House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Origins of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (1736) in the stucco ceiling of the Holy Cross Church, Coburg. Following the death of Duke Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha in 1675, his seven sons divided their inheritance in the Gothaer Hauptrezess of 1680. The youngest, John Ernest IV, received Saalfeld and became the progenitor of what later became the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. After the childless death of his brother Albert in 1699, a succession dispute over Saxe-Coburg ended in 1735 with most of the territory transferred to Johann Ernest's line, forming the duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. Johann Ernest's sons, Christian Ernest and Francis Josias, at first governed the newly formed duchy together. Following Christian Ernest's death in 1745, Francis Josias became the sole ruler and introduced primogeniture in 1747 to prevent future partitions. He was succeeded in turn by his descendants, Ernest Frederick, Francis, and finally Ernest Anton as Ernest I (1784–1844). For his military service against Napoleon, Ernest I received the Principality of Lichtenberg in 1816, but later sold it to Prussia in 1834 due to unrest and its distance from the core territories. Origins of the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was the link through which the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha came to the British throne in 1901, when his son Edward VII ascended the throne. The dynasty was later renamed the House of Windsor by George V in 1917. The first duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was Ernest I, who ruled from 1826 until his death in 1844. Before the territorial reorganization of 1826, he had reigned as Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (as Ernest III) from 1806 onward. Ernest's younger brother Leopold became King of the Belgians in 1831, and his descendants continue to serve as Belgian monarchs. Leopold's only daughter, Princess Charlotte of Belgium, was the consort of Maximilian I of Mexico, and she was known as Empress Carlota of Mexico in the 1860s. Ernest I's second son, Prince Albert (1819–1861), married his first cousin Queen Victoria in 1840 (Victoria's mother was a sister of Ernest I). Prince Albert thus is the progenitor of the United Kingdom's current royal family, called the House of Windsor since 1917. Cadet branches and royal houses in Coburg in April 1894 reunited with all her extended family, ranging from Nicholas II (soon-to-be tsar of Russia in the same year) to the Kaiser Wilhelm II and other relatives of the House. (click to view the photo on Commons and read about every person in detail) In 1826, a cadet branch of the house inherited the Hungarian princely estate of the Koháry family and converted to Roman Catholicism. Through this line its members contracted marriages with: • a queen regnant of Portugal; • an imperial princess of Brazil; • an archduchess of Austria; • a French royal princess; • a royal princess of Belgium; • a royal princess of Saxony. A scion of this branch, Ferdinand, became ruling Prince and then Tsar of Bulgaria, and his descendants continued to reign there until 1946. The current head of the Bulgarian branch of the family, the former tsar Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, was deposed and sent into exile after World War II. Under the name Simeon Sakskoburggotski he later served as Bulgaria's prime minister from 2001 to 2005. Ducal house, titles and residences The ducal house consisted of all male-line descendants of John Ernest IV, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld who were 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: There were two official residences, at Gotha and at Coburg. Accordingly, the whole ducal court, including the court theatre, moved twice a year: from Gotha to Coburg for the summer and from Coburg to Gotha for the winter. For the court theatre, two almost identical buildings were erected in 1840 in Gotha (destroyed in World War II) and in Coburg (now the Coburg State Theater), and thereafter maintained simultaneously. In addition to the residential castles, Friedenstein Palace in Gotha and Ehrenburg Palace in Coburg, the ducal family also used Schloss Reinhardsbrunn in Friedrichroda near Gotha, as well as Schloss Rosenau and Callenberg Castle in Coburg, and a hunting lodge, Greinburg Castle, in Grein. ==Branches==