House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Wappen Deutsches Reich - Herzogtum Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha (Grosses).png
Country Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Kingdom of Belgium
Kingdom of Bulgaria
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Empire of India
Ancestral house House of Wettin
Titles Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
King of the Belgians
Tsar of Bulgaria
King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Founder Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Current head Andreas, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Founding 1826
Dissolution 1918
Cadet branches House of Windsor
House of Braganza-Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Bulgarian Royal Family
Belgian Royal Family
Ducal Family of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

The House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (German: 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.









Ducal branch[edit]

Dukes, 1826–1918[edit]

Heads of the house since 1918[edit]

Although the ducal branch is eponymous with the dynasty, its head is not the genealogically or 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, Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and, upon the latter's death without surviving sons, to the youngest grandson of Prince Albert and Queen Victoria, 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.

Kings of the Belgians[edit]

Belgian royal house[edit]

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 (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.[1]

Kingdom of Bulgaria[edit]

United Kingdom[edit]

According to the official website of the British monarchy "the only British monarch of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha was King Edward VII, who reigned for nine years. King George V replaced the German-sounding title with the name of Windsor during the First World War. The name Saxe-Coburg-Gotha survived in other European realms, including the former monarchy of Bulgaria and in the Belgian royal family until 1920."[6]


Patrilineality, descent as reckoned from father to son, has historically been the principle determining membership in reigning families, thus the dynasty to which the monarchs of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha belonged genealogically through the 20th century is the House of Wettin, despite the official use of varying names by different branches of the patriline.

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.


  1. ^ Balfoort, et. al., Brigitte. "journalist" (pdf). The Belgian Monarchy. Olivier Alsteens, Director-General of the FPS Chancellery of the Prime Minister, Wetstraat 16, 1000 Brussels. Retrieved 18 July 2012. 
  2. ^ Bulgaria: Timeline, BBC News Online, 27 June 2007. Retrieved on 28 July 2007.
  3. ^ Former king marks first year as Bulgarian Prime Minister, Radio Free Europe, 26 July 2002. Retrieved on 28 July 2007.
  4. ^ Bulgarian (or Spanish) Prime Minister?, Bulgaria Development Gateway, 24 July 2003. Retrieved on 28 July 2007.
  5. ^ Lord Alderdice speaking in the House of Lords on 19 May 2005, Hansard. Retrieved on 28 July 2007.
  6. ^ Saxe-Coburg-Gotha on the official website of the British monarchy

External links[edit]

House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Cadet branch of the House of Wettin
New title Ruling house of the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Duchy abolished in the
German Revolution of 1918–19
Ruling house of the Kingdom of Belgium
Ruling house of the Kingdom of Bulgaria
Monarchy abolished after the
Bulgarian coup d'état of 1944
Preceded by
House of Hanover
Ruling house of the United Kingdom
(Renamed House of Windsor
by Royal Proclamation 17 July 1917)

Succeeded by
House of Windsor