Marriage and Divorce of King Gustaf IV Adolf and Frederica of Baden. Conclusion

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Abdication, coup d'état, Emperor Alexander I of Russia, Exile, Frederica of Baden, Gustaf IV Adolf of Sweden, King Carl XIII of Sweden, Royal Divorce

Coup

On March 12, 1809, King Gustaf IV Adolf left her and the children at Haga Palace to deal with the rebellion of Georg Adlersparre. The day after he was captured at the royal palace in Stockholm in the Coup of 1809, imprisoned at Gripsholm Castle and deposed May 10 in favor of his uncle, who succeeded him as Carl XIII of Sweden on June 6. According to the terms deposition made on May 10, 1809, she was allowed to keep the title of queen even after the deposition of her spouse.

Frederica and her children were kept under guard at Haga Palace. The royal couple was initially kept separated because the coup leaders suspected her of planning a coup. During her house arrest, her dignified behavior reportedly earned her more sympathy than she had been given her entire tenure as queen.

Her successor, Queen Charlotte, who felt sympathy for her and often visited her, belonged to the Gustavians and wished to preserve the right to the throne for Frederica’s son, Gustaf.

Queen Charlotte was born as Hedwig Elisabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp (1759 – 1818) was also a famed diarist, memoirist and wit. She is known by her full pen name (above), though her official name as queen was Charlotte (Charlotta).

Queen Charlotte was the daughter of Duke Friedrich August I of Holstein-Gottorp and Princess Ulrike of Hesse-Cassel. She married her cousin Prince Carl, Duke of Södermanland, in Stockholm on July 7, 1774 when she was fifteen years old.

The marriage was arranged by King Gustaf III to provide the throne of Sweden with an heir. The King had not consummated his marriage at that time and had decided to give the task of providing an heir to the throne to his brother.

Frederica told Queen Charlotte that she was willing to separate from her son for the sake of succession, and requested to be reunited with her spouse. Her second request was granted her after intervention from Queen Charlotte, and Frederica and her children joined Gustaf Adolf at Gripsholm Castle after the coronation of the new monarch on June 6. The relationship between the former king and queen was reportedly well during their house arrest at Gripsholm.

During her house arrest at Gripsholm Castle, the question of her son crown prince Gustaf’s right to the throne was not yet settled and a matter of debate.

There was a plan by a Gustavian military fraction led by General Eberhard von Vegesack to free Frederica and her children from the arrest, have her son declared monarch and Frederica as regent of Sweden during his minority.

These plans were in fact presented to her, but she declined: “The Queen displayed a nobility in her feelings, which makes her worthy of a crown of honor and placed her above the pitiful earthly royalty. She did not listen to the secret proposals, made to her by a party, who wished to preserve the succession of the crown prince and wished, that she would remain in Sweden to become the regent during the minority of her son… she explained with firmness, that her duty as a wife and mother told her to share the exile with her husband and children.” The removal of her son from the succession order, however, she nevertheless regarded as a legally wrongful.

The family left Sweden on December 6, 1809, via three separate carriages. Gustaf Adolf and Frederica traveled in one carriage, escorted by general Skjöldebrand; their son Gustaf traveled in the second with colonel baron Posse; and their daughters and their governess von Panhuys traveled in the last carriage escorted by colonel von Otter.

Frederica was offered to be escorted with all honors due to being a member of the house of Baden if she traveled alone, but declined and brought no courtier with her, only her German chamber maid Elisabeth Freidlein. The family left for Germany by ship from Karlskrona on December 6.

Exile

After having been denied to travel to Great Britain, the former king and queen settled in the duchy of Baden, where they arrived February 10, 1810. After having become private persons, the incompatibility between Frederica and Gustaf Adolf immediately became known in their different view in how to live their lives.

Gustaf Adolf wished to live a simple family life in a congregation of the Moravian church in Christiansfeld in Slesvig or Switzerland, while Frederica wished to settle in the palace Meersburg at Bodensee, which was granted her by her family.

Their sexual differences was also brought to the surface, as Frederica refused sexual intercourse because she did not wish to give birth to exiled royalty. These differences caused Gustaf Adolf to leave alone for Basel in Switzerland in April 1810, from which he expressed complaints about their sexual incompatibility and demanded a divorce.

The couple made two attempts to reconcile in person: once in Switzerland in July, and a second time in Altenburg in Thüringen in September. The attempts of reconciliation was unsuccessful and in 1811, Gustaf Adolf issued divorce negotiations with her mother, stating that he wished to be able to marry again.

