House of Saxe-Coburg

The House of Wettin (Haus Wettin) is a dynasty of German counts, dukes, prince-electors and kings that once ruled territories in the present-day German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynasty is one of the oldest in Europe, and its origins can be traced back to the town of Wettin, Saxony-Anhalt. The Wettins gradually rose to power within the Holy Roman Empire. Members of the family became the rulers of several medieval states, starting with the Saxon Eastern March in 1030. Other states they gained were Meissen in 1089, Thuringia in 1263, and Saxony in 1423.

The family divided into two ruling branches in 1485 by the Treaty of Leipzig: the Ernestine and Albertine branches. The older Ernestine branch played a key role during the Protestant Reformation. Many ruling monarchs outside Germany were later tied to its cadet branch, the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The Albertine branch, while less prominent, ruled most of Saxony and played a part in Polish history.

Agnates of the House of Wettin have, at various times, ascended the thrones of Great Britain, Portugal, Bulgaria, Poland, Saxony, and Belgium. Only the British and Belgian lines retain their thrones today.

Origins: Wettin of Saxony
The oldest member of the House of Wettin who is known for certain is Theodoric I of Wettin, also known as Dietrich, Thiedericus, and Thierry I of Liesgau (died c. 982). He was most probably based in the Liesgau (located at the western edge of the Harz). Around 1000, the family acquired Wettin Castle, which was originally built by the local Slavic tribes (see Sorbs), after which they named themselves. Wettin Castle is located in Wettin in the Hassegau (or Hosgau) on the Saale River. Around 1030, the Wettin family received the Eastern March as a fief.

The prominence of the Wettins in the Slavic Saxon Eastern March (or Ostmark) caused Emperor Henry IV to invest them with the March of Meissen as a fief in 1089. The family advanced over the course of the Middle Ages: in 1263, they inherited the landgraviate of Thuringia (although without Hesse) and in 1423, they were invested with the Duchy of Saxony, centred at Wittenberg, thus becoming one of the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire.

Ernestine and Albertine Wettins
The family split into two ruling branches in 1485 when the sons of Frederick II, Elector of Saxony divided the territories hitherto ruled jointly. The elder son Ernest, who had succeeded his father as Prince-elector, received the territories assigned to the Elector (Electorate of Saxony) and Thuringia, while his younger brother Albert obtained the March of Meissen, which he ruled from Dresden. As Albert ruled under the title of "Duke of Saxony", his possessions were also known as Ducal Saxony.

Ernestines
The older Ernestine branch remained predominant until 1547 and played an important role in the beginnings of the Protestant Reformation. Frederick III (Friedrich der Weise) appointed Martin Luther (1512) and Philipp Melanchthon (1518) to the University of Wittenberg, which he had established in 1502.

The Ernestine predominance ended in the Schmalkaldic War (1546/7), which pitted the Protestant Schmalkaldic League against the Emperor Charles V. 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, 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. On 15 August 1557, Emperor Ferdinand I 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. 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 at his court in Weimar, notably by bringing Johann Wolfgang von Goethe there.

It was only in the 19th century that one of the many Ernestine branches, the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, regained importance through marriages as the "stud of Europe", by ascending the thrones of Belgium (in 1831), Portugal (1853–1910), Bulgaria (1908–1946) and the United Kingdom (in 1901).

Albertines


The Albertine Wettins maintained most of the territorial integrity of Saxony, preserving it as a significant power in the region, and used small appanage fiefs for their 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 junior Albertine branch ruled as Electors (1547–1806) and Kings of Saxony (1806–1918), and also played a role in Polish history: two Wettins were Kings of Poland (between 1697–1763) and a third ruled the Duchy of Warsaw (1807–1814) as a satellite of Napoleon. After the Napoleonic Wars, 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 Saxony (see Final Act of the Congress of Vienna Act IV: Treaty between Prussia and Saxony 18 May 1815). Frederick Augustus III lost his throne in the German Revolution of 1918.

