The House of Wettin () is a

dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ...

prince-electors The prince-electors (german: Kurfürst pl. , cz, Kurfiřt, la, Princeps Elector), or electors for short, were the members of the electoral college that elected the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century onwards, the prince ...

duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, t ...

s, and

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New Yor ...

s that once ruled territories in the present-day German states of

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it the ...

and

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...

. The dynasty is one of the oldest in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

, and its origins can be traced back to the town of

Wettin, Saxony-Anhalt Wettin is a small town belonging to the municipality of Wettin-Löbejün in the Saale District of Saxony-Anhalt (''Saxony- Ascania''), Germany. It is situated on the River Saale, just north of Halle. It is known for Wettin Castle (German: ''Burg' ...

. The Wettins gradually rose to power within the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

. Members of the family became the rulers of several

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

states, starting with the

Saxon Eastern March The Saxon Eastern March (german: Sächsische Ostmark) was a march of the Holy Roman Empire from the 10th until the 12th century. The term "eastern march" stems from the Latin term ''marchia Orientalis'' and originally could refer to either a marc ...

in 1030. Other states they gained were

Meissen Meissen (in German orthography: ''Meißen'', ) is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albre ...

in 1089,

in 1263, and

in 1423. These areas cover large parts of Central Germany as a cultural area of Germany. The family divided into two ruling branches in 1485 by the

Treaty of Leipzig The Treaty of Leipzig or Partition of Leipzig (German ''Leipziger Teilung'') was signed on 11 November 1485 between Elector Ernest of Saxony and his younger brother Albert III, the sons of Elector Frederick II of Saxony from the House of Wettin. ...

: the Ernestine and Albertine branches. The older Ernestine branch played a key role during the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

. Many ruling monarchs outside Germany were later tied to its

cadet branch In history and heraldry, a cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets—realm, ti ...

, the

House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha The House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (; german: Haus Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha) is a Europeans, European Royal House, royal house. It takes its name from its oldest domain, the Ernestine duchies, Ernestine duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, its member ...

. The

Albertine branch The Albertine branch is a German princely family of the House of Wettin. The name derives from the progenitor of the line, Albert III, Duke of Saxony. The Albertine branch ruled from 1485 to 1918 as dukes, electors and kings in Saxony. History o ...

, while less prominent, ruled most of

and played a part in

Polish history The history of Poland spans over a thousand years, from medieval tribes, Christianization and monarchy; through Poland's Golden Age, expansionism and becoming one of the largest European powers; to its collapse and partitions, two world wars, ...

. Agnates of the House of Wettin have, at various times, ascended the thrones of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Mac ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

. Only the

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

line retains their throne today. All undisputably members, or those without

morganatic Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spouse ...

marriages, are more than 70 years old.

Origins: Wettin of Saxony

The oldest member of the House of Wettin who is known for certain is

Theodoric I of Wettin Theodoric I (10th century; German: Dietrich, also known as Thierry) was a nobleman in the Duchy of Saxony, and the oldest traceable member of the House of Wettin. Biography Theodoric was born in the early 10th century to unknown parents. He m ...

, also known as ''Dietrich'', ''Thiedericus'', and ''Thierry I of Liesgau'' (died c. 982). He was most probably based in the

Liesgau The Liesgau was a shire ('' Gau'') of the Duchy of Saxony in the early medieval period, roughly corresponding to the former Osterode district of Lower Saxony. It was situated on the south-west side of the Harz Mountains in what is now the German ...

(located at the western edge of the

Harz The Harz () is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' derives from the Middle High German w ...

). Around 1000, the family acquired

Wettin Castle Wettin Castle is a former castle that stood near the town of Wettin on the Saale river in Germany, and which is the ancestral home of the House of Wettin, the dynasty that included several royal families, including that of the current ruling famil ...

, which was originally built by the local Slavic tribes (see

Sorbs Sorbs ( hsb, Serbja, dsb, Serby, german: Sorben; also known as Lusatians, Lusatian Serbs and Wends) are a indigenous West Slavic ethnic group predominantly inhabiting the parts of Lusatia located in the German states of Saxony and Bran ...

), after which they named themselves. Wettin Castle is located in Wettin in the

Hassegau The Hassegau was a medieval shire ('' Gau'') in the Eastphalia region of the Duchy of Saxony. It was located in the duchy's southeastern corner; confined by the Saale river to the east and its Unstrut and Wipper tributaries to the south and north ...

(or Hosgau) on the

Saale River The Saale (), also known as the Saxon Saale (german: Sächsische Saale) and Thuringian Saale (german: Thüringische Saale), is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Franconian Saale, ...

. Around 1030, the Wettin family received the Eastern March as a

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of f ...

. The prominence of the Wettins in the Slavic Saxon Eastern March (or ''Ostmark'') caused

Emperor Henry IV Henry IV (german: Heinrich IV; 11 November 1050 – 7 August 1106) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 to 1105, King of Germany from 1054 to 1105, King of Italy and Burgundy from 1056 to 1105, and Duke of Bavaria from 1052 to 1054. He was the s ...

to invest them with the

March of Meissen The Margravate of Meissen (german: Markgrafschaft Meißen) was a medieval principality in the area of the modern German state of Saxony. It originally was a frontier march of the Holy Roman Empire, created out of the vast ''Marca Geronis'' (Saxon ...

as a fief in 1089. The family advanced over the course of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

: in 1263, they inherited the

landgraviate Landgrave (german: Landgraf, nl, landgraaf, sv, lantgreve, french: landgrave; la, comes magnus, ', ', ', ', ') was a noble title used in the Holy Roman Empire, and later on in its former territories. The German titles of ', ' (" margrave") ...

