George, King of Saxony

George (German: Georg; 8 August 1832 – 15 October 1904) was king of Saxony and member of the House of Wettin.

George
Photograph by Nicola Perscheid c. 1900
King of Saxony
Reign19 June 1902 – 15 October 1904
PredecessorAlbert
SuccessorFrederick Augustus III
Born(1832-08-08)8 August 1832
Dresden
Died15 October 1904(1904-10-15) (aged 72)
Pillnitz
Burial
Katholische Hofkirche
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1859; died 1884)​
Issue
more...
Names
German: Friedrich August Georg Ludwig Wilhelm Maximilian Karl Maria Nepomuk Baptist Xaver Cyriacus Romanus
English: Frederick Augustus George Louis William Maximilian Charles Maria Nepomuk Baptist Xavier Cyriacus Romanus
HouseWettin
FatherJohn, King of Saxony
MotherAmalie Auguste of Bavaria
ReligionRoman Catholicism

Early life

George was born in the Saxon capital Dresden. He was the second son of King John of Saxony (1801–1873) and his wife, Princess Amalie Auguste of Bavaria (1801–1877), daughter of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria (1756–1825).

Marriage

On 11 May 1859 at Belém Palace, Lisbon, George married the younger sister of King Pedro V of Portugal: Infanta Maria Anna of Portugal, eldest surviving daughter of Queen Maria II of Portugal and her consort, Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry. Maria Anna died young and George stayed unmarried for the rest of his long life.

Issue
NameBirthDeathNotes
Marie Johanna Amalie Ferdinande Antonie Luise Juliane19 June 18602 March 1861(1861-03-02) (aged 0)died in childhood, no issue
Elisabeth Albertine Karoline Sidonie Ferdinande Leopoldine Antonie Auguste Clementine14 February 186218 May 1863(1863-05-18) (aged 1)died in childhood, no issue
Mathilde Marie Auguste Viktorie Leopoldine Karoline Luise Franziska Josepha19 March 186327 March 1933(1933-03-27) (aged 70)died unmarried, no issue
Frederick Augustus Johann Ludwig Karl Gustav Gregor Philipp25 May 186518 February 1932(1932-02-18) (aged 66)married Archduchess Louise of Austria (1870–1947), had issue
Maria Josepha Luise Philippine Elisabeth Pia Angelica Margarethe31 May 186728 May 1944(1944-05-28) (aged 76)married to her second cousin Archduke Otto Franz of Austria (1865–1906), had issue
Johann Georg Pius Karl Leopold Maria Januarius Anacletus10 July 186924 November 1938(1938-11-24) (aged 69)married first Duchess Maria Isabella of Württemberg (1871–1904) and second Princess Maria Immacolata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1874–1906)
Maximilian Wilhelm August Albert Karl Gregor Odo17 November 187012 January 1951(1951-01-12) (aged 80)ordained as a Roman Catholic priest
Albert Karl Anton Ludwig Wilhelm Viktor25 February 187516 September 1900(1900-09-16) (aged 25)died unmarried, no issue, the result of injuries sustained in a carriage crash caused by Prince Miguel of Braganza

Military career

George served under his brother Albert's command during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 and in the Franco-German War. In the re-organisation of the army which accompanied the march towards Paris, his brother the Crown Prince gained a separate command over the 4th army (Army of the Meuse) consisting of the Saxon XII corps, the Prussian Guard corps, and the IV (Prussian Saxony) corps and George succeeded him in command of the XII corps.

King of Saxony
2 Mark coin with the portrait of King George (coined 1903)

Prince George was a Generalfeldmarschall before his ascension. It gradually became clear that George's elder brother, Albert (1828–1902), and his wife, Queen Carola (1833–1907), would not have any children, thereby making George the heir presumptive to the throne. He succeeded Albert as King of Saxony on 19 June 1902, albeit for just a brief two-year reign. On 15 October 1904 he died in Pillnitz and was succeeded by his eldest son, Frederick Augustus III (1865–1932), who was deposed in 1918.

King George was a controversial figure. He divorced by royal decree his eldest son from his daughter-in-law, Crown Princess Luise. Luise's flight from Dresden was due to her father-in-law's threatening to have her interned in a mental asylum at the Sonnenstein Castle for life.

Honours and awards

Ancestry

See also

References
  1. Sachsen (1901). "Königlich Orden". Staatshandbuch für den Königreich Sachsen: 1901. Dresden: Heinrich. pp. 3, 6, 52 – via hathitrust.org.
  2. "Königlich Preussische Ordensliste", Preussische Ordens-Liste (in German), Berlin, 1: 5, 935, 1886 – via hathitrust.org
  3. Lehmann, Gustaf (1913). Die Ritter des Ordens pour le mérite 1812–1913 [The Knights of the Order of the Pour le Mérite] (in German). Vol. 2. Berlin: Ernst Siegfried Mittler & Sohn. p. 504.
  4. "Ritter-Orden", Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie, 1902, pp. 53, 57, retrieved 4 November 2019
  5. Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Hessen (1879), "Großherzogliche Orden und Ehrenzeichen" pp. 10, 130
  6. Staat Hannover (1865). Hof- und Staatshandbuch für das Königreich Hannover: 1865. Berenberg. p. 72.
  7. Sergey Semenovich Levin (2003). "Lists of Knights and Ladies". Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-called (1699-1917). Order of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine (1714-1917). Moscow.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  8. Justus Perthes, Almanach de Gotha (1904) page 91
  9. Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreichs Bayern (in German). Königl. Oberpostamt. 1867. p. 10. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  10. Staatshandbücher für das Herzogtum Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha (1865), "Herzogliche Sachsen-Ernestinischer Hausorden" p. 19
  11. Ferdinand Veldekens (1858). Le livre d'or de l'ordre de Léopold et de la croix de fer. lelong. p. 220.
  12. Hof- und Staats-Handbuch ... Großherzogtum Hessen (1879), "Großherzogliche Orden und Ehrenzeichen" p. 44
  13. Staatshandbuch für das Großherzogtum Sachsen / Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach (1859), "Großherzogliche Hausorden" p. 11
  14. Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Herzogtums Braunschweig für das Jahr 1897, "Herzogliche Orden Heinrich des Löwen" p. 10
  15. Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden (1862), "Großherzogliche Orden" pp. 33, 45
  16. Staats- und Adreß-Handbuch des Herzogthums Nassau (1866), "Herzogliche Orden" p. 9
  17. Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg (1907), "Königliche Orden" pp. 28, 64
  18. Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Großherzogtums Oldenburg: 1878. Schulze. 1878. p. 34.
  19. Royal Thai Government Gazette (23 March 1899). "พระราชทานเครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์ ที่ประเทศยุโรป" (PDF) (in Thai). Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 May 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2019. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  20. 刑部芳則 (2017). 明治時代の勲章外交儀礼 (PDF) (in Japanese). 明治聖徳記念学会紀要. p. 150.
  21. "Grand Crosses of the Order of the Tower and Sword". geneall.net. Retrieved 2018-09-21.
  22. Albano da Silveira Pinto (1883). "Serenissima Casa de Bragança". Resenha das Familias Titulares e Grandes des Portugal (in Portuguese). Lisbon: Lisboa F.A. da Silva. p. xxi.
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