Frederica was not willing to divorce, and her mother suggested that Gustaf Adolf entered some kind of secret morganatic marriage on the side to avoid the scandal of divorce. Gustaf Adolf did agree to this suggestion, but as they could not figure out how such a thing should be arranged, a proper divorce was finally issued in February 1812.

In the divorce settlement, Gustaf Adolf renounced all his assets in both Sweden and abroad, as well as his future assets in the form of his inheritance rights after his mother, to his children; he also renounced the custody and guardianship of his children.

Two years later, Fredrica placed her children under the guardianship of her brother-in-law, the Russian Tsar Alexander. Frederica kept in contact through correspondence with Queen Charlotte of Sweden, whom she entrusted her economic interests in Sweden, as well as with her former mother-in-law, and while she did not contact Gustaf Adolf directly, she kept informed about his life and often contributed financially to his economy without his knowledge.

Frederica settled in the castle Bruchsal in Baden, but also acquired several other residences in Baden as well as a country villa, Villamont, outside Lausanne in Switzerland. In practice, she spent most of her time in the court of Karlsruhe from 1814 onward, and also traveled a lot around Germany, Switzerland and Italy, using the name Countess Itterburg after a ruin in Hesse, which she had acquired.

In accordance with the abdication terms, she kept her title of queen and had her own court, headed by the Swedish baron O. M. Munck af Fulkila, and kept in close contact with her many relatives and family in Germany. According to her ladies-in-waiting, she turned down proposals from her former brother-in-law Friedrich Wilhelm of Braunschweig-Oels, and King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia.

She was rumoured to have secretly married her son’s tutor, the French-Swiss J.N.G. de Polier-Vernland, possibly in 1823.

In 1819, her daughter Sophia married the heir to the throne of Baden, Frederica’s paternal half-uncle, the future Grand Duke Leopold I of Baden.

Her last years were plagued by weakened health. She died in Lausanne of a heart disease. She was buried in Schloss and Stiftskirche in Pforzheim, Germany.

March 29, 1792: Assassination of King Gustaf III of Sweden. March 29, 1809: Gustaf IV Adolf of Sweden is deposed

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Absolute Monarchy, Adolph Ribbing, Assassination, Carl Fredrik Pechlin., Carl Pontus Lilliehorn, Claes Fredrik Horn, coup d'état, Frederica of Baden, Gustaf III of Sweden, Gustaf IV Adolf of Sweden, Jacob Johan Anckarström

Gustaf IV Adolf (November 1, 1778 – February 7, 1837) was King of Sweden from March 29, 1792 until March 29, 1809 when he was deposed in a coup. He was also the last Swedish monarch to be the ruler of Finland.

Gustaf Adolf was born in Stockholm. He was the son of Gustaf III of Sweden by his wife queen Sophia Magdalena. His mother, Sophia Magdalena, was eldest daughter of Frederick V of Denmark and his first wife Louise of Great Britain, the youngest surviving daughter of King George II of Great Britain and Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach.

Gustaf Adolf was under the tutelage of Hedvig Sofia von Rosen and her deputies Brita Ebba Celestina von Stauden and Maria Aurora Uggla until the age of four. He was then raised under the tutelage of his father and the liberal-minded Nils von Rosenstein.

Gustaf IV Adolf married Frederica of Baden the daughter of Karl Ludwig of Baden and Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt. She was the younger sister of Empress Elisabeth Alexeievna (formerly Princess Louise of Baden), spouse of Tsar Alexander I of Russia.

Assassination of King Gustaf III

Gustav III’s war against Russia and his implementation of the Union and Security Act of 1789 helped increase hatred against the king which had been growing among the nobility ever since the coup d’état of 1772 in which Gustaf III assumed near absolute powers.

A conspiracy to have the king assassinated and reform the constitution was created within the nobility in the winter of 1791–92.

The assassination of the king was enacted at a masked ball at the Royal Opera House in Stockholm at midnight on March 16, 1792. Gustaf III had arrived earlier that evening to enjoy a dinner in the company of friends. During dinner, he received an anonymous letter that described a threat to his life (written by the colonel of the Life guards Carl Pontus Lilliehorn), but, as the king had received numerous threatening letters in the past, he chose to ignore it.