(although without

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Da ...

) and in 1423, they were invested with the

Duchy of Saxony The Duchy of Saxony ( nds, Hartogdom Sassen, german: Herzogtum Sachsen) was originally the area settlement geography, settled by the Saxons in the late Early Middle Ages, when they were subdued by Charlemagne during the Saxon Wars from 772 and in ...

, centred at

Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the River Elbe, north of ...

, thus becoming one of the

prince-elector The prince-electors (german: Kurfürst pl. , cz, Kurfiřt, la, Princeps Elector), or electors for short, were the members of the electoral college that elected the Holy Roman Emperor, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century ...

s of the

Ernestine and Albertine Wettins

The family split into two ruling branches in 1485 when the sons of

Frederick II, Elector of Saxony Frederick II, The Gentle (''Friedrich, der Sanftmütige''; Frederick the Gentle) (22 August 1412 – 7 September 1464) was Elector of Saxony (1428–1464) and was Landgrave of Thuringia (1440–1445). Biography Frederick was born in Leipzi ...

divided the territories hitherto ruled jointly. The elder son

Ernest Ernest is a given name derived from Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People * Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor *Ernest, ...

, who had succeeded his father as

Prince-elector The prince-electors (german: Kurfürst pl. , cz, Kurfiřt, la, Princeps Elector), or electors for short, were the members of the electoral college that elected the Holy Roman Emperor, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century ...

, received the territories assigned to the Elector (''

Electorate of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony (German: or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356–1806. It was centered around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. In the Golden Bull of 1356, Emperor Charl ...

'') and

, while his younger brother

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Alber ...

obtained the

, which he ruled from

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

. As Albert ruled under the title of "Duke of Saxony", his possessions were also known as

Ducal Saxony The Duchy of Saxony ( nds, Hartogdom Sassen, german: Herzogtum Sachsen) was originally the area settled by the Saxons in the late Early Middle Ages, when they were subdued by Charlemagne during the Saxon Wars from 772 and incorporated into the Ca ...

. File:Ernst Kurfürst von Sachsen, 1441-1486 (AT KHM GG4795).jpg,

Ernest, Elector of Saxony Ernest (24 March 144126 August 1486) was Elector of Saxony from 1464 to 1486. Ernst was the founder and progenitor of the ''Ernestine line'' of Saxon princes. Biography Ernst was born in Meissen, the second son (but fourth in order of birth) ...

(1441–1486) File:Albrecht der Beherzte, 1443-1500 (AT KHM GG4796).jpg, Albert, Duke of Saxony (1443–1500)

Ernestines

The older Ernestine branch remained predominant until 1547 and played an important role in the beginnings of the

. Frederick III (''Friedrich der Weise'') appointed

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Luther ...

(1512) and

Philipp Melanchthon Philip Melanchthon. (born Philipp Schwartzerdt; 16 February 1497 – 19 April 1560) was a German Lutheran reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, intellectual leader of the L ...

(1518) to the

University of Wittenberg Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university in ...

, which he had established in 1502. The Ernestine predominance ended in the

Schmalkaldic War The Schmalkaldic War (german: link=no, Schmalkaldischer Krieg) was the short period of violence from 1546 until 1547 between the forces of Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire (simultaneously King Charles I of Spain), commanded by the Du ...

(1546/7), which pitted the Protestant

Schmalkaldic League The Schmalkaldic League (; ; or ) was a military alliance of Lutheran princes within the Holy Roman Empire during the mid-16th century. Although created for religious motives soon after the start of the Reformation, its members later came to ...

against the

Emperor Charles V Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain ( Castile and Aragon) fr ...

. Although itself Lutheran, the Albertine branch rallied to the Emperor's cause. Charles V had promised Moritz the rights to the electorship. After the

Battle of Mühlberg The Battle of Mühlberg took place near Mühlberg in the Electorate of Saxony in 1547, during the Schmalkaldic War. The Catholic princes of the Holy Roman Empire led by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V decisively defeated the Lutheran Schma ...

, Johann Friedrich der Großmütige, had to cede territory (including Wittenberg) and the electorship to his cousin Moritz. Although imprisoned, Johann Friedrich was able to plan a new university. It was established by his three sons on 19 March 1548 as the ''Höhere Landesschule'' at

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a po ...

. On 15 August 1557,

Emperor Ferdinand I Ferdinand I ( es, Fernando I; 10 March 1503 – 25 July 1564) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1556, King of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia from 1526, and Archduke of Austria from 1521 until his death in 1564.Milan Kruhek: Cetin, grad izbornog sabo ...

awarded it the status of university. The Ernestine line was thereafter restricted to Thuringia and its dynastic unity swiftly crumbled, dividing into a number of smaller states, the

Ernestine duchies The Ernestine duchies (), also known as the Saxon duchies (, although the Albertine appanage duchies of Weissenfels, Merseburg and Zeitz were also "Saxon duchies" and adjacent to several Ernestine ones), were a group of small states whose n ...

