Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
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Prince Ferdinand Georg August of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (March 28, 1785 - August 27, 1851) was a prince of the house of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and a general of cavalry in the Austro-Hungarian Army during the Napoleonic Wars.
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[edit] Birth and family
Ferdinand was born at Coburg as Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, the second son of Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and of his wife, Countess Augusta Reuss-Ebersdorf. In 1826 his title changed from prince of Saxe-Coburg and Saalfeld to prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha when his brother Duke Ernst I made a territorial exchange with other members of the family.
Ferdinand's nephews and nieces included Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and her husband Prince Albert, as well as Empress Carlota of Mexico, and her brother King Leopold II of Belgium.
[edit] Military career
On December 10, 1791 Ferdinand was commissioned as Unterleutnant in the Dragoon-Regiment Coburg Nr. 6. He was promoted to Oberleutnant on March 1, 1796 and to Second-Rittmeister on November 18, 1798. On February 1, 1802 he transferred to the Austro-Hungarian Army serving in the Chevauxleger-Regiment Fürst Rosenberg in which he was promoted to Major on September 29, 1804. On January 1, 1805 he transferred to the Husaren-Regiment Graf Blankenstein Nr. 6 in which he was promoted to Oberstleutnant on August 6, 1805.
On September 15, 1808 Ferdinand became Oberst in the Husaren-Regiment Erzherzog Ferdinand d'Este Nr. 3. It was in this regiment that he served in the War of the Fifth Coalition under Field Marshall Prince Hohenzollern. He received the knight's cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa. Before the Battle of Wagram he was named General of the Kavallerie Fürst Liechtenstein. On April 15, 1811 he was named Generalmajor.
During the War of the Sixth Coalition Ferdinand fought at the Battle of Kulm. In 1813 he fought at the Battle of Leipzig. In 1814 he received the commander's cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa.
On May 8, 1822 Ferdinand became Inhaber (proprietor) of the Uhlanen-Regiment Fürst Karl Schwarzenberg. On November 22, 1828 he became Inhaber of the Husaren-Regiment Nr. 8. Shortly thereafter he was promoted to the rank of General der Kavallerie.
[edit] Marriage and children
In Vienna on November 30, 1815, Ferdinand married Princess Maria Antonia Koháry, daughter and heiress of Ferenc József, Fürst Koháry de Csábrág et Szitnya. When Antonia's father died in 1826, she inherited his estates in Slovakia and Hungary. Ferdinand then added the surname Koháry to his own.
Ferdinand and Antonia had four children all of whom were raised Catholic:
- Ferdinand, King Consort of Portugal (1816 - 1885).
- August (1818 - 1881); he was the father of Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria.
- Victoria (1822 - 1857), married Louis, Duke of Nemours.
- Leopold (1824 - 1884).
[edit] Death
Ferdinand died at Vienna. He is buried in the Mausoleum auf dem Glockenberg in Coburg.
[edit] Bibliography
Biographisches Lexikon des Kaisertums Österreich, II, 392-394.
