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{{Royal house
| surname = House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
| estate = Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Belgium, Portugal, Bulgaria, United Kingdom
| coat of arms = [[File:Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Arms.svg|250px|]]
| parent house = [[House of Wettin]]
| country = {{nowrap|[[Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]]}}<br/>[[Kingdom of Belgium]]<br/>[[Kingdom of Portugal]]<br/>[[Kingdom of Bulgaria]]<br/>[[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland]]<br/>[[British Raj|Empire of India]]
| titles = [[Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]] (1826-1918)<br/>[[Monarchy of Belgium|King of the Belgians]] (1831-present)<br/>[[List of Portuguese monarchs|King of Portugal and the Algarves]] (1837-1910)<br/>[[List of Bulgarian monarchs|Prince of Bulgaria]] (1887-1908)<br/>[[List of Bulgarian monarchs|Tsar of Bulgaria]] (1908-1946)<br/>[[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|King of Great Britain and Ireland]] (1901-1917)<br/>[[List of Mexican consorts|Emperess consort of Mexico]] (1864-1867)
| founder = [[Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]]
| current head = [[Andreas, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]]
| founding year = 1826
| dissolution = 1918
| ethnicity = [[Germans]]
| cadet branches = [[House of Windsor]]<br/>[[House of Braganza-Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|House of {{nowrap|Braganza-Saxe-Coburg}} and Gotha]]<br/>[[Bulgarian Royal Family]]<br/>[[Belgian Royal Family]]
}}
{{Ducal Family of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha}}
'''House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha''' ({{IPAc-en|s|aː|k|s|ˈ|k|əʊ|ˌ|b|ɜː|ɡ|ə|n|d|ˈ|ɡ|əʊ|θ|ə}}; [[German language|German]]: [[:de:Haus Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha|Haus Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha]]) is a German [[dynasty]], the line of the Saxon [[House of Wettin]] that ruled the [[Ernestine duchies]] including the duchy of [[Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]].
Founded by [[Ernest III, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld|Ernest Anton]], the sixth duke of [[Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld]], it is the [[royal house]] of several European monarchies, and branches currently reign in [[Belgium]] through the descendants of [[Leopold I of Belgium|Leopold I]], and in the [[Commonwealth realm]]s through the descendants of [[Albert, Prince Consort|Prince Albert]]. Due to [[anti-German sentiment]] in the United Kingdom during [[World War I]], [[George V]] of the United Kingdom changed the name of his branch from Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to [[House of Windsor|Windsor]] in 1917. The same happened in Belgium where it was changed to "''van België''" (Dutch) or "''de Belgique''" (French).
==History==
The first duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was [[Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Ernest I]], who reigned from 1826 until his death in 1844. He had previously been Duke of [[Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld]] (as Ernest III) from 1806 until the duchy was reorganized in 1826. Ernst's younger brother Leopold became King of the Belgians in 1831, and his descendants continue to serve as Belgian head of state. Léopold's only daughter, Princess Charlotte of Belgium, was the consort of [[Maximilian I of Mexico]], known as the [[Charlotte of Belgium|Empress Carlota of Mexico]], in the 1860s. Ernst's nephew [[Ferdinand II of Portugal|Ferdinand]] married [[Maria II of Portugal|Queen Maria II of Portugal]], and his descendants continued to rule [[Portugal]] until that country became a republic in 1910.
Ernst I's second son, [[Albert, Prince Consort|Prince Albert]] (1819–1861), married [[Queen Victoria]] in 1840, and thus is the progenitor of the United Kingdom's current royal family, called Windsor since 1917. In 1826, a [[cadet branch]] of the house inherited the Hungarian princely estate of [[House of Koháry|Koháry]], and converted to Roman Catholicism. Its members managed to marry an imperial princess of Brazil, an archduchess of Austria, a royal princess of "the French", a royal princess of Belgium and a royal princess of Saxony. A [[wikt:scion|scion]] of this branch, also named [[Ferdinand I of Bulgaria|Ferdinand]], became Prince, and then [[Tsar]], of [[Bulgaria]], and his descendants continued to rule there until 1946. The current head of the House of Bulgaria, the former Tsar [[Simeon II of Bulgaria|Simeon II]] who was [[Deposition (politics)|deposed]] and [[exile]]d during [[World War II]], goes by the name ''[[Simeon Sakskoburggotski]]'' and served as Bulgaria's prime minister from 2001 to 2005.
