The Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha announced his engagement today to Duchess Viktoria Adelheid, the daughter of Duke Friedrich of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. Duchess Viktoria Adelheid is the niece of Kaiserin Auguste Viktoria, while the future bridegroom is the nephew of King Edward VII, reports the New York Times.
The Duke and Kaiser Wilhelm II are first cousins, as both are grandsons of Queen Victoria.
The young Duke succeeded to the Coburg throne in 1900, after the death of his uncle, Duke Alfred, who was also the Duke of Edinburgh. He became the heir a year before after the tragic death of Alfred's only son, Hereditary Prince Alfred.
The Duke of Connaught and his young son, Prince Arthur, were the next heirs, but both renounced their claims in favor of the then Prince Charles Edward, Duke of Albany.
Young Prince Arthur of Connaught was at Eton with his cousin, Charles Edward, and "declared he would punch Prince Charles's head if the young prince" refused to accept the Coburg inheritance.
At the time, the young Duke of Albany declared: "I don't want to be a German duke."
The Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, now known as Carl Edward, was born in July 1884. He is the only son of the late Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, King Edward's youngest brother. He will reach his majority next July, when the regent, Prince Ernst of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, will turn the reins of power to him.
Prince Ernst is married to the late Duke Alfred's third daughter, Princess Alexandra.
No comments:
Post a Comment