Emich Carl, 2nd Prince of Leiningen

Emich Carl, Prince of Leiningen (27 September 1763 – 4 July 1814) was the reigning Fürst of the Principality of Leiningen. After his death, his widow, Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, married a son of George III of the United Kingdom and her only child from that marriage was Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom.

Emich Carl
Prince of Leiningen
Born	(1763-09-27)27 September 1763 Dürckheim
Died	4 July 1814(1814-07-04) (aged 50) Amorbach
Spouse	Countess Henriette of Reuss-Ebersdorf ​ ​ (m. 1787; died 1801)​ Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld ​ ​ (m. 1803)​
Issue	Prince Friedrich Karl, Prince of Leiningen Feodora, Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg
House	Leiningen
Father	Karl Friedrich Wilhelm, Prince of Leiningen
Mother	Countess Christiane of Solms-Rödelheim-Assenheim

Biography

Background

Emich Carl was born at Dürckheim, the fourth child and only son of Carl Friedrich Wilhelm, Count of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Hartenburg and his wife Countess Christiane Wilhelmine Luise of Solms-Rödelheim und Assenheim (1736–1803). On 3 July 1779, his father was made a Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, and Emich Carl became Hereditary Prince of Leiningen. On 9 January 1807, he succeeded his father as second Prince of Leiningen.

Marriages and issue

Emich Carl was married firstly, on 4 July 1787, to Countess Henriette Sophie of Reuss-Ebersdorf (1767-1801), youngest daughter of Heinrich XXIV, Count of Reuss-Ebersdorf and his wife, Countess Karoline Ernestine of Erbach-Schönberg. Henriette died on 3 September 1801. Emich Carl and Henrietta had one son, who died young and within the lifetime of his mother, being:

• Prince Friedrich Karl Heinrich Ludwig of Leiningen (1 March 1793 – 22 February 1800)

On 21 December 1803, two years after the death of his first wife, Emich married Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, fourth daughter of Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld by his wife, Countess Augusta Reuss of Ebersdorf. His second wife was a niece of his late wife. They had two further children:

• Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Emich (12 September 1804 – 13 November 1856); succeeded his father as third prince; married on 13 February 1829, Countess Maria von Klebelsberg-Thumburg (1806-1880), and had issue.
• Princess Anna Feodora Auguste Charlotte Wilhelmine of Leiningen (7 December 1807 – 23 September 1872); married in 1828, Ernst I, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, and had issue.

Death and succession

Emich Carl died at Amorbach on 4 July 1814, and was succeeded by their only surviving son, Carl Friedrich.

Post-mortem connections

Four years after his death, his widow married Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, fourth son of King George III of the United Kingdom. They had a daughter, Princess Victoria of Kent, who would later become Queen regnant of the United Kingdom.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Emich Carl, 2nd Prince of Leiningen

8. Johann Friedrich, Count of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Hardenburg 4. Friedrich Magnus, Count of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Hardenburg 9. Princess and Margravine Katharina of Baden-Durlach 2. Carl Friedrich Wilhelm, Prince of Leiningen 10. Count Johann Joseph Wilhelm of Wurmbrand-Stuppach (= 14) 5. Countess Anna Christine Eleonore of Wurmbrand-Stuppach 11. Baroness Susanna Josefa von Prösing-Stein 1. Emich Carl, Prince of Leiningen 12. Ludwig Heinrich, Count of Solms-Rödelheim-Assenheim 6. Wilhelm Karl Ludwig, Count of Solms-Rödelheim-Assenheim 13. Countess Wilhelmine Christiane of Limpurg-Gaildorf 3. Countess Christiane Wilhelmine of Solms-Rödelheim-Assenheim 14. Count Johann Joseph Wilhelm of Wurmbrand-Stuppach (= 10) 7. Countess Maria Margaret Leopoldina of Wurmbrand-Stuppach 15. Countess Juliana Dorothea of Limpurg-Gaildorf

Sources

• Thomas Gehrlein: Das Haus Leiningen. 900 Jahre Gesamtgeschichte mit Stammfolgen. Deutsche Fürstenhäuser. Heft 32. Börde Verlag, Werl 2011, ISBN 978-3-9811993-9-0, S. 25
• Marek, Miroslav. "leiningen/leiningen6.html#EC". Genealogy.EU.