The role of present head of the Albertine "House of Saxony" is claimed by his great-grandson Prince Ruediger of Saxony, Duke of Saxony, Margrave of Meissen (born 23 December 1953). The headship of Prince Rüdiger is however contested by his second cousin, Alexander (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 (died 2012), who had adopted his nephew, granting him the name Prince of Saxony, contrary to the rules of male descent under the Salic Law. The dispute is detailed in the article Line of succession to the former Saxon thrones. Both are however not recognized by the Nobility Archive in Marburg as well as by the Conference of the Formerly Ruling Houses in Germany. Prince Rüdiger, because his father Timo was expelled from the House of Wettin, Prince Alexander because he is not of noble descent (father was Roberto Afif from Lebanon). Consequently the House of Wettin, Albertine Branch, is officially treated by the german nobility as extinct in its legal succession-line.

The House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
The senior Ernestine branch lost the electorship to the Albertine 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 until 1826 and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha after that, went on to contribute kings of Belgium (from 1831) and Bulgaria (1908–1946), as well as furnishing husbands to queens regnant of Portugal (Prince Ferdinand) and the United Kingdom (Prince Albert). As such, the British and Portuguese thrones became possessions of persons who belonged to the House of Wettin.

From King George I to Queen Victoria, the British Royal family was variously called House of Hanover, being a junior branch of the House of Brunswick-Lüneburg and thus part of the dynasty of the Guelphs. In the late 19th century, Queen Victoria charged the College of Heralds in England to determine the correct personal surname of her late husband, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha—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 or grandson, King Edward VII and King George V; they were simply called 'Saxe-Coburg-Gotha'.

Severe anti-German sentiment during World War I led some influential members of the public quietly to question the loyalty of the Royal Family, because they had a German or German-sounding name. Advisors to King George V again searched for an acceptable surname for the British royal family, but Wettin was rejected as "unsuitably comic". By Order in Council, the name of the British royal family was legally changed to Windsor.

Early Wettins

 * Counts of Wettin
 * Margraves of Landsberg
 * Margraves of Meissen
 * Margraves of Lusatia
 * Dukes of Saxony, Landgraves of Thuringia
 * Electors of Saxony and Arch-Marshals of the Holy Roman Empire

Ernestines

 * Electors of Saxony and Arch-Marshals of the Holy Roman Empire (1464–1547)

Existing Ernestine branches

 * Grand Dukes of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
 * Dukes of Saxe-Meiningen
 * Dukes of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha)
 * Kings of the Belgians (House van België or de Belgique or von Belgien, "House of Belgium", previously known as House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha)
 * Kings and Queen of the United Kingdom (House of Windsor, previously known as House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha)
 * Tsars of Bulgaria (House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry, sometimes known as "Sakskoburggotski")

Extinct Ernestine branches

 * Dukes of Saxe-Coburg
 * Dukes of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
 * Dukes of Saxe-Altenburg (first line of Altenburg)
 * Dukes of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (second line of Altenburg)
 * Dukes of Saxe-Hildburghausen, then Dukes of Saxe-Altenburg (third line of Altenburg)
 * Dukes of Saxe-Weimar
 * Dukes of Saxe-Eisenach
 * Dukes of Saxe-Coburg-Eisenach
 * Dukes of Saxe-Jena
 * Dukes of Saxe-Gotha
 * Dukes of Saxe-Eisenberg
 * Dukes of Saxe-Marksuhl
 * Dukes of Saxe-Römhild
 * Kings of Portugal and the Algarves (House of Braganza-Saxe-Coburg and Gotha)

Albertines

 * Margraves of Meissen
 * Electors of Saxony and Arch-Marshals of the Holy Roman Empire (1547–1806)
 * Kings of Poland and Grand Dukes of Lithuania
 * Duke of Courland and Semigallia (1758–1763)
 * Kings of Saxony (1806–1918), currently Prince/Princess of Saxony and Duke/Duchess of Saxony, with the head of the family also Margrave of Meissen
 * Duke of Warsaw (1807–1815)

Extinct Albertine branches

 * Dukes of Saxe-Zeitz
 * Dukes of Saxe-Merseburg
 * Dukes of Saxe-Weissenfels

Coats of arms
For an extensive treatment of the coats of arms, see: Coat of arms of Saxony

or in French: Armorial de la maison de Wettin