalie of Brunswick-Blankenburg
12= 12. Heinrich XXIX, Count of Reuss-Ebersdorf
13= 13. Sophie Theodora of Castell-Remlingen
14= 14. Georg August, Count of Erbach-Schönberg
15= 15.Ferdinande Henriette, Countess of Stolbert-Gedern
16= 16.John Ernest IV, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
17= 17. Charlotte Johanne of Waldeck-Pyrmont
18= 18. Ludwig Friedrich I, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt
19= 19.Anna Sophie of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
20= 20.Ferdinand Albert I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
21= 21. Christine of Hesse-Eschwege
22= 22.Louis Rudolph, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
23= 23.Princess Christine Louise of Oettingen-Oettingen
24= 24. Heinrich X, Count of Reuss-Lobenstein
25= 25. Countess Erdmuthe Benigna of Solms-Laubach
26= 26. Wolfgang Dietrich, Count of Castell-Castell
27= 27. Countess Dorothea Renata of Zinzendorf
28= 28. Georg Albrecht II, Count of Erbach-Fürstenau
29= 29. Countess Anna Dorothea Christine of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg
30= 30. Ludwig Christian, Count of Stolberg-Gedern
31= 31. Duchess Christine of Mecklenburg-Güstrow
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