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Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

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Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Charles Edward (Leopold Charles Edward George Albert; 19 July 1884 – 6 March 1954) was at various points in his life a British prince and royal duke, a German duke, and a Nazi politician. He was the last ruling Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a state of the German Empire, from 30 July 1900 to 14 November 1918. He later held multiple positions in the Nazi regime, including leader of the German Red Cross, and acted as an unofficial diplomat for the German government. Charles Edward's parents were Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, and Princess Helen of Waldeck and Pyrmont. His paternal grandparents were Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Prince Leopold died before his son's birth. Charles Edward was born in Surrey, England, and brought up as a British prince. He was a sickly child who developed a close relationship with his grandmother and his only sibling, Alice. He was privately educated, including at Eton College. In 1899, Charles Edward was selected to succeed to the throne of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha because he was deemed young enough to be re-educated as a German. He moved to Germany at the age of 15. Between 1899 and 1905, he was put through various forms of education, guided by his cousin, German Emperor Wilhelm II. Charles Edward ascended the ducal throne in 1900 but reigned through a regency until 1905. In 1905, he married Princess Victoria Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein. The couple had five children, including Sibylla, the mother of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. The Duke was a conservative ruler with an interest in art and technology. He tried to emphasise his loyalty to his adopted country through various symbolic gestures. Still, his continued close association with the United Kingdom was off-putting both to his subjects and to the German elite. He chose to support the German Empire during the First World War. He was deposed during the German revolution like the other German princes. He also lost his British titles as a result of his decision to side against the British Empire. During the 1920s, Charles Edward became a moral and financial supporter of violent far-right paramilitary groups in Germany. By the early 1930s, he was supporting the Nazi Party and joined it in 1933. He helped to promote eugenicist ideas which provided a basis for the murder of many disabled people. He was involved in attempting to shift opinion among the British upper class in a more pro-German direction. His attitudes became more pro-Nazi during the Second World War, though it is unclear how much of a political role he played. After the war, he was interned for a period and was given a minor conviction by a denazification court. He died of cancer in 1954.

Infobox

Reign
30 July 1900 – 14 November 1918
Predecessor
Alfred
Successor
Monarchy abolished
Regent
Ernst of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (1900–1905)
Born
Prince Charles Edward, Duke of Albany(1884-07-19)19 July 1884Claremont, Surrey, England
Died
6 March 1954(1954-03-06) (aged 69)Coburg, Bavaria, West Germany
Spouse
mw- Princess Victoria Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein (m. 1905)
Issue
mw- Prince Johann Leopold Princess Sibylla Prince Hubertus Princess Caroline Mathilde [fr] Prince Friedrich Josias
Names
NamesLeopold Charles Edward George Albert
House
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Father
Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany
Mother
Princess Helen of Waldeck and Pyrmont
Allegiance
German Empire (1900–1918)
Branch
German Army
Rank
Colonel-in-Chief
Preceded by
Joachim von Winterfeldt-Menkin [de]
Succeeded by
Otto Gessler
Political party
Nazi (1933–1945)
Party
Nazi (1933–1945)

Tables

· External links
German nobility
German nobility
Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha House of Saxe-Coburg and GothaCadet branch of the House of WettinBorn: 19 July 1884 Died: 6 March 1954
German nobility
Preceded byAlfred
Preceded byAlfred
Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha House of Saxe-Coburg and GothaCadet branch of the House of WettinBorn: 19 July 1884 Died: 6 March 1954
Preceded byAlfred
Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha House of Saxe-Coburg and GothaCadet branch of the House of WettinBorn: 19 July 1884 Died: 6 March 1954
Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha 30 July 1900 – 14 November 1918
Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha House of Saxe-Coburg and GothaCadet branch of the House of WettinBorn: 19 July 1884 Died: 6 March 1954
Abolished
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha House of Saxe-Coburg and GothaCadet branch of the House of WettinBorn: 19 July 1884 Died: 6 March 1954
Peerage of the United Kingdom
VacantTitle last held byPrince Leopold
VacantTitle last held byPrince Leopold
Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha House of Saxe-Coburg and GothaCadet branch of the House of WettinBorn: 19 July 1884 Died: 6 March 1954
VacantTitle last held byPrince Leopold
Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha House of Saxe-Coburg and GothaCadet branch of the House of WettinBorn: 19 July 1884 Died: 6 March 1954
Duke of Albany (creation of 1881)1884–1919
Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha House of Saxe-Coburg and GothaCadet branch of the House of WettinBorn: 19 July 1884 Died: 6 March 1954
Deprived
Titles in pretence
Titles in pretence
Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha House of Saxe-Coburg and GothaCadet branch of the House of WettinBorn: 19 July 1884 Died: 6 March 1954
Titles in pretence
Loss of titles
Loss of titles
Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha House of Saxe-Coburg and GothaCadet branch of the House of WettinBorn: 19 July 1884 Died: 6 March 1954
Loss of titles
Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha House of Saxe-Coburg and GothaCadet branch of the House of WettinBorn: 19 July 1884 Died: 6 March 1954
— TITULAR — Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha 14 November 1918 – 6 March 1954Reason for succession failure:German Revolution of 1918–19
Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha House of Saxe-Coburg and GothaCadet branch of the House of WettinBorn: 19 July 1884 Died: 6 March 1954
Succeeded byPrince Friedrich Josias
— TITULAR — Duke of Albany 28 March 1919 – 6 March 1954Reason for succession failure:Titles Deprivation Act 1917
— TITULAR — Duke of Albany 28 March 1919 – 6 March 1954Reason for succession failure:Titles Deprivation Act 1917
Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha House of Saxe-Coburg and GothaCadet branch of the House of WettinBorn: 19 July 1884 Died: 6 March 1954
— TITULAR — Duke of Albany 28 March 1919 – 6 March 1954Reason for succession failure:Titles Deprivation Act 1917
Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha House of Saxe-Coburg and GothaCadet branch of the House of WettinBorn: 19 July 1884 Died: 6 March 1954
Succeeded byPrince Johann Leopold
Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha House of Saxe-Coburg and GothaCadet branch of the House of WettinBorn: 19 July 1884 Died: 6 March 1954
German nobility
Preceded byAlfred
Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha 30 July 1900 – 14 November 1918
Abolished
Peerage of the United Kingdom
VacantTitle last held byPrince Leopold
Duke of Albany (creation of 1881)1884–1919
Deprived
Titles in pretence
Loss of titles
— TITULAR — Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha 14 November 1918 – 6 March 1954Reason for succession failure:German Revolution of 1918–19
Succeeded byPrince Friedrich Josias
— TITULAR — Duke of Albany 28 March 1919 – 6 March 1954Reason for succession failure:Titles Deprivation Act 1917
Succeeded byPrince Johann Leopold

References

  1. He used the German language version of his name (German: Leopold Carl Eduard Georg Albert Herzog von Sachsen-Coburg und
  2. According to the Bank of England's model for tracking inflation, £6,000 in 1890 was the equivalent of about £638,000 in
  3. Now located in Wiltshire.
  4. Charles Edward says "Uncle Edward is it true that I should only have half of this cake?" It is a reference to Edward VII
  5. According to Historical statistics, a currency converter created by Stockholm University, 2,500,000 marks in 1910 was th
    https://www.historicalstatistics.org/
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