Among those involved were Jacob Johan Anckarström, Adolph Ribbing, Claes Fredrik Horn, Carl Pontus Lilliehorn and Carl Fredrik Pechlin. Anckarström was chosen to carry out the murder with pistols and knives.

To dare any possible assassins, the King went out into an open box facing the opera stage. And after roughly ten minutes he said “this would have been an opportunity to shoot. Come, let us go down. The ball seems to be merry and bright.” The King with Baron Hans Henrik von Essen by his right arm went around the theatre once and then into the foyer where they met Captain Carl Fredrik Pollet.

The King, von Essen and Pollet continued through a corridor leading from the foyer towards the opera stage where the dancing took place. On the stage several masked men – some witnesses talked of 20 or 30 men – made it impossible for the king to proceed. Due to the crowd, Pollet receded behind the King, who bent backwards to talk to Pollet.

Anckarström stood with Ribbing next to him at the entrance to the corridor holding a knife in his left hand and carrying one pistol in his left inner pocket and another pistol in his right back pocket.

They edged themselves behind the King, Anckarström took out the pistol from his left inner pocket and Ribbing or he pulled the trigger with the gun in Anckarström’s hand. (but there has also been evidence suggesting that Ribbing was the one who actually shot Gustaf III). Because of the King turning backwards the shot went in at an angle from the third lumbar vertebra towards the hip region.

The King twitched and said “aee” without falling. Anckarström then lost courage, dropped the pistol and knife and shouted fire. People from the King’s lifeguard stood some meters away. When they reached the King, they heard him say in French “Aï, je suis blessé” (Ouch, I am wounded).

The king was carried back to his quarters, and the exits of the Opera were sealed. Anckarström was arrested the following morning and immediately confessed to the murder, although he denied a conspiracy until informed that Horn and Ribbing had also been arrested and had confessed in full.

The king had not been shot dead; he was alive and continued to function as head of state. The coup was a failure in the short run. However, the wound became infected, and on March 29, the king finally died with these last words:

“I feel sleepy, a few moments’ rest would do me good”

Upon Gustaf III’s assassination, Gustaf Adolf succeeded to the throne at the age of 14, as King Gustaf IV Adolf under the regency of his uncle, Carl, duke of Södermanland.

Gustaf IV Adolf is deposed

Gustav Adolf IVs inept and erratic leadership in diplomacy and war precipitated his deposition through a conspiracy of army officers.

On March 7, 1809, lieutenant-colonel Georg Adlersparre, commander of a part of the so-called western army stationed in Värmland, triggered the Coup of 1809 by raising the flag of rebellion in Karlstad and starting to march upon Stockholm.

To prevent the King Gustaf IV Adolf from joining loyal troops in Scania, on March 13, 1809 seven of the conspirators led by Carl Johan Adlercreutz broke into the royal apartments in the palace, seized the king, and imprisoned him and his family in Gripsholm castle; the king’s uncle, Duke Carl, was thereupon persuaded to accept the leadership of a provisional government, which was proclaimed the same day; and a diet, hastily summoned, solemnly approved of the revolution.

On March 29 Gustaf IV Adolf, to save the crown for his son, voluntarily abdicated; but on May 10 the Riksdag of the Estates, dominated by the army, declared that not merely Gustaf Adolf but his whole family had forfeited the throne, perhaps an excuse to exclude his family from succession based on the rumours of his illegitimacy.

A more likely cause, however, is that the revolutionaries feared that Gustaf Adolf’s son, Crown Prince Gustaf, if he inherited the throne, would avenge his father’s deposition when he came of age.

On June 5, Gustaf IV Adolf’s uncle was proclaimed King Carl XIII of Sweden, after accepting a new liberal constitution, which was ratified by the diet the next day.

In December, Gustaf Adolf and his family were transported to Germany. In 1812, he divorced his wife. Following this he had several mistresses, among them Maria Schlegel, who gave him a son, Adolf Gustafsson.

In exile Gustaf used several titles, including Count Gottorp and Duke of Holstein-Eutin, and finally settled at St. Gallen in Switzerland where he lived in a small hotel in great loneliness and indigence, under the name of Colonel Gustafsson.

It was there that he suffered a stroke and died. He was buried in Moravia. At the suggestion of King Oscar II of Sweden his body was finally brought to Sweden and interred in Riddarholm Church.

