Tegenwoordig danst het hertogelijk huis van Saksen-Meiningen op de rand van uitsterven. Afhankelijk van iemands standpunt zijn er één, twee of drie mannelijke familieleden (elk van verschillende generaties) die de dynastie in de toekomst kunnen voortzetten. De huidige bestaande tak van de familie stamt af van prins Friedrich van Saksen-Meiningen, het vijfde kind van hertog Georg II van Saksen-Meiningen.
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| Prins Friedrich van Saksen-Meiningen |
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| Prinses Adelheid van Saksen-Meiningen |
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| De aankondiging van het overlijden van Prins Friedrich van Saksen-Meiningen in 1914 |
Op 30 juni 1901 werd in Keulen prins Bernhard Friedrich Julius Heinrich van Saksen-Meiningen geboren als zesde en laatste kind van prins Friedrich van Saksen-Meiningen (1861-1914) en de voormalige gravin Adelheid zur Lippe-Biesterfeld (1870-1948), met wie hij in 1889 was getrouwd.
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| Groothertogin Feodora van Saksen-Weimar-Eisenach |
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| Prinses Adalbert (Adelheid) van Pruisen |
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| Prins Georg van Saksen-Meiningen |
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| Prinses Louise van Saksen-Meiningen |
Bernhard had vijf oudere broers en zussen gevolgd: prinses Feodora (1890-1972; getrouwd met groothertog Wilhelm Ernst van Saksen-Weimar-Eisenach), prinses Adelheid (1891-1971; getrouwd met prins Adalbert van Pruisen), prins Georg (1892-1946; getrouwd met gravin Klara-Maria von Korff gt Schmissing-Kerssenbrock), Prins Ernst Leopold (1895-1914) en Prinses Luise (1899-1985; trouwde met Baron Götz von Wangenheim).
Op 25 april 1931 trouwde prins Bernhard van Saksen-Meiningen op Eichenhof im Riesengebirge met Margot Grössler (Breslau 22 januari 1911 - Bad Sackingen 2 mei 1998). Het echtpaar kreeg twee kinderen: prinses Feodora (geb. Schloß Pitzelstettin 27 mei 1932; trouwde met Burkhard Kippenberg) en prins Friedrich Ernst.
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| Artikel over de arrestatie van Prins Bernhard en Prinses Margot van Saksen-Meiningen.
The Winnipeg Tribune , 21 oktober 1933. |
In oktober 1933 werd prins Bernhard gearresteerd als lid van de nazipartij in Oostenrijk. In december werd gemeld dat hij in Wöllersdorf, Oostenrijk, zou worden vastgehouden, nadat hij was veroordeeld tot een gevangenisstraf van zes weken. Zijn vrouw, Margot, werd onder huisarrest geplaatst in de woning van het echtpaar, Schloß Pitzelstettin, als gevolg van een brief die ze naar een correspondent in Duitsland stuurde die "vol scheldwoorden tegen Oostenrijk" stond. In januari 1934 vluchtten Bernhard en Margot naar Italië, waar ze zich misschien meer op hun gemak voelden, aangezien dat land al onder het bewind van Benito Mussolini stond.
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| “Charming Nazi Princess Escapes While Dollfuss Plans Christmas Truce.”
The Winnipeg Tribune, 11 December 1933. |
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| Bernhard and Margot flee to Italy.
The Evening Sun, 14 December 1933. |
Bernhard and Margot divorced in 1947. The following year, on 11 August 1948, Prince Bernhard married Baroness Wera Schäffer von Bernstein (Frankfurt 10 August 1914-24 October 1994), daughter of Baron Friedrich “Fritz” Schäffer von Bernstein and Emma Carola von Passavant. Bernhard and Wera had three children: Princess Marie Eleonore “Ellen” (b.1950; married Peter Eric Rosden), Prince Konrad (b.1952), and Princess Almut (b.1959; married Eberhard von Braunschweig).
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| HH Duke Bernhard of Saxe-Meiningen |
Prince Bernhard of Saxe-Meiningen died on 4 October 1984 at Bad Krozingen. He was eighty-three years-old. Bernhard had been the titular Duke of Saxe-Meiningen since the death of his brother Georg in 1946, due to the fact that Georg’s only surviving son Friedrich-Alfred had become a Roman Catholic monk and renounced his dynastic rights in favour of his uncle.
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| HH Prince Friedrich Ernst of Saxe-Meiningen |
Prince Friedrich-Ernst “Friedel” Georg Bernhard of Saxe-Meiningen was born at Meiningen on 21 January 1935. The young prince spent his early childhood in the family home on Bernhardstrasse in Meiningen and at his grandparents’ manor in Silesia. His love for animals and plants also developed here.