The ducal house consisted of all male-line descendents of [[John Ernest IV, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld]] legitimately born of an [[morganatic marriage|equal marriage]], males and females (the latter until their marriage), their wives in equal and authorised marriages, and their widows until remarriage. According to the [[House law]] of the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha the full title of the Duke was:
: ''{{lang|de|Wir, Ernst, Herzog zu Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha, Jülich, Cleve und Berg, auch Engern und Westphalen, Landgraf in Thüringen, Markgraf zu Meißen, gefürsteter Graf zu Henneberg, Graf zu der Mark und Ravensberg, Herr zu Ravenstein und Tonna usw.}}''
:We, Ernst, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, [[Duchy of Jülich|Jülich]], [[Duchy of Cleves|Cleves]] and [[County of Berg|Berg]], also [[Angria]] and [[Westphalia]], [[Landgrave]] in Thuringia, [[Margrave]] of [[Meissen]], Princely [[County of Henneberg|Count of Henneberg]], [[Count of the Mark]] and [[County of Ravensberg|Ravensberg]], [[County of Ravenstein|Lord of Ravenstein]] and Tonna, et cetera.
There were two official [[Residenz|residences]], in Gotha and Coburg. Therefore the whole ducal court, including the Court Theater, had to move twice a year: from Gotha to Coburg for the summer and from Coburg to Gotha for the winter.<ref name="Robinson">Janet Robinson and Joe Robinson, ''Handbook of Imperial Germany'' ([[Bloomington, Indiana]]: AuthorHouse, 2009), [http://books.google.com/books?id=4Qsz1mi1t_IC&=q=Saxe-Coburg#v=snippet&q=Saxe-Coburg&f=false page 87]</ref> For the Court Theater, two almost identical buildings had to built in 1840 in Gotha (destroyed in the [[Second World War]]) and Coburg (now the [[Landestheater Coburg|Coburg State Theater]]) and thereafter maintained at the same time. In addition to the residential castles, ''[[Friedenstein Castle|Friedenstein]]'' in Gotha and ''[[Ehrenburg Palace|Ehrenburg]]'' in Coburg, the Ducal family also used the ''Schloss'' [[Reinhardsbrunn]] in Gotha as well as the [[Schloss Rosenau, Coburg|Rosenau]] and [[Callenberg Castle|Callenberg]] Castles in Coburg and the hunting lodges Greinburg Castle, [[Grein, Austria]] and Walterskirchen Castle in Lower Austria (the latter three still today owned by the ducal branch of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha).
==Branches==
[[File:Coat of arms of Saxony.svg|thumb|[[Coat of arms of Saxony]]]]
===Ducal branch===
====Dukes, 1826–1918====
* [[Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Ernest I]] 1826–1844
* [[Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Ernest II]] 1844–1893
* [[Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Alfred]] 1893–1900
* [[Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Charles Edward]] 1900–1918
====Heads of the house since 1918====
* [[Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Charles Edward]] 1918–1954
* [[Friedrich Josias, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Friedrich Josias]] 1954–1998
* [[Andreas, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Andreas]] 1998–''present''
Although the ducal branch is [[eponym]]ous with the dynasty, its head is not the genealogically or [[primogeniture|agnatically]] senior member of the family. In 1893, the reigning duke died childless, whereupon the throne would have devolved, by male [[primogeniture]], upon the British branch descended from Prince Albert. However, as heirs to the British throne, Albert's descendants consented and the law of the duchy ratified that the ducal throne would not be inherited by the British monarch or [[heir apparent]]. Therefore, the German duchy became a [[secundogeniture]], hereditary among the younger princes of the British royal family who belonged to the House of Wettin, and their male-line descendants.
Instead of the future [[Edward VII]] of the United Kingdom inheriting the duchy, it was diverted to his next brother, [[Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh]] and, upon the latter's death without surviving sons, to the youngest grandson of Prince Albert and Queen Victoria, [[Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Prince Charles Edward, Duke of Albany]] (bypassing his uncle [[Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught]] and his male line who, although senior by birth, preferred to remain on British soil).
The current head of the ducal branch is [[Andreas, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]].