December 15, 1907: Death of Carola of Vasa, Queen of Saxony

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Albert of Saxony, Carol I of Romania, Carola of Vasa, Crown Prince Gustaf of Sweden, Gustaf IV Adolf of Sweden, Louise Amelie of Baden, Princess of Sweden, Roman Catholic

Carola of Vasa (Caroline Frederikke Franziska Stephanie Amalia Cecilia; 5 August 5, 1833 – December 15, 1907) was a titular Princess of Sweden, and the Queen Consort of Saxony. She was the last Queen of Saxony.

Background

Carola was the daughter of the former Crown Prince Gustaf of Sweden and Princess Louise Amelie of Baden, and a granddaughter of King Gustaf IV Adolf of Sweden who had been deposed in 1809.

In the early 1850s, she was considered one of the most beautiful princesses of Europe. Suitors were not lacking, and there had been plans for her to marry Napoléon III, Emperor of the French. She was a cousin of the Emperor’s through her maternal grandmother Stéphanie de Beauharnais, also the adoptive daughter of Napoleon I and a Princess of the First French Empire. Her father was against the marriage due to the volatile political situation in France and his dynasty’s historical dispute with the Bonaparte dynasty. 20 years later, when Napoleon III fell from power, her father is quoted as saying, “I foresaw that correctly!”

In 1852, against her father’s wishes, Carola converted to Catholicism. On June 18, 1853, Carola married in Dresden, Crown Prince Albrecht of Saxony. Their marriage was childless, although she suffered many miscarriages.

Her closest heirs were: in paternal side, Friedrich II, Grand Duke of Baden (1857–1928), son of her first cousin; and her first cousin King Carol I of Romania (1839–1914) in maternal side.

She had a good relationship with her parents-in-law and was described as their support during difficult times. Already as a crown princess, Carola began the activity within social issues which she would continue as a queen. In 1866, she visited Saxony’s field hospitals in Vienna, where she made herself known as a good samaritan. In 1867, she founded the Albert commission, which contributed to the medical care of the German army during the war of 1870–71. For her work, she was decorated with the Prussian Luisen-Orden and the Saxon Order of Sidonia. In 1871, she accompanied Albert to Compiègne after the defeat of France, where she entertained the officers of the victorious armies as a popular hostess.

Queen

In 1873, her spouse succeeded his father as King Albrecht I, making Carola queen. In 1884, the deposed Swedish branch of the House of Oldenburg made peace with the new Swedish Bernadotte dynasty through her and her first cousin once removed Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, when the remains of Carola’s grandfather, king Gustaf IV Adolf of Sweden, her father and her brother Ludvig were taken to Stockholm and interred in the royal crypt. In 1888, Carola and her spouse made an official visit to Sweden.

Queen Carola made an important contribution to the health care organisation in Saxony. In 1867, as Crown princess, she and Marie Simon founded the Albert-Verein. She founded a wet nurse school at Leipziger Tor (1869), the hospital “Carola-Haus” (1878), the women employment agency Johannes-Verein (1876), a women’s school in Schwarzenberg (1884), the home “Gustavheim” for the old, sick and weak in Niederpoyritz (1887), the school Lehrertöchterheim Carola-Stift Klotzsche (1892) and the home for handicapped Amalie hus Löbtau, Friedrichstadt (1896). Carola was a popular queen. She was widowed in 1902.

She was the 499th Dame of the Royal Order of Queen Maria Luisa.
At the time of her death, she was the last surviving grandchild of Gustaf IV Adolf.

December 12, 1750: Death of Prince Fredrik Adolf of Sweden, Duke of Östergötland

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Duke of Östergötland, Frederick Adolf of Sweden, Gustaf III of Sweden, Gustaf IV Adolf of Sweden, King Adolf Frederick of Sweden, King Frederick II the Great of Prussia, Ulrika Eleonora of Prussia

Prince Fredrik Adolf (July 18, 1750 – December 12, 1803) was a Swedish Prince, youngest son of King Adolf Fredrik of Sweden and Louisa Ulrika of Prussia, a sister of Friedrich II the Great, King of Prussia. He was given the title Duke of Östergötland.

Life

During his childhood, Fredrik Adolf was under the tutelage of Ulrica Schönström. The Duke was described as “the most beautiful Prince in Europe” and was described as sensitive and spoiled by his mother. He and his sister, Sophia Albertina, were their mother’s favourites and also devoted to each other. During family conflicts, such as the famous succession scandal regarding the questioned legitimacy of the Crown Prince in 1778, he and his sister were on their mother’s side against that of their brothers Charles and Gustaf.

As a child, he had a weak health and a fierce temperament. His education became somewhat lacking.

Fredrik was made colonel in 1762, general major in 1768, general lieutenant in 1774, commander of the Västmanland regiment in 1775 and field marshal in 1792. He was given a minor role in the Revolution of 1772 of his brother Gustaf III, who gave him the task of agitating in Södermanland and Östergötland.

Reign of Gustaf III

He was given the title Duke of Östergötland on September 8, 1772 and the Tullgarn Palace as his residence.

During the great succession scandal, the so-called Munck Affair in 1778, when the queen dowager Louisa Ulrika questioned the legitimacy of Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf in reference to the rumors that Gustaf III had convinced Adolf Fredrik Munck to impregnate the queen, Sophia Magdalena of Denmark, Fredrik sided with his mother and defended her before the king by pointing out that these rumors had not been invented by their mother but were in fact widespread rumors, and he reportedly said to his brother the king: “The entire city is talking of it, and it is commonly believed that You are not altogether man, and that it is because of this reason, that You have enticed the Queen to it to have an heir to the Kingdom.” It was Fredrik who convinced Louisa Ulrika to receive Gustaf III on her deathbed in 1782, thereby accomplishing peace between them.

His sister-in-law, Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp, describes him as beautiful, with expressive eyes, an easygoing temper, and very handsome when he dresses properly, though often badly dressed in his private life, and gives the estimation that he would have been a greater social success, if he did not say so many suggestive things and had such a filthy mouth [that is to say, he used a sexually suggestive language], which he acquired because he had spent too much time with men, and had such a weakness for women and sex.

Fredrik had no tasks in his life other than the ceremonial, and spent his life wasting money and involving himself in love affairs. Gustaf III reportedly had no high opinion of his intellectual capacity. Fredrik was an honorary member of the Swedish Royal Academy of Fine Arts, and he did occasionally show a genuine interest in the affairs of the academy, as well as in the management of the Västmanland regiment. He devoted much time to country life on his estate, Tullgarn. His economic affairs were in bad shape, and in 1791 he was finally declared bankrupt and placed under administration until 1802.

Fredrick served in the Russo-Swedish War in Finland in 1788. During the Battle of Hogland, Fredrick wished to send reinforcements by fleet to aid his brother, Duke Charles. This was prevented, and Fredrik left the army in protest to Gustaf III, whom he referred to as a tyrant.

Fredrik thereby came to belong to the opposition, and he also became involved in the planned coup by his sister-in-law to depose the monarch; the 1789 Conspiracy. In the autumn of 1789, Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotte prepared to depose Gustaf III and place her husband Duke Charles upon the throne. Her ideal was the Swedish Constitution of 1772, which she saw as a good tool for an enlightened aristocracy, and the war and the Union and Security Act had made her a leading part of the opposition. She cooperated with Prince Fredrik Adolf and Gustaf Adolf Reuterholm.

The plan was to force Charles to act as a symbol of the opposition to the Union and Security Act when the time was right. When the time arrived to make Charles act, however, he refused, which effectively discontinued the coup.

Reign of Gustav IV Adolf

In July 1793, Fredrick was given the position to chair the government during the journey of the king and the regent in the southern provinces, but nothing whatsoever was apparently accomplished during his tenure, and during a similar journey in 1794, he was not entrusted again.
In 1800, Fredrik Adolf left Sweden for health reasons and travelled to the Holy Roman Empire and then to France. He died in Montpellier in France in 1803.

Private life

Prince Fredrik Adolf is in fact most known in history for his love life. He was never married, and the ceremonial duties of his consort were performed by his sister Sophia Albertina. He had several plans to marry, but none of them was realised.

His first proposal was to the Countess Ulla von Höpken, but she was married to another, and he accompanied his brother Gustaf to France in 1770 to forget her.

In 1774, he proposed to the cousin of his former love, Countess Sophie von Fersen, daughter of Axel von Fersen the Elder and sister of Axel von Fersen the Younger, the alleged lover of Queen Marie Antoinette. She and her father refused, as they were afraid that she would be badly treated by his brother and mother, who was reluctant to give their consent, and because she was already engaged, and Frederick Adolf was sent to Italy in 1776 until she was married.

Fredrik lived from 1778 to 1795, in a happy relationship with the ballet dancer Sophie Hagman, who was well liked at court, and had a daughter, Sophia Frederica, with her. In 1780, he temporarily ended his relationship with Hagman and proposed to the noble Margaretha Lovisa Wrangel, with whom he became informally engaged.

