Princess Ida Caroline of Saxe-Meiningen (25 June 1794 – 4 April 1852), was a German princess, a member of the

House of Wettin The House of Wettin () was a dynasty which included Saxon monarch, kings, Prince Elector, prince-electors, dukes, and counts, who once ruled territories in the present-day German federated states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynas ...

, and by marriage Princess of

Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach () was a 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 raised to a grand duchy in 1815 by resolutio ...

Biography

Ida was born on 13 August 1794 at

Meiningen Meiningen () is a town in the southern part of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in the region of Franconia and has a population of around 26,000 (2024).

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Her father was

George I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen George I (German language, German: Georg Friedrich Karl; 4 February 1761 – 24 December 1803), was Duke of Saxe-Meiningen from 21 July 1782 until his death in 1803. He was known as a reformer and considered a model prince by many of his peers ...

; and her mother was Luise Eleonore, daughter of Prince Christian of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. She was titled ''Princess Ida of Saxe-Meiningen, Duchess in Saxony'' with the style ''

Serene Highness His/Her Serene Highness (abbreviation: HSH, second person address: Your Serene Highness) is a style (manner of address), style used today by the reigning families of Liechtenstein, Monaco and Thailand. Until 1918, it was also associated with the p ...

'' from her birth until 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, Napol ...

(1814–15), when the entire

was raised to the style of ''

Highness Highness (abbreviation HH, oral address Your Highness) is a formal style used to address (in second person) or refer to (in third person) certain members of a reigning or formerly reigning dynasty. It is typically used with a possessive adjec ...

''. Her siblings were

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

(who became Queen consort of the United Kingdom and of Hanover as wife of King

William IV of the United Kingdom William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded h ...

) and

Bernhard II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen Bernhard is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar (1604–1639), Duke of Saxe-Weimar * Bernhard, Prince of Saxe-Meiningen (1901–1984), head of the House of Saxe-Meiningen 194 ...

, with whom she maintained a close relationship. In

Meiningen Meiningen () is a town in the southern part of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in the region of Franconia and has a population of around 26,000 (2024).

on 30 May 1816 she married Prince Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, who served as a General in the Netherlands and she followed him in his various garrison cities during the following years; however, during the summer she lived in Liebenstein and Altenstein Palace, where she also remained when her husband made his North American tour. In 1830 she and her children participated in the coronation of her sister and brother-in-law in London, and from 1836 she moved to Liebenstein as her permanent summer residence. Thanks to her charitable activities, Ida was very popular among the population. On 22 June 1850 she was one of the godparents of

Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (Arthur William Patrick Albert; 1 May 185016 January 1942) was the seventh child and third son of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. He served as Gove ...

, third son of

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 Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

and

Prince Albert Prince Albert most commonly refers to: *Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria *Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco Prince Albert may also refer to: Royalty * Alb ...

; however, because was unable to be physically present, she was represented by the Duchess of Kent, mother of the Queen. Ida died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...

on 4 April 1852 aged 57. Her last words were: "''I hope that this night would sleep well''". She was buried in the '' Weimarer Fürstengruft''. Two years later, in 1854, her brother Bernhard II erected the called Ida monument at the now ruined Burg Liebenstein. In 2004 the monument was extensively renovated.

Issue

*Princess Louise Wilhelmine Adelaide (31 March 1817 – 11 July 1832). *Prince William Charles (25 June 1819 – 22 May 1839). *Princess Amalie Auguste Cecilia (30 May 1822 – 16 June 1822) * Prince William Augustus Edward (11 October 1823 – 16 November 1902), who entered the British army, served with much distinction in the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

, became colonel of the 1st Life Guards, and later a British

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

; married Lady Augusta Gordon-Lennox. They had no issue. * Prince Hermann Bernhard Georg (4 August 1825 – 31 August 1901), married Princess Augusta of Württemberg; one of his daughters, Pauline, married Charles Augustus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. *Prince Frederick Gustav Charles (28 June 1827 – 6 January 1892), married Pierina Marocchia nobile di Marcaini, created ''Baroness of Neuperg'' (23 May 1872). They had no issue. *Princess Anna Amalie Maria (9 September 1828 – 14 July 1864). * Princess Amalie Maria da Gloria Auguste (20 May 1830 – 1 May 1872), who married Prince Henry of the Netherlands. They had no issue.

Ancestry

References

External links

Descendants of Hans den Yngre af Sønderborg – Ninth Generation: Bernhard Carl von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ida Of Saxe-Meiningen, Princess 1794 births 1852 deaths House of Saxe-Meiningen People from Meiningen Princesses of Saxe-Meiningen Princesses of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Deaths from pneumonia in Germany Daughters of dukes