<gallery>
File:Wappen Sachsen Coburg Gotha.png|[[Coat of arms]] of the duchy of [[Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]]
File:House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.png|[[Heraldic shield]] of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
File:Saxe Coburg Gotha Leopold Personal Duke of.PNG|Personal arms of the family since the reign of [[Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Charles Edward]] <ref>[http://www.sachsen-coburg-gotha.de/?Das_Herzogshaus:Wappen:Familienwappen Official family website]</ref>
File:Prince Andreas.jpg|[[Andreas, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]] (b. 1943), head of the ducal branch
File:Coburg-Veste4.jpg|[[Veste Coburg]], ancestral seat of the House of Saxe-Coburg
File:Coburg-Ehrenburg1.jpg|[[Ehrenburg Palace]], Coburg (summer residence)
File:Gotha Schloss 1900.jpg|Friedenstein Castle, [[Gotha]] (winter residence)
File:Reinhardsbrunn Schloss Winter.JPG|[[Reinhardsbrunn]] Castle, Gotha
File:CO Schloss Rosenau1.jpg|[[Schloss Rosenau, Coburg|Rosenau]] Castle, Coburg
File:Schloss Callenberg Luftbild.jpg|[[Callenberg Castle]], Coburg
File:Greinburg.jpg|Greinburg Castle, [[Grein, Austria]]
File:NOE Walterskirchen Schloss Walterskirchen 1.jpg|Walterskirchen Castle, Lower Austria
</gallery>
[[File:Coat of Arms of the King of the Belgians (1837-1921).svg|thumb|Coat of Arms of the Kings of the Belgians of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]]
===Kings of the Belgians===
* [[Leopold I of Belgium|Leopold I]] (1831–1865)
* [[Leopold II of Belgium|Leopold II]] (1865–1909)
* [[Albert I of Belgium|Albert I]] (1909–1934)
* [[Leopold III of Belgium|Leopold III]] (1934–1951)
* [[Baudouin of Belgium|Baudouin]] (1951–1993)
* [[Albert II of Belgium|Albert II]] (1993–2013)
* [[Philippe of Belgium|Philippe]] (2013–present)
==== Belgian royal house ====
Because of the [[First World War]], the family name was changed in 1921 to ''van België'', ''de Belgique'' or ''von Belgien'' ("of Belgium") in the country's three official languages (Dutch, French and German) – this family name is used on the identity cards and in all official documents. The armorial bearings of Saxony were removed from the Belgian royal coat of arms ([[Monarchy of Belgium#List of Kings of the Belgians|see here]]). Other Coburgers from the many-branched Saxe-Coburg family have also changed their name. For example, Britain's King George V adopted the family name of Windsor, after the Royal Family's place of residence.<ref> {{cite web
| last =Balfoort, et al.
| first =Brigitte
| title = journalist
| work = The Belgian Monarchy
| publisher = Olivier Alsteens, Director-General of the FPS Chancellery of the Prime Minister, Wetstraat 16, 1000 Brussels
| url =http://www.belgium.be/en/binaries/280410_monarchie_EN_tcm115-103847.pdf
| format = pdf
| accessdate = 18 July 2012}}
</ref>
<gallery>
File:Belgian King Philippe and Queen Mathilde.JPG|King [[Philippe of Belgium]] and [[Queen Mathilde of Belgium]]
File:Bruxelles palais royal.JPG|[[Royal Palace of Brussels]]
File:0 Château Royal de Laeken 2.JPG|[[Royal Palace of Laeken]]
</gallery>
[[File:Brasão do Fernando II.svg|thumb|Coat of Arms of [[Ferdinand II of Portugal|Ferdinand II]] of Portugal of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]]
===Kingdom of Portugal===
{{see also|House of Braganza-Saxe-Coburg and Gotha}}
In Portugal the former royal house is usually not distinguished from the [[House of Braganza]].
* [[Pedro V of Portugal|Pedro V]] (1853–1861)
* [[Luís I of Portugal|Luís I]] (1861–1889)
* [[Carlos I of Portugal|Carlos I]] (1889–1908)
* [[Manuel II of Portugal|Manuel II]] (r. 1908–1910, d.1932)
Manuel II died childless in 1932. He recognised as his successor his distant cousin [[Duarte Nuno, Duke of Braganza]], who is not a descendant of Ferdinand II, or the house of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Duarte Nuno and his successors are members of the [[House of Braganza]].
<gallery>
File:35- Rei D. Manuel II - O Patriota.jpg|King [[Manuel II of Portugal|Manuel II]] (r. 1908–1910, d.1932)
</gallery>
[[File:Bulgaria royal family.jpg|thumb|Coat of Arms of the [[Kingdom of Bulgaria|Kings of Bulgaria]] of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]]
===Kingdom of Bulgaria===
* [[Ferdinand I of Bulgaria|Ferdinand I]] (1887–1918)
* [[Boris III of Bulgaria|Boris III]] (1918–1943)
* [[Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha|Simeon II]] (1943–1946) In [[Bulgarian parliamentary election, 2001|2001]], elected<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/1061402.stm Bulgaria: Timeline], ''[[BBC News Online]]'', 27 June 2007. Retrieved on 28 July 2007.</ref> [[Prime Minister of Bulgaria]] as [[Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha]]—also known as Simeon "Sakskoburggotski" (Сакскобургготски).<ref>[http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2002/07/5-NOT/not-260702.asp/ Former king marks first year as Bulgarian Prime Minister], ''[[Radio Free Europe]]'', 26 July 2002. Retrieved on 28 July 2007.</ref><ref>[http://www.bulgaria-gateway.org/en/browser.php?state=content&id=500&type=article&lang=en&topic_id=1&cur_pos=/ Bulgarian (or Spanish) Prime Minister?], ''Bulgaria Development Gateway'', 24 July 2003. Retrieved on 28 July 2007.</ref><ref>[http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200506/ldhansrd/vo050519/text/50519-10.htm Lord Alderdice speaking in the House of Lords on 19 May 2005], ''[[Hansard]]''. Retrieved on 28 July 2007.</ref>
<gallery>
File:Simeon Vtori Popovo crop.jpg|King [[Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha|Simeon II]] of Bulgaria (r. 1943–1946)
</gallery>
[[File:Coat of Arms of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (1841-1901).svg|thumb|Coat of Arms of Edward of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Prince of Wales, the first "Coburgian" to become King of the United Kingdom and Ireland as [[Edward VII]] in 1901]]
===United Kingdom===
* [[Edward VII]] (1901–1910)
* [[George V]] (1910–1936, until 1917 when the name was changed and the royal house and family became known as [[House of Windsor|Windsor]]).
* [[Edward VIII]] (1936)
* [[George VI]] (1936–1952)
* [[Elizabeth II]] (1952–)
<gallery>
File:Elizabeth II, Buckingham Palace, 07 Mar 2006 crop.jpeg|Queen [[Elizabeth II]]
</gallery>
From King Edward VII, who reigned from 1901 to 1910, until 1917 when King George V replaced the German-sounding title with the name of Windsor during the First World War, British monarchs belonged to the House of Saxe-Coburg & Gotha. The name ''Saxe-Coburg-Gotha'' survived the Belgian royal family until 1920 and in the [[Bulgarian royal family]]. <ref>[http://www.royal.gov.uk/HistoryoftheMonarchy/KingsandQueensoftheUnitedKingdom/Saxe-Coburg-Gotha/Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.aspx Saxe-Coburg-Gotha] on the official website of the British monarchy</ref>
==Genealogy==
[[Patrilineality]], descent as reckoned from father to son, has historically been the principle determining membership in [[reign]]ing families, thus the dynasty to which the monarchs of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha belonged [[genealogy|genealogically]] through the 20th century is the [[House of Wettin]], despite the official use of varying names by different branches of the patriline.
[[File:Saxe Coburg Dynasty Family Tree.PNG|thumb|center|600px|Saxe-Coburg Dynasty Family Tree since the end of the 18th Century, showing their inheritance of the thrones of Great Britain, Belgium, Portugal, and Bulgaria.]]
== References ==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* [http://www.sachsen-coburg-gotha.de/en/ Official Website of the Ducal House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]
* [http://www.schloss-callenberg.com/ Callenberg Castle website]
{{s-start}}
{{s-hou | House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha ||||| [[House of Wettin]] | name='''[[Royal house]]''' }}
{{s-new|rows=2}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Dynasty|Ruling House]] of the [[Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]]|years=1826–1918}}
{{s-non|reason=Duchy Abolished}}
|-
{{s-ttl|title=Ruling House of the [[Kingdom of Belgium]]|years=1831–present}}
{{s-inc}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[House of Braganza]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Ruling House of the [[Kingdom of Portugal]]|dynasty=<small>(Ruled under the name [[House of Braganza]])</small>|years=1853–1910}}
{{s-non|rows=2|reason=Monarchy Abolished}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[House of Battenberg]]}}
{{s-ttl | title=Ruling house of the [[Kingdom of Bulgaria]] | years=1887–1946 }}
|-
{{s-bef | before=[[House of Hanover]]}}
{{s-ttl | title=Ruling house of the United Kingdom | dynasty=<small>(Renamed [[House of Windsor]]<br>by Royal Proclamation 17 July 1917)</small> | years=1901–1917 }}
{{s-aft | after='''[[House of Windsor]]'''<br> }}
{{end}}
{{Royal houses of Europe}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saxe-Coburg And Gotha, House Of}}
[[Category:Royal families]]
[[Category:German noble families]]
[[Category:House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha| ]]
[[Category:House of Wettin]]
[[Category:European royal families]]
[[Category:Bulgarian noble families]]
{{usedwp|House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha}}