Friedrich-Ernst was able to fully enjoy the last almost full moon of his lifetime over the Swiss Jura, the Rhine Valley and his forest park – in an incredible night mood – forgetting the exertion and the pain. However, the end of World War II and the following years were filled with losses that were just as formative: the loss of his homeland with the escape from Silesia, the departure from Meiningen, the divorce of his parents.
The prince decided to leave school early in order to learn the profession of a hotel manager, to work on his own abroad when he was young. During this time, his need for a harmonious environment, which he did not always find in his life, was accentuated even more.
At the age of twenty-four, he took his chances and utilised his linguistic skills and sales talent and moved into the paper industry as a sales manager. Friedrich-Ernst then made a career in the steel industry at the age of twenty-six. The prince eventually went to work for the Thyssen group.
On 3 March 1962 at Schweiherdingen, Prince Friedrich-Ernst of Saxe-Meiningen married Ehrengard von Massow (b.Stralsund 25 Oct 1933). Ehrengard was the daughter of Helmut Robert von Massow (1900-1967) and Ursula von Buch-Tornow. The couple divorced in 1973.
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| Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Prince Friedrich Ernst of Saxe-Meiningen with the latter’s mother Margot
PHOTOGRAPH (C) EUROHISTORY
IMAGE MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED |
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| Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Prince Friedrich Ernst of Saxe-Meiningen on their wedding day
PHOTOGRAPH (C) EUROHISTORY
IMAGE MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED |
In 1977, Friedrich-Ernst married Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in a civil ceremony on 11 June 1977 at Coburg; the couple celebrated their religious wedding on 12 June 1977 in Coburg. Princess Beatrice (b.Bern 15 Jul 1951) is the daughter of Prince Friedrich Josias of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1918-1998) and his second wife Denyse Henriette von Muralt (1923-1984). Friedel and Beatrice had two children: Princess Marie Alexandra “Alix” Elisabeth Beatrice (b.Heilbronn 5 July 1978) and Prince Friedrich Constantin. Friedel and Beatrice separated but never divorced.
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| Princess Feodora zu Leitungen, Fürstin zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg |
Friedrich-Ernst and Beatrice were third cousins once removed. The couple both descended from Fürst Ernst Christian zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg (1794-1860) and Princess Feodora zu Leiningen (1807-1872). Feodora was the daughter of Fürst Emich Carl zu Leiningen (1763-1814) and Princess Viktoria of Saxe-Saalfeld-Coburg (1786-1861). Four years after the death of her first husband, Princess Viktoria married Prince Edward, Duke of Kent: they became the parents of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom (1819-1901). Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha is a descendant of Queen Victoria as well as of her older half-sister Princess Feodora.
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| Benno Widmer, ex-husband of Princess Marie-Alix of Saxe-Meiningen |
On 17 July 2002 at Gravedona, Italy, Princess Marie-Alix of Saxe-Meiningen was religiously wed to Benno Beat Christian Widmer (b.Basel 17 July 1971). Two years later, the couple contracted a civil marriage on 26 April 2004 at Basel. Marie-Alix is an attorney, as was her husband Benno. The pair divorced in 2009. They did not have children. Princess Marie-Alix has had a most extraordinary career: A Princess, a Poisoning and an Oil Fortune -The Bizarre Corruption Scandal at Bilfinger.
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| Death announcement of Prince Friedrich-Ernst of Saxe-Meiningen |
After a long illness, Prince Friedrich-Ernst of Saxe-Meiningen died on Tuesday, 13 July 2004. He was sixty-nine years-old. A memorial service was held on Thursday, 22 July 2004.
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| Prince Friedrich Constantin of Saxe-Meiningen in 2018 |
Prince Friedrich
Constantin Hendric of Saxe-Meiningen was born on 3 June 1980 at Heilbronn as the second child and only son of Prince Friedrich Ernst of Saxe-Meiningen and Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
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| Constantin of Saxe-Meiningen, Sophia Lupus, and their son Michael.
This image may not be reproduced. |
In de zomer van 2015 verwelkomden Prins Constantin van Saksen-Meiningen en Sophia Lupus (geb. 1995) de geboorte van een zoon. Sophia is de dochter van Nothart Rohlfs en Sabine Lupus. Prins Michael van Saksen-Meiningen werd geboren op 26 juli 2015 in Zwitserland.
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| Prins Konrad van Saksen-Meiningen |
Het hoofd van de Saksen-Meiningen dynastie wordt beschouwd als Prins Konrad, de halfbroer van Prins Friedrich-Ernst en de oom van Prins Constantin. Konrad is een bankier en is nooit getrouwd geweest. Op verschillende momenten heeft de prins aangegeven dat hij van plan is dat zijn neef Constantin zijn erfgenaam wordt.
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