The King gave his permission to the marriage with the condition that it was postponed for a year, during which Wrangel was sent to Scania, with the thought that his brother would change his mind when the time was up. This was also the case, and Fredrik Adolf returned to Hagman in 1781. After his relationship with Hagman ended, he proposed to Princess Augusta Sophia of the United Kingdom in 1797, and after his relationship with Euphrosyne Löf ended, he proposed to Dorothea von Medem, dowager duchess of Courland in 1801, but none of the marriages were realized.

December 6, 1820: Birth of Alexandrine of Baden, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Part I

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Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Alexandrine of Baden, Emperor Alexander II of Russia, Emperor Nicholas I of Russia, Grand Duke Leopold of Baden, Gustaf IV Adolf of Sweden, Marie of Hesse and By Rhine, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom

Princess Alexandrine of Baden (Alexandrine Luise Amalie Friederike Elisabeth Sophie; December 6, 1820 – December 20, 1904) was the Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha as the wife of Duke Ernst II of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. She was the eldest child of Leopold, Grand Duke of Baden, and his wife Princess Sophie of Sweden, daughter of King Gustaf IV Adolf of Sweden and his wife, Frederica of Baden.

In 1838–39, the young bachelor, Tsarevich Alexander of Russia, future Emperor Alexander II is, made the Grand Tour of Europe which was standard for young men of his class at that time. One of the purposes of the tour was to select a suitable bride for himself. His father Emperor Nicholas I of Russia suggested Princess Alexandrine of Baden as a suitable choice, but he was prepared to allow Alexander to choose his own bride, as long as she was not Roman Catholic or a commoner.

Alexandrine of Baden

Alexandrine already regarded herself as his betrothed, as all the preliminary negotiations had taken place.

In Germany, Alexander made an unplanned stop in Darmstadt. He was reluctant to spend “a possibly dull evening” with their host Ludwig II, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, but he agreed to do so because Vasily Zhukovsky insisted that his entourage was exhausted and needed a rest.

During dinner, he met and was charmed by Princess Marie, the 14-year-old daughter of Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse. He was so smitten that he declared that he would rather abandon the succession than not marry her. He wrote to his father: “I liked her terribly at first sight. If you permit it, dear father, I will come back to Darmstadt after England.” When he left Darmstadt, she gave him a locket that contained a piece of her hair.

Alexander and Marie of Hesse and by Rhine were married April 28, 1841 in the Cathedral Church of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, on the eve of Alexander’s twenty-third birthday. Marie was 17.

At the urging of his brother Prince Albertof Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Hereditary Prince Ernst of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (born 1818) began to search for a suitable bride. Albert believed that a wife would be good for his brother: “Chains you will have to bear in any case, and it will certainly be good for you… The heavier and tighter they are, the better for you. A married couple must be chained to one another, be inseparable, and they must live only for one another.” With this advice in mind (although Albert was reprimanded for presuming to counsel his elders), Ernest began searching.

Around this time, Ernst was suffering from a venereal disease brought on by his many affairs; Albert consequently counseled him against marrying until he was fully recovered. He also warned that continued promiscuity could leave Ernst unable to father children. Ernst waited a few years before marrying as a result.

Ernst of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Various candidates were put forward as a possible wife for Ernest. His father wanted him to look to a woman of high rank, such as a Russian grand duchess, for a wife. One possibility was Princess Clémentine of Orléans, a daughter of Louis Philippe I, whom he met while visiting the court at the Tuileries. However, such a marriage would have required his conversion from Lutheranism to Roman Catholicism, and consequently nothing came of it. She later married his cousin Prince August of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Ernest was also considered by Dowager Queen Maria Christina as a possible husband for her young daughter Isabella II of Spain, and by Queen Victoria for her cousin Princess Augusta of Cambridge.

On 13 May 1842, in Karlsruhe, Ernest married Princess Alexandrine. To the consternation of his brother and sister-in-law Queen Victoria, the marriage failed to “settle down” Ernest. Alexandrine accepted all his faults cheerfully enough, however, and began a fierce devotion to Ernest that became increasingly baffling to the outside world.

Though he gave his consent, Ernst’s father, Duke Ernst I of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was disappointed that his first son did not do more to advance the concerns of Coburg. The marriage did not produce any issue, though Ernest apparently fathered at least three illegitimate children in later years.