. Nevertheless, with Ernst der Fromme, Duke of Saxe-Gotha (1601–1675), the house gave rise to an important early-modern ruler who was ahead of his time in supporting the education of his people and in improving administration. In the 18th century, Karl August, Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, established what was to become known as

Weimar Classicism Weimar Classicism (german: Weimarer Klassik) was a German literary and cultural movement, whose practitioners established a new humanism from the synthesis of ideas from Romanticism, Classicism, and the Age of Enlightenment. It was named after ...

at his court in Weimar, notably by bringing

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...

there. It was only in the 19th century that one of the many Ernestine branches, the

, regained importance through marriages as the "stud of Europe", by ascending the thrones of

(in 1831),

(1853–1910),

(1908–1946) and the

(1901-present, though the relevant marriage had taken place in 1840) and also providing a consort to the future Habsburg

Emperor of Mexico The Emperor of Mexico (Spanish: ''Emperador de México'') was the head of state and ruler of Mexico on two non-consecutive occasions in the 19th century. With the Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire from Spain in 1821, Mexico be ...

(1857).

Residences of Ernestine branches

File:Schloss Altenburg 02.JPG, Altenburg Castle File:Schloss Saalfeld.jpg,

Saalfeld Saalfeld (german: Saalfeld/Saale) is a town in Germany, capital of the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district of Thuringia. It is best known internationally as the ancestral seat of the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha branch of the Saxon House of Wettin. Geography ...

Castle File:Schloss Weimar - Panorama.jpg,

Schloss Weimar Schloss Weimar is a '' Schloss'' (palace) in Weimar, Thuringia, Germany. It is now called ''Stadtschloss'' to distinguish it from other palaces in and around Weimar. It was the residence of the dukes of Saxe-Weimar and Eisenach, and has also be ...

File:City palace - Stadtschloss - Eisenach - Thuringia - Germany.jpg,

Eisenach Eisenach () is a town in Thuringia, Germany with 42,000 inhabitants, located west of Erfurt, southeast of Kassel and northeast of Frankfurt. It is the main urban centre of western Thuringia and bordering northeastern Hessian regions, sit ...

Palace File:Schloss01.jpg,

Elisabethenburg Palace Elisabethenburg Palace (german: Schloss Elisabethenburg) is a Baroque architecture, Baroque palace located on the northwestern edge of Meiningen in Germany. Until 1918 it was the residence of the Saxe-Meiningen, Dukes of Saxe-Meiningen. The castle ...

in Meiningen File:Schloss Hildburghausen.JPG,

Hildburghausen Hildburghausen (IPA adapted from: ) is a town in Thuringia in central Germany, capital of the district Hildburghausen. Geography It is situated in the Franconian part of Thuringia south of the Thuringian Forest, in the valley of the Werra rive ...

Castle

Albertines

Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Saxony 1806-1918

The junior

maintained most of the territorial integrity of Saxony, preserving it as a significant power in the region, and used small

appanage An appanage, or apanage (; french: apanage ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture. It was common in much ...

fiefs for its cadet branches, few of which survived for significant lengths of time. The Ernestine Wettins, on the other hand, repeatedly subdivided their territory, creating an intricate patchwork of small duchies and counties in Thuringia. The Albertine Wettins ruled as Electors (1547–1806) and

Kings of Saxony The Kingdom of Saxony (german: Königreich Sachsen), lasting from 1806 to 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. The kingdom was formed from the Electorate of Saxon ...

(1806–1918), and also played a role in Polish history – two Wettins were

Kings of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...

(between 1697–1763) and a third ruled the

Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw ( pl, Księstwo Warszawskie, french: Duché de Varsovie, german: Herzogtum Warschau), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during ...

(1807–1814) as a satellite of

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

. After the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

, the Albertine branch lost about 40% of its lands (the economically less-developed northern parts of the old Electorate of Saxony) to Prussia, restricting it to a territory coextensive with the modern

(see

Final Act of the Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...

Act IV: Treaty between Prussia and Saxony 18 May 1815). Frederick Augustus III lost his throne in the

German Revolution German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

of 1918. The role of current head of the Albertine "House of Saxony" is claimed by his great-grandson

Prince Rüdiger of Saxony A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

, Duke of Saxony, Margrave of Meissen (born 23 December 1953). However, the headship of Prince Rüdiger is contested by his second cousin,

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

(born 1954), son of Roberto Afif (later by change of name Mr Gessaphe) and Princess Maria Anna of Saxony, a sister of the childless former head of the Albertines,

Maria Emanuel, Margrave of Meissen Prince Maria Emanuel of Saxony, Duke of Saxony, Margrave of Meissen (31 January 1926 – 23 July 2012) was the head of the Royal House of Saxony. Life Born at Prüfening Abbey in Regensburg, Bavaria, he was the eldest child of the then Heredit ...

(died 2012), who had adopted his nephew and granted him the name Prince of Saxony, contrary to the rules of male descent under the Salic Law. Both are however not recognized by the Nobility Archive in Marburg, nor by the Conference of the Formerly Ruling Houses in Germany – Prince Rüdiger because his father Timo was expelled from the House of Wettin, and Prince Alexander because he is not of

agnatic Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritanc ...

noble descent (his father was Roberto Afif from Lebanon). Consequently, the Albertine branch of the House of Wettin is officially treated by the German nobility as extinct in its legal succession-line.

Albertine Electors and Kings of Saxony

Residences of the Albertine branch

File:DD-Schloss-gp.jpg, Dresden Royal Palace File:Meißen Burgberg mit Albrechtsburg und Dom.jpg,

(near Dresden) File:Moritzburg bei Dresden (tone-mapping).jpg,

Moritzburg Castle Moritzburg Castle (german: Schloss Moritzburg) or Moritzburg Palace is a Baroque palace in Moritzburg, in the German state of Saxony, about northwest of the Saxon capital, Dresden. The castle has four round towers and lies on a symmetrical art ...

