Ernst Leopold Prinz von Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha explained

Ernst Leopold
Birth Name:Ernst Leopold Eduard Wilhelm Josias Prinz von Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha
Spouse:
    Issue:Hubertus
    Viktoria
    Ernst-Josias
    Carl-Eduard
    Ferdinand-Christian
    Alice-Sybilla
    Full Name:Ernest Leopold Edward William Josias
    German: Ernst Leopold Eduard Wilhelm Josias
    House:Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
    Father:Johann Leopold, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
    Mother:Feodora Freiin von der Horst
    Birth Date:14 January 1935
    Birth Place:Hirschberg, Thuringia, Germany
    Death Place:Bad Wiessee, Bavaria, Germany

    Ernst Leopold Eduard Wilhelm Josias Prinz von Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha (14 January 1935 – 27 June 1996) was the second child and eldest son of Johann Leopold, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Feodora Freiin von der Horst.

    Early life

    Ernst Leopold was born at Hirschberg. His paternal grandparents were Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the only son of Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany (youngest son of Queen Victoria), and his wife, Princess Victoria Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. His father did not apply for consent under the Royal Marriages Act 1772 so he and his issue are barred from the United Kingdom succession.

    Ernst Leopold had two siblings: Marianne and Peter.

    His father was heir-apparent to the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha until the forced abdication of his grandfather on 18 November 1918, to Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, result of the German Revolution. As the marriage of his parents was considered morganatic his father lost any rights to the succession of the ducal throne of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, but was not barred from petitioning the British Crown for the revival of the Dukedom of Albany. The children of their morganatic marriage are surnamed Prinz or Prinzessin von Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha.

    Marriage and family

    Ernst Leopold married Ingeborg Henig (b. 16 August 1937 in Nordhausen), daughter of Richard Henig and Luise Duckwitz, on 4 February 1961 in Herrenberg. They divorced on 26 March 1963.[1] They had one child:

    He married, secondly, Gertraude Monika Pfeiffer (b. 1 July 1938 in Cottbus), daughter of Hermann Horst Pfeiffer and wife Gertrud Marianne Jardin, on 29 May 1963, at Regensburg, Germany. They divorced on 20 September 1985. They had five children:

    He married, thirdly, Sabine Margarete Biller (25 June 1941 – 27 June 1996 in Kreuth), daughter of Alfred Carl Biller, on 20 January 1986 in Grünwald, without issue.[3] They had no children.

    Death

    Ernst Leopold died on 27 June 1996 in Bad Wiessee, Germany, aged 61, by committing suicide along with his wife Sabine Biller.[4]

    Notes and References

    1. C. Arnold McNaughton, The Book of Kings, vol. 1, p. 24.
    2. Web site: Marek . Miroslav . Wettin 9 . Genealogy.EU.
    3. Peter W. Hammond, editor, The Complete Peerage or a History of the House of Lords and All its Members From the Earliest Times, Volume XIV: Addenda & Corrigenda (Stroud, Gloucestershire, U.K.: Sutton Publishing, 1998), page 17. Hereinafter cited as The Complete Peerage, Volume XIV.
    4. Decca Aitkenhead, Imre Karacs (29 June 1996) - Royal couple could not afford lavish life the Independent Accessed 13 February 2018 (some content added earlier).