Ernest Frederick II

Ernst Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen (17 December 1707 in Hildburghausen – 13 August 1745 in Hildburghausen), was a duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen.

Ernest Frederick II
Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen
Reign	9 March 1724 – 13 August 1745
Predecessor	Ernest Frederick I
Successor	Ernest Frederick III
Born	(1707-12-17)17 December 1707 Hildburghausen
Died	13 August 1745(1745-08-13) (aged 37) Hildburghausen
Spouse	Caroline of Erbach-Fürstenau
Issue	Ernest Frederick III Prince Frederick August Albrecht Prince Frederick Wilhelm Eugen Princess Sophie Amalie Caroline
House	Saxe-Hildburghausen
Father	Ernst Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen
Mother	Countess Sophia Albertine of Erbach-Erbach

Young duke

He was the third but eldest surviving son of Ernst Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen and Countess Sophia Albertine of Erbach-Erbach. At the age of 16, he succeeded his father as Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen in 1724. As a result, his mother, the Dowager Duchess Sophia Albertine, acted as a regent on his behalf until he reached adulthood five years later.

Appointments

In 1743 he received an Infantry Regiment from Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria as a Lieutenant-General. Later, Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor appointed him Quartermaster-General.

Always ailing in body and mind, he was helpless in the face of the problems of the duchy. In the meantime, the indebtedness of the duchy had become so high that total public revenues did not even cover the interest.

Family

In Fürstenau on 19 June 1726 Ernst Frederick married Caroline of Erbach-Fürstenau (d. July 1745). They had four children:

1. Ernst Frederick III Karl, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen (b. Königsberg, 10 June 1727 – d. Seidingstadt, 23 September 1780).
2. Frederick August Albrecht (b. Hildburghausen, 8 August 1728 – d. Hildburghausen, 14 June 1735) Died in childhood.
3. Frederick Wilhelm Eugen (b. Hildburghausen, 8 October 1730 – d. Öhringen, 4 December 1795), married on 13 March 1778 to his niece Caroline of Saxe-Hildburghausen (daughter of Ernst Frederick III). Their marriage was childless.
4. Sophie Amalie Caroline (b. Hildburghausen, 21 July 1732 – d. Öhringen, 19 June 1799), married in 1749 to Ludwig of Hohenlohe-Neuenstein-Öhringen.

Ancestors

Ancestors of Ernest Frederick II

8. Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha 4. Ernest, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen 9. Princess Elisabeth Sophie of Saxe-Altenburg 2. Ernest Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen 10. Prince Georg Friedrich of Waldeck 5. Countess Sophie Henriette of Waldeck 11. Countess Elisabeth Charlotte of Nassau-Siegen 1. Ernest Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen 12. George Albert I, Count of Erbach-Schönberg 6. George Louis I, Count of Erbach-Erbach 13. Countess Elisabeth Dorothea of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst 3. Countess Sophia Albertine of Erbach-Erbach 14. Philip Dietrich, Count of Waldeck 7. Countess Amalia Katharina of Waldeck-Eisenberg 15. Countess Maria Magdalena of Nassau-Siegen

References

• Johann Samuel Ersch (Hrsg.): Allgemeine Encyclopädie der Wissenschaften und Künste, 1. Sektion, 37. Teil, Leipzig, 1842, S. 300 (Digitalisat)
• Heinrich Ferdinand Schoeppl: Die Herzoge von Sachsen-Altenburg. Bozen 1917, Neudruck Altenburg 1992
• Georg Hassel: Allg. Europäisches Staats u. Address: Handbuch, 1816, etc, Band 1-2, Weimar, 1816, S. 324 (Digitalisat)