(near Dresden) File:Pillnitz-Wasseransicht.jpg,

Pillnitz Palace Pillnitz Palace (german: Schloss Pillnitz) is a restored Baroque schloss at the eastern end of the city of Dresden in the German state of Saxony. It is located on the bank of the River Elbe in the former village of Pillnitz. It was the summer ...

(near Dresden) File:Schloss Weesenstein (14-2).jpg, Weesenstein Castle (near Dresden) File:Schloss Freudenstein Freiberg.jpg,

Freudenstein Castle Freudenstein Castle (german: Schloss Freudenstein) is located on the ''Schloßplatz'' ("Castle Square") on the edge of the town centre of Freiberg in the German state of Saxony. Its history is closely linked to the House of Wettin. After several c ...

at Freiberg File:Schloss Augustusburg Südseite.jpg,

Augustusburg Hunting Lodge The hunting lodge of Augustusburg (german: Jagdschloss Augustusburg) was built from 1568 to 1572 above the town of the same name on a hill called the ''Schellenberg'' () on the northern edge of the Ore Mountains of Germany. The castle, which i ...

(near Chemnitz) File:Schloss Hubertusburg, Wermsdorf, Sachsen, Deutschland.JPG,

Hubertusburg Hubertusburg is a Rococo palace in Saxony, Germany. It was built from 1721 onwards at the behest of Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, and after his death served as a residence of his son Augustus III. The 'Saxon Versailles ...

Castle (near

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

)

The House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Coat of Arms of the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

The senior (Ernestine) branch of the House of Wettin lost the electorship to the Albertine line in 1547, but retained its holdings in Thuringia, dividing the area into a number of smaller states. One of the resulting Ernestine houses, known as

Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld () was one of the Saxon Duchies held by the Ernestine line of the Wettin Dynasty. Established in 1699, the Saxe-Coburg-Saalfield line lasted until the reshuffle of the Ernestine territories that occurred following the extinc ...

until 1826 and as

Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (german: Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha), or Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (german: Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha, links=no ), was an Ernestine, Thuringian duchy ruled by a branch of the House of Wettin, consisting of territories in the present- ...

after that, went on to contribute

kings of Belgium This is a list of Belgian monarchs from 1831 when the first Belgian king, Leopold I, ascended the throne, after Belgium seceded from the Kingdom of the Netherlands during the Belgian Revolution of 1830. Under the Belgian Constitution, the Belgi ...

(from 1831) and

(1908–1946), as well as furnishing consorts to

queens regnant A queen regnant (plural: queens regnant) is a female monarch, equivalent in rank and title to a king, who reigns ''suo jure'' (in her own right) over a realm known as a "kingdom"; as opposed to a queen consort, who is the wife of a reigning ...

( Prince Ferdinand) and the

( Prince Albert), and the

(

Carlota of Mexico Charlotte of Belgium (''Marie Charlotte Amélie Augustine Victoire Clémentine Léopoldine''; 7 June 1840 – 19 January 1927), known by the Spanish version of her name, Carlota, was by birth a Princess of Belgium and member of the House of ...

) Thus, the British and Portuguese thrones became possessions of persons who belonged to the House of Wettin for a time. From King George I to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

, the British Royal family was called the

House of Hanover The House of Hanover (german: Haus Hannover), whose members are known as Hanoverians, is a European royal house of German origin that ruled Hanover, Great Britain, and Ireland at various times during the 17th to 20th centuries. The house ori ...

, being a junior branch of the House of Brunswick-Lüneburg and thus part of the dynasty of the

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Well ...

s. In the late 19th century, Queen Victoria charged the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the British Sover ...

in England to determine the correct personal surname of her late husband, Prince Albert of

—and, thus, the proper surname of the royal family upon the accession of her son. After extensive research, they concluded that it was Wettin, but this name was never used, either by the Queen or by her son (

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second chil ...

) or by her grandson (

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Q ...

); they were simply Kings of the House of "Saxe-Coburg-Gotha". Severe anti-German sentiment during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

(1914-1918) led some influential members of the British public (especially radical Republicans such as

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

"Since the Saxe-Coburg family belonged to the House of Wettin in the District of Wipper, ''Wettin'' or ''Wipper'' might be more appropriate. Either one could have passed for an English name, but both were considered 'unsuitably comic.'" Anne Edwards, ''Matriarch: Queen Mary and the House of Windsor'' (2014)
p. 302
An

Order in Council An Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council (''Ki ...

legally changed the name of the British royal family to "Windsor" (originally suggested by

Lord Stamfordham Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur John Bigge, 1st Baron Stamfordham, (18 June 1849 – 31 March 1931) was a British Army officer and courtier. He was Private Secretary to Queen Victoria during the last few years of her reign, and to George V durin ...

) in 1917.

Residences of the family

File:Coburg-Veste4.jpg,

Veste Coburg The Veste Coburg (Coburg Fortress) is one of the best-preserved medieval fortresses of Germany. It is situated on a hill above the town of Coburg, in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria. Geography Location Veste Coburg dominates the town of C ...

, ancestral seat of the House of Saxe-Coburg File:Coburg-Ehrenburg1.jpg,

Ehrenburg Palace Ehrenburg Palace (German: ''Schloss Ehrenburg'') is a palace in Coburg, Franconia, Germany. It served as the main Coburg residence for the ruling princes from the 1540s until 1918. The palace's exterior today mostly reflects Gothic Revival style. ...

, Coburg (summer residence) File:Gotha Schloss 1900.jpg,

Friedenstein Castle Friedenstein Palace (german: Schloss Friedenstein) is an early Baroque palace built in the mid-17th century by Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha at Gotha, Thuringia, Germany. In Germany, ''Friedenstein'' was one of the largest palaces of its time and ...

Gotha Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...

(winter residence) File:Reinhardsbrunn Schloss Winter.JPG,

Reinhardsbrunn Reinhardsbrunn in Friedrichroda near Gotha, in the German state of Thuringia, is the site of a formerly prominent Benedictine abbey, the house monastery of the Ludovingian Landgraves of Thuringia abbey extant between 1085 and 1525. Later used ...

Castle, Gotha File:CO Schloss Rosenau1.jpg, Rosenau Castle, Coburg Schloss Callenberg 2.jpg,

Callenberg Castle Callenberg Castle (''Schloss Callenberg'') is a castle on a wooded hill in Beiersdorf, an '' Ortsteil'' of Coburg, from the town centre. It was a hunting lodge and summer residence and has long been the principal residence of the House of Saxe ...

Branches and titles of the House of Wettin and its agnatic descent

Early Wettins

* Counts of Wettin * Margraves of Landsberg * Margraves of

* Margraves of

Lusatia Lusatia (german: Lausitz, pl, Łużyce, hsb, Łužica, dsb, Łužyca, cs, Lužice, la, Lusatia, rarely also referred to as Sorbia) is a historical region in Central Europe, split between Germany and Poland. Lusatia stretches from the Bóbr ...

Dukes of Saxony The Duchy of Saxony ( nds, Hartogdom Sassen, german: Herzogtum Sachsen) was originally the area settlement geography, settled by the Saxons in the late Early Middle Ages, when they were subdued by Charlemagne during the Saxon Wars from 772 and in ...

, Landgraves of Thuringia *

Electors of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony (German: or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356–1806. It was centered around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. In the Golden Bull of 1356, Emperor Charles ...

and

Arch-Marshal The prince-electors (german: Kurfürst pl. , cz, Kurfiřt, la, Princeps Elector), or electors for short, were the members of the electoral college that elected the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century onwards, the prince ...

s of the

File:Wartburg von Brücke.jpg,

Wartburg The Wartburg () is a castle originally built in the Middle Ages. It is situated on a precipice of to the southwest of and overlooking the town of Eisenach, in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It was the home of St. Elisabeth of Hungary, the ...

near Eisenach (1250–1406: residence of the Wettins)

Ernestines

and

s of the Holy Roman Empire (1464–1547) File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-16879-0019, Wittenberg, Schloss, Schlosskirche.jpg,

Wittenberg Castle Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the River Elbe, north of ...

, residence of Frederick III, "the Wise", built 1490–96 File:SchlossHartenfels.JPG, Hartenfels Castle in

Torgau Torgau () is a town on the banks of the Elbe in northwestern Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district Nordsachsen. Outside Germany, the town is best known as where on 25 April 1945, the United States and Soviet Armies forces firs ...

, main residence of the Ernestine Electors since Frederick III, "the Wise", built 1533–40

Existing Ernestine branches

Branch of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach *

Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (german: Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach) was a historical German state, created as a duchy in 1809 by the merger of the Ernestine duchies of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach, which had been in personal union since 1741. It was rai ...

, extant lines all shared last common ancestor in the person of

William Ernest, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach William Ernest, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (Wilhelm Ernst Karl Alexander Friedrich Heinrich Bernhard Albert Georg Hermann, '' en, William Ernest Charles Alexander Frederick Henry Bernard Albert George Herman''; 10 June 1876 – 24 April 19 ...

. However there are only two members of this line left,

Michael, Prince of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Michael, Prince of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (german: Michael Prinz von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach; born 15 November 1946) is the current head of the Grand Ducal House of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, as well as the most senior agnate of the entire House of We ...

and Prince Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. Both were born in 1946. Since Prince Michael has no sons, and Prince Wilhelm Ernst, whose only son Prince Georg-Constantin (13 April 1977 – 9 June 2018), a banker who was married but without issue, was killed in a horse riding accident on 9 June 2018 while riding with Jean Christophe Iseux von Pfetten. Therefore, the Grand Ducal House of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach will most likely become extinct in the male line. These two represent the last non-morganatic descendants of

William, Duke of Saxe-Weimar Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Weimar ( Altenburg, 11 April 1598 – Weimar, 17 May 1662), was a duke of Saxe-Weimar. Wilhelm was the fifth (but third surviving) son of Johann, Duke of Saxe-Weimar, and Dorothea Maria of Anhalt. He was brother to Bern ...

** Illegitimate line of Barons of Heygendorff, four males left Branch of Saxe-Meiningen *

Saxe-Meiningen Saxe-Meiningen (; german: Sachsen-Meiningen ) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine line of the Wettin dynasty, located in the southwest of the present-day German state of Thuringia. Established in 1681, by partition of the Ernest ...

lines all shared common descent from

Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen (2 April 1826 – 25 June 1914), was the penultimate Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, reigning from 1866 to 1914. For his support for his successful court theatre he was also known as the ''Theaterherzog'' (theatre duk ...

** Morganatic lines from

Ernst, Prince of Saxe-Meiningen Ernst, Prince of Saxe-Meiningen (Ernst, Prinz von Sachsen-Meiningen; 27 September 1859 – 29 December 1941) was the head of the house of Saxe-Meiningen from 1928 until his death. Biography He was born in Meiningen, the eldest son of the heir ...

** Morganatic line from

Bernhard, Prince of Saxe-Meiningen Bernhard, Prince of Saxe-Meiningen (german: link=no, Bernhard, Prinz von Sachsen-Meiningen; 30 June 1901 – 4 October 1984) was the head of the House of Saxe-Meiningen from 1946 until his death. Prince of Saxe-Meiningen Bernhard was born in Kö ...

** Legitimate line from

of whom only Prince Frederick Konrad of Saxe-Meiningen (Born on 14 April 1952) is still alive today. In the very likely event of the extinction of these two senior branches, the sole represantation of the Ernestine Wettins will pass to the descendants of

Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld en, Francis Frederick Anthony , house = , father = Ernest Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld , mother = Princess Sophie Antoinette of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel , birth_date = , birth_place = Coburg, ...

, who are the present Saxe-Coburg-Gothas led by

Andreas, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Prince Andreas of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Duke of Saxony (''Andreas Michael Friedrich Hans Armin Siegfried Hubertus Prinz von Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha Herzog von Sachsen''; born 21 March 1943) is a German landowner and nobleman who has been the hea ...

(b. 21 March 1943), the

House of Windsor The House of Windsor is the reigning royal house of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms. In 1901, a line of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (itself a cadet branch of the House of Wettin) succeeded the House of Hanover to ...

, the

Royal Family of Belgium Belgium is a constitutional, hereditary, and popular monarchy. The monarch is titled king or queen of the Belgians ( nl, Koning(in) der Belgen, french: Roi / Reine des Belges}, german: König(in) der Belgier) and serves as the country's he ...

and the Royal Family of Bulgaria. Francis and his nephew Ludwig Frederick Emil von Coburg are also ancestors to morganatic lines. *

, last common descent from

Francis Josias, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld Francis Josias, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (25 September 1697, in Saalfeld – 16 September 1764, in Rodach) was a duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. Biography He was the fourth living son of Johann Ernest IV, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, the t ...

, further divided into: **

Saxe-Coburg-Gotha Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (german: Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha), or Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (german: Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha, links=no ), was an Ernestine, Thuringian duchy ruled by a branch of the House of Wettin, consisting of territories in the present- ...

, last common descent from

, further divided into: ***

, last common descent from

Albert, Prince Consort Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Franz August Karl Albert Emanuel; 26 August 1819 – 14 December 1861) was the consort of Queen Victoria from their marriage on 10 February 1840 until his death in 1861. Albert was born in the Saxon d ...

of the United Kingdom, as in 1863

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

and his son, the future

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Q ...

renounced his succession rights to the duchy Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the succession fell into the line of the Duke of Albany. **** Gloucester line

Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, (Richard Alexander Walter George; born 26 August 1944) is a member of the British royal family. He is the second son of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, as well ...

**** Kentian Line, from

Prince George, Duke of Kent Prince George, Duke of Kent, (George Edward Alexander Edmund; 20 December 1902 – 25 August 1942) was a member of the British royal family, the fourth son of King George V and Queen Mary. He was a younger brother of kings Edward VIII and Geo ...

*** Mainline (Albany) Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, from

Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha '' , house = Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , father = Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany , mother = Princess Helen of Waldeck and Pyrmont , birth_name = Prince Charles Edward, Duke of Albany , birth_date = , birth_place = Cla ...

who until 1919 was the Duke of Albany ***

House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry The House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry is the Catholic cadet branch of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, founded after the marriage of Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Princess Maria Antonia Koháry de Csábrág. Among its de ...

, last common descent from

Prince August of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha August Victor Louis of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (german: August Viktor Ludwig; 13 June 1818 – 26 July 1881), was a German prince of the Catholic House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry. He was a General Major in the Royal Saxon Army and the own ...

**** Morganatic descendants from

Prince Philipp of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1901–1985) Prince Philipp of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Philipp Josias Maria Joseph Ignatius Michael Gabriel Raphael Gonzaga; 18 August 1901 – 18 October 1985) was a Dynasty#Dynasts, dynast of the House of Wettin, belonging to the House of Saxe-Coburg and Goth ...

****

Bulgarian royal family The last Bulgarian royal family ( bg, Българско царско семейство, Balgarsko tsarsko semeystvo) is a line of the Koháry branch of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, which ruled Bulgaria from 1887 to 1946. The last tsar, ...

, all living members are descended from

Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha Simeon Borisov von Saxe-Coburg-Gotha ( bg, Симеон Борисов Сакскобургготски, translit=Simeon Borisov Sakskoburggotski, ; born 16 June 1937) is a Bulgarian politician who reigned as the last tsar of the Kingdom of Bul ...

***

House of Belgium A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air ...

, all living members share common descent from

Albert II of Belgium , house = Belgium , father = Leopold III of Belgium , mother = Astrid of Sweden , birth_date = , birth_place = Stuyvenberg Castle, Laeken, Brussels, Belgium , death_date = , death_place = , signature = Albert II of Belgium Sign ...

