Princess Augusta of Saxe-Meiningen (6 August 1843 – 11 November 1919) was the daughter of Bernhard II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen and his wife Princess Marie Frederica of Hesse-Kassel. She was the mother of Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg.
| Augusta of Saxe-Meiningen | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Princess Moritz of Saxe-Altenburg | |||||
 | |||||
| Born | 6 August 1843 Meiningen, Saxe-Meiningen | ||||
| Died | 11 November 1919 (aged 76) Altenburg, Weimar Republic | ||||
| Spouse | Prince Moritz of Saxe-Altenburg | ||||
| Issue | Marie Anne, Princess of Schaumburg-Lippe Grand Duchess Elizabeth Mavrikievna of Russia Princess Margarethe Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg Luise Charlotte, Princess Edward of Anhalt | ||||
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| House | Saxe-Meiningen | ||||
| Father | Bernhard II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen | ||||
| Mother | Princess Marie Frederica of Hesse-Kassel | ||||
Family and early life
editAugusta was the only daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen.[1] Her only sibling was Georg, who would succeed their father in 1866. Georg was seventeen years older than she was.[1]
Augusta's paternal grandparents were Georg I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen and Luise Eleonore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. Her maternal grandparents were William II, Elector of Hesse and Princess Augusta of Prussia, daughter of Frederick William II of Prussia.
Like her brother, Augusta was born in Meiningen. Despite the large age difference, they seemed to have a good relationship. He was a great lover of theatre; in 1856, he wrote his parents stating how happy he was that Augusta was allowed to attend the theatre and how their mother was more tolerant than she had been when he was a child, when she had declared that no child under thirteen should be allowed in the theatre.[2]
Marriage
editOn 15 October 1862, Augusta married Prince Moritz of Saxe-Altenburg in Meiningen. He was fourteen years older, and was a younger son of Georg, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg and Marie Luise of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. They had five children:
| Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Princess Marie Anne | 14 March 1864 | 3 May 1918 | married on 16 April 1882 to George, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe. |
| Princess Elisabeth Augusta Marie Agnes | 25 January 1865 | 24 March 1927 | married on 27 April 1884 to Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich of Russia; [upon her marriage, she took the name Elizaveta Mavrikievna in a Russian Orthodox baptism] |
| Princess Margarethe Marie Agnes Adelaide Karoline Fredericka | 22 May 1867 | 17 June 1882 | |
| Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg | 31 August 1871 | 22 March 1955 | married Princess Adelaide of Schaumburg-Lippe |
| Princess Luise Charlotte Marie Agnes | 11 August 1873 | 14 April 1953 | married on 6 February 1895 to Prince Edward of Anhalt; they divorced in 1918, shortly before he became Duke of Anhalt and later died. |
Honours
edit
Ernestine duchies: Insignia of the Saxe-Ernestine House Order[3]
Kingdom of Bavaria: Dame of the Order of Theresa, in Diamonds[3]
Russian Empire: Grand Cross of St. Catherine[3]
Ancestry
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Koller 1984, p. 30.
- ^ Koller 1984, p. 221.
- ^ a b c Staatshandbücher für das Herzogtum Sachsen-Altenburg (1902), "Genealogie des Herzoglichen Hauses" p. 4
- Works cited
- Koller, Ann Marie (1984). The Theater Duke: George II of Saxe-Meiningen and the German Stage. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-1196-8.