Alfred was the younger son of Britain’s Queen Victoria, who proclaimed him Duke of Edinburgh. Much later, only in the 50th year of his life, he became Alfred and the ruling duke of the state of Saxony-Coburg-Gotha in Germany.
On July 30, 1900, Alfred of Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha, Duke of Edinburgh, died. He is interesting in that he was born as a British prince and the son of Queen Victoria, and ruled the German state of Saxony-Coburg-Gotha. Namely, he inherited this state through his father, the famous Prince Albert of Saxony-Coburg-Gotha, the wife of Britain’s Queen Victoria. Albert personally was not the ruler of Saxony-Coburg-Gotha because he was the younger son in the family, so the state was inherited by his older brother. However, after the death of that brother (Ernest II), who died without descendants in 1893, the throne of Saxony-Coburg-Gotha was to belong to the sons of the aforementioned Prince Albert and Britain’s Queen Victoria. The eldest son, the later British King Edward VII. he abdicated the throne because he was already then Prince of Wales. Thus the throne belonged to his brother – the aforementioned Alfred – who became the new ruling duke of Saxony-Coburg-Gotha.
Alfred was born to Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle in 1844, in the seventh year of her reign in Great Britain. In 1866, when Alfred was 21, Victoria proclaimed him Duke of Edinburgh, after the city of Scotland. This title was used only twice in British history, and today it is worn by the husband of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II. (Prince Philip). Alfred became the reigning duke of Saxony-Coburg-Gotha much later, only in the 50th year of his life. It is interesting that, by all accounts, he also retained the title of Duke of Edinburgh. Of course, the title of Duke of Saxony-Coburg-Gotha was much higher in rank, as it signified a sovereign ruler, while the title of Duke of Edinburgh was only a British aristocratic title.
Alfred as the reigning duke of Saxony-Coburg-Gotha did indeed move to Germany. There he owned two city-residences: Coburg and Gothu, each of which had impressive castles. Alfred passed away today at his castle Rosenau near Coburg. His mother – Britain’s Queen Victoria – died just about six months after him.