. However as absolute primogeniture is in effect in Belgium, if and on the ascencion of

Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant ( nl, Elisabeth Theresia Maria Helena; french: Élisabeth Thérèse Marie Hélène; born 25 October 2001) is the heir apparent to the Belgian throne. The eldest child of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde ...

to the throne, the ruling house of Belgium will no longer considered agnates to the House of Wettin ****Eppinghoven, illegitimate agnatic branch to the House of Belgium from

Leopold I of Belgium * nl, Leopold Joris Christiaan Frederik * en, Leopold George Christian Frederick , image = NICAISE Leopold ANV.jpg , caption = Portrait by Nicaise de Keyser, 1856 , reign = 21 July 1831 – , predecessor = Erasme Lou ...

and

Arcadie Claret Arcadie Meyer, Baroness of Eppinghoven, born Marie-Anne Arcadie Eugénie Claret (30 May 1826 – 13 January 1897), was a Belgian noblewoman and the mistress of Leopold I, King of the Belgians for more than twenty years, causing a national scandal. ...

** Morganatic line of Rohmann, from

Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld Prince Frederick Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (german: Friedrich Josias von Sachsen-Coburg-Saalfeld) (26 December 1737 – 26 February 1815) was an Austrian nobleman and military general. Biography Born at Schloß Ehrenburg in Coburg, he w ...

marriage to a commoner, Therese Stroffeck File:Coat of Arms of the Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.svg,

Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (german: Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach) was a historical German state, created as a duchy in 1809 by the merger of the Ernestine duchies of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach, which had been in personal union since 1741. It was rai ...

File:Coat of Arms of the Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen-Hildburghausen.svg,

Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen Saxe-Meiningen (; german: Sachsen-Meiningen ) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine line of the Wettin dynasty, located in the southwest of the present-day German state of Thuringia. Established in 1681, by partition of the Ernestin ...

File:Coat of Arms of the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.svg, Duchy of

File:Coat of Arms of the King of the Belgians.svg,

King of the Belgians Belgium is a constitutional, hereditary, and popular monarchy. The monarch is titled king or queen of the Belgians ( nl, Koning(in) der Belgen, french: Roi / Reine des Belges}, german: König(in) der Belgier) and serves as the country's h ...

File:Coat of Arms of the Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg.svg,

Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg Saxe-Altenburg (german: Sachsen-Altenburg, links=no) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine branch of the House of Wettin in present-day Thuringia. It was one of the smallest of the German states with an area of 1323 square kilomete ...

Extinct Ernestine branches

* Dukes of

Saxe-Coburg Saxe-Coburg (german: Sachsen-Coburg) was a duchy held by the Ernestine branch of the Wettin dynasty in today's Bavaria, Germany. History Ernestine Line When Henry IV, Count of Henneberg – Schleusingen, died in 1347, the possessions of t ...

* Dukes of

Saxe-Altenburg Saxe-Altenburg (german: Sachsen-Altenburg, links=no) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine branch of the House of Wettin in present-day Thuringia. It was one of the smallest of the German states with an area of 1323 square kilomete ...

(first line of Altenburg) * Dukes of

Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg () was a duchy ruled by the Ernestine branch of the House of Wettin in today's Thuringia, Germany. The extinction of the line in 1825 led to a major re-organisation of the Thuringian states. History In 1640 the sons of t ...

(second line of Altenburg) * Dukes of

Saxe-Hildburghausen Saxe-Hildburghausen () was an Ernestine duchy in the southern side of the present State of Thuringia in Germany. It existed from 1680 to 1826 but its name and borders are currently used by the District of Hildburghausen. History After the Duk ...

, then Dukes of Saxe-Altenburg (third line of Altenburg) * Dukes of Saxe-Weimar * Dukes of

Saxe-Eisenach Saxe-Eisenach (german: Sachsen-Eisenach) was an Ernestine duchy ruled by the Saxon House of Wettin. The state intermittently existed at three different times in the Thuringian region of the Holy Roman Empire. The chief town and capital of all th ...

* Dukes of

Saxe-Coburg-Eisenach Saxe-Coburg-Eisenach was a duchy within the Holy Roman Empire. It existed during two fairly short periods: 1572-1596 and 1633-1638. Its territory was part of the modern states of Bavaria and Thuringia. History The duchy was created by the Di ...

* Dukes of

Saxe-Jena The Duchy of Saxe-Jena was one of the Saxon Duchies held by the Ernestine line of the Wettin Dynasty. Established in 1672 for Bernhard, fourth son of Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Weimar, Saxe-Jena was reincorporated into Saxe-Weimar on the extincti ...

* Dukes of

Saxe-Gotha Saxe-Gotha (german: Sachsen-Gotha) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine branch of the Wettin dynasty in the former Landgraviate of Thuringia. The ducal residence was erected at Gotha. History The duchy was established in 1640, whe ...

* Dukes of

Saxe-Eisenberg The Duchy of Saxe-Eisenberg was one of the Saxon Duchies held by the Ernestine line of the Wettin Dynasty. History Established in 1680 for Christian, fifth son of Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha, the Duchy consisted of Eisenberg and the towns ...

* Dukes of

Saxe-Marksuhl The Duchy of Saxe-Marksuhl was one of the Saxon Duchies held by the Ernestine line of the Wettin Dynasty. Established in 1662 for John George I, third son of Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Weimar. Originally John George was supposed to share Saxe-Eis ...

* Dukes of

Saxe-Römhild Saxe-Römhild (German: ''Sachsen-Römhild'') was an Ernestine duchy in the southern foothills of the Thuringian Forest. It existed for only 30 years, from 1680 to 1710. History After the Duke of Saxe-Gotha, Ernest the Pious, died on 26 Marc ...

* Kings of Portugal and the Algarves (

House of Braganza-Saxe-Coburg and Gotha The House of Braganza-Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (also known as the House of Saxe-Coburg-Braganza or the Constitutional Branch of the Braganzas) is a term used to categorize the last four rulers of the Kingdom of Portugal, and their families, from 1853 ...

)

Albertines

* Margraves of

Grand Master of the Teutonic Order The Grand Master of the Teutonic Order (german: Hochmeister des Deutschen Ordens; la, Magister generalis Ordo Teutonicus) is the supreme head of the Teutonic Order. It is equivalent to the Grand master (order), grand master of other Military o ...

(1498–1510) *

and

s of the Holy Roman Empire (1547–1806) * Kings of Poland and Grand Dukes of Lithuania (1697-1763) *

Duke of Courland and Semigallia The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia ( la, Ducatus Curlandiæ et Semigalliæ; german: Herzogtum Kurland und Semgallen; lv, Kurzemes un Zemgales hercogiste; lt, Kuršo ir Žiemgalos kunigaikštystė; pl, Księstwo Kurlandii i Semigalii) was ...

(1758–1763) *

Duke of Teschen The Duchy of Teschen (german: Herzogtum Teschen), also Duchy of Cieszyn ( pl, Księstwo Cieszyńskie) or Duchy of Těšín ( cs, Těšínské knížectví), was one of the Duchies of Silesia centered on Cieszyn () in Upper Silesia. It was spli ...

(1766-1822) *

(1806–1918), currently ''Prince/Princess of Saxony'' and ''Duke/Duchess of Saxony'', with the head of the family also ''

Margrave of Meissen This article lists the margraves of Meissen, a march and territorial state on the eastern border of the Holy Roman Empire. History King Henry the Fowler, on his 928-29 campaign against the Slavic Glomacze tribes, had a fortress erected on a ...

'' *

Duke of Warsaw Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electable position in Europe (16th ...

(1807–1815)

Extinct Albertine branches

* Dukes of

Saxe-Zeitz The Duchy of Saxe-Zeitz (german: Herzogtum Sachsen-Zeitz) was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1656–57 as a secundogeniture of the Electoral Saxon house of House of Wettin. Its capital was Zeitz. The territory fell back to ...

* Dukes of

Saxe-Merseburg The Duchy of Saxe-Merseburg was a duchy of the Holy Roman Empire, with Merseburg as its capital. It existed from 1656 or 1657 to 1738 and was owned by an Albertine secundogeniture of the Saxon House of Wettin. History The Wettin Elector J ...

* Dukes of

Saxe-Weissenfels Saxe-Weissenfels (german: Sachsen-Weißenfels) was a duchy of the Holy Roman Empire from 1656/7 until 1746 with its residence at Weißenfels. Ruled by a cadet branch of the Albertine House of Wettin, the duchy passed to the Electorate of Saxony ...

File:Zeitz Schloss1.jpg, Moritzburg Palace in

Zeitz Zeitz ( hsb, Žič) is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the river White Elster, in the triangle of the federal states Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Saxony. History Zeitz was first recorded und ...

File:Merseburger Schloss 2006.jpg,

Merseburg Merseburg () is a town in central Germany in southern Saxony-Anhalt, situated on the river Saale, and approximately 14 km south of Halle (Saale) and 30 km west of Leipzig. It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese ...

Castle File:Schloss Neu-Augustusburg Ostseite.JPG, Neu-Augustusburg Castle, Weissenfels

Family tree of the House of Wettin

Coats of arms

File:Wappen Mark Landsberg.svg, Counts of Wettin, Margraves of Landsberg File:Wappen Landkreis Meissen.svg, Margraves of

File:Blason Thuringe-Misnie.svg, Margraves of

and Landgraves of Thuringia File:Blason Jean-Georges IV de Saxe.svg,

Elector of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony (German: or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356–1806. It was centered around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. In the Golden Bull of 1356, Emperor Charles ...

and

of the Holy Roman Empire File:Coat of arms of Saxony.svg,

King of Saxony This article lists dukes, electors, and kings ruling over different territories named Saxony from the beginning of the Saxon Duchy in the 6th century to the end of the German monarchies in 1918. The electors of Saxony from John the Steadfast on ...

(standard arms) For an extensive treatment of the coats of arms, see:

Coat of arms of Saxony The coat of arms of the present-day German free state of Saxony shows a tenfold horizontally-partitioned (''Barry of ten'') field of black (''sable'') and gold/yellow ('' or'') stripes,

or in French: Armorial de la maison de Wettin

References

External links

House of Wettin – European Heraldry page

Website of Rüdiger, Margrave of Meissen

Website of Albert Prinz von Sachsen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wettin, House of * German noble families 10th-century establishments in the Holy Roman Empire

Origins: Wettin of Saxony

Ernestine and Albertine Wettins

Ernestines

Residences of Ernestine branches

Albertines

Albertine Electors and Kings of Saxony

Residences of the Albertine branch

The House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Residences of the family

Branches and titles of the House of Wettin and its agnatic descent

Early Wettins

Ernestines

Existing Ernestine branches

Extinct Ernestine branches

Albertines

Extinct Albertine branches

Family tree of the House of Wettin

Coats of arms

See also

References

External links