Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (German: Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha), or Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, was an Ernestine duchy ruled by a branch of the House of Wettin, consisting of territories in the present-day states of Bavaria and Thuringia in Germany. It lasted from 1826 to 1918.

The name Saxe-Coburg-Gotha also refers to the family of the ruling House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, which played many varied roles in the dynastic and political history of Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries. In the early part of the 20th century, before the First World War, it was the family of the sovereigns of the United Kingdom, Belgium, Portugal, Bulgaria, and Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. In 1910, the Portuguese king was deposed, and the same thing occurred in Saxe-Coburg-Gotha in 1918 and in Bulgaria in 1946. As of 2015, branches of the family still reign in Belgium, the United Kingdom, and the other Commonwealth realms. The former Tsar of Bulgaria, Simeon II (reigned 1943–46), kept his surname while serving as the Prime Minister of Bulgaria from 2001 to 2005.

Prince Leopold

Prince Leopold may refer to:

Prince Leopold (horse)

Prince Leopold (1813–1817) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and winner of the 1816 Epsom Derby. Prince Leopold was bred by the Duke of York and raced as a three and four-year-old. The bay colt had an unruly temperament, and was castrated at the end of the 1817 racing season in an attempt to improve his behavior, but he died shortly after the procedure.

Background

Prince Leopold was bred by the Duke of York and was foaled at the Duke's Oakland Park stud in 1813. His sire, Hedley (foaled in 1803), raced at age four and five, winning a few 100-guinea races before he retired to stud in Wingfield, Berkshire in 1809. Prince Leopold was Hedley's most notable son. Gramarie (foaled 1807), Prince Leopold's dam, was also bred by the Duke of York and produced a full-sister to Prince Leopold, Leopoldine, that became the tail-female ancestress of several French stakes winners, most notably Bois Roussel. Gramarie also produced Bella Donna, the granddam of Derby winner Amato.

Racing career and death

Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Prince Leopold Franz Julius of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Vienna, 31 January 1824 – Vienna, 20 May 1884), was a German prince of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha-Koháry.

Born Prince Leopold Franz Julius of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Duke in Saxony, he was the third son of Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Princess Maria Antonia Koháry.

Leopold was a younger son and was unlikely to inherit titles or land, so he entered the Army in the service of the Austrian Empire. At one point Leopold was considered as a potential husband for Isabel II of Spain. This did not, however, prove to be realistic, given the resistance of France and other European powers. Spain had been the scene of Great Power rivalry throughout the period since 1815 and all the Great Powers were seeking to exert their influence by supporting different candidates. The Saxe-Coburg family was perceived to be too closely linked with British interests. The Coburg influence extended widely. In Great Britain, Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert were Leopold's first cousins, while Leopold I of Belgium was Leopold's paternal and Queen Victoria's maternal uncle, and Leopold's brother was King Ferdinand II of Portugal, husband of Queen Maria II of Portugal. Leopold's candidature in the affair of the Spanish Marriages was used by France as the excuse to negotiate the hasty marriage between Queen Isabella II of Spain and her cousin Francis of Spain, at the same time as that between the son of Louis Philippe and the Queen of Spain's younger sister.

Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (disambiguation)

Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was a German prince of the house of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha may also refer to: