George, King of Saxony

George
Photograph by Nicola Perscheid c. 1900
King of Saxony
Reign 19 June 1902 – 15 October 1904
Predecessor Albert
Successor Frederick Augustus III
Born 8 August 1832
Dresden
Died 15 October 1904 (aged 72)
Pillnitz
Burial
Katholische Hofkirche
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1859; died 1884)​
Issue
more...
Names
German: Friedrich August Georg Ludwig Wilhelm Maximilian Karl Maria Nepomuk Baptist Xaver Cyriacus Romanus
English: Frederick Augustus George Louis William Maximilian Charles Maria Nepomuk Baptist Xavier Cyriacus Romanus
House Wettin
Father John, King of Saxony
Mother Amalie Auguste of Bavaria
Religion Roman Catholicism

George (German: Georg; 8 August 1832 – 15 October 1904) was king of Saxony and member of the House of Wettin.

Early life

George was born in the Saxon capital Dresden. He was the second son of King John of Saxony (1801–1873) and his wife, Princess Amalie Auguste of Bavaria (1801–1877), daughter of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria (1756–1825).

Marriage

On 11 May 1859 at Belém Palace, Lisbon, George married, Infanta Maria Anna of Portugal, eldest surviving daughter of Queen Maria II of Portugal and her consort, Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry, and the younger sister of King Pedro V of Portugal. Maria Anna died young and George stayed unmarried for the rest of his long life.

Issue

Name Birth Death Notes
Marie Johanna Amalie Ferdinande Antonie Luise Juliane 19 June 1860 2 March 1861 (aged 0) died in childhood, no issue
Elisabeth Albertine Karoline Sidonie Ferdinande Leopoldine Antonie Auguste Clementine 14 February 1862 18 May 1863 (aged 1) died in childhood, no issue
Mathilde Marie Auguste Viktorie Leopoldine Karoline Luise Franziska Josepha 19 March 1863 27 March 1933 (aged 70) died unmarried, no issue
Frederick Augustus Johann Ludwig Karl Gustav Gregor Philipp 25 May 1865 18 February 1932 (aged 66) married Archduchess Louise of Austria (1870–1947), had issue
Maria Josepha Luise Philippine Elisabeth Pia Angelica Margarethe 31 May 1867 28 May 1944 (aged 76) married to her second cousin Archduke Otto Franz of Austria (1865–1906), had issue
Johann Georg Pius Karl Leopold Maria Januarius Anacletus 10 July 1869 24 November 1938 (aged 69) married first Duchess Maria Isabella of Württemberg (1871–1904) and second Princess Maria Immacolata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1874–1906)
Maximilian Wilhelm August Albert Karl Gregor Odo 17 November 1870 12 January 1951 (aged 80) ordained as a Roman Catholic priest
Albert Karl Anton Ludwig Wilhelm Viktor 25 February 1875 16 September 1900 (aged 25) died unmarried, no issue, the result of injuries sustained in a carriage crash caused by Prince Miguel of Braganza

Military career

George served under his brother Albert's command during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 and in the Franco-German War. In the re-organisation of the army which accompanied the march towards Paris, his brother the Crown Prince gained a separate command over the 4th army (Army of the Meuse) consisting of the Saxon XII corps, the Prussian Guard corps, and the IV (Prussian Saxony) corps and George succeeded him in command of the XII corps.

King of Saxony

2 Mark coin with the portrait of King George (coined 1903)

Prince George was a Generalfeldmarschall before his ascension. It gradually became clear that George's elder brother, Albert (1828–1902), and his wife, Queen Carola (1833–1907), would not have any children, thereby making George the heir presumptive to the throne. He succeeded Albert as King of Saxony on 19 June 1902, albeit for just a brief two-year reign. On 15 October 1904 he died in Pillnitz and was succeeded by his eldest son, Frederick Augustus III (1865–1932), who was deposed in 1918.

King George was a controversial figure. He divorced by royal decree his eldest son from his daughter-in-law, Crown Princess Luise. Luise's flight from Dresden was due to her father-in-law's threatening to have her interned in a mental asylum at the Sonnenstein Castle for life.

Honours and awards

Ancestry

See also