Courtly lives - The Wettin Dynasty

The Wettin Dynasty

Written and researched by Margaret Odrowaz-Sypniewska,

The Wettins were a German dynastical family that ruled in Saxony, Thuringia, Poland, Great Britain, Belgium, Portugal, and Bulgaria. Their name comes from their castle on the Saale near Halle. This family rose to prominence in the 10th century with Saxony and Lusatia. In 1100, they were made the margraves of Meissen. Their dynasty then expanded to Saxony (1423) and Thuringia (1264).

In 1423, Frederick "the warlike," of Meissen, was granted Saxony. He become the elector of Saxony, in 1425 and was called Frederick I. The Wettin holdings were then divided (in 1485) between Frederick II's sons: Ernest and Albert, "the Bold" of Saxony who was born July 31m 1443.

The Albertine Line:

The Saxony Lines were:

In 1547, the Albertine line was the inheritors of Saxony (from the Ernestine line).

The Albertine line ruled in Saxony, and obtained royal ranking in 1806.

This line also ruled Poland from 1697 to 1763 with Augustus II and Augustus III.

Gen. 1 Frederick August II of Poland (reigned 1697-1733) and Saxony (reigned 1709-1733) as Frederick Augustus I. Augustus married Eberhardine (died 1727) of Bradenburg-Bayreuth.

Gen. 2 August III (reigned 1733-1763) (died 1763) married Maria of Austria.

Gen. 3 Maria Amalia (died in 1760) married Carlos III of Spain (reigned 1759-1788). Carlos was the son of Felipe V (from France), King of Spain.

Gen. 4 Maria Luisa (died in 1792) married Leopold of Austria, brother of Marie Antoinette and son of Franz I of Lorraine (1745-1765) and Marie Theresa (1749-1780) of Hungary and Cechy. Marie was the daughter of Karl (VI) or Karoly III of Hungary 1711/Karel II of Cechy 1711-1740.
........Carlos IV (reigned 1788-1808). Carlos died in 1819. He married Maria Luisa (died in 1819), daughter of Filippo of Parma.

Gen. 5 Carlotta (died 1830) married Joao VI of Portugal.
........Fernando VII (reigned 1808, 1813-1833) married (4) Maria Christina (died 1873) of Sicily.

Gen. 6 Isabel II (1833-1868) died in 1904. Isabel married Francisco of Assisi (died in 1902).

Gen. 7 Alfonso XII (1833-1885) married (2) Maria Cristina (d, 1929), daughter of Ferdinand of Austria.

Gen. 8 Alfonso XIII (1886-1931) died in 1941. Alfonso married Victoria Eugenie (d. 1969) daughter of Heinrich of Battenburg.

Gen. 9 Juan married Maria Mercedes of Sicily

Gen. 10 Juan Carlos I of Spain 1975- married Sophia of Greece, daughter of Pavlos I (1947-1964) and Friederike (d. 1981) of Braunschweig-Luneberg.

Gen. 11 Felipe

The Ernestine Line:

The Ernestine line was in possession of Thuringia. In 1918, the house of Wettin was deposed in Thuringia and Saxony.

Thuringian holdings were:

Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, a grand duchy

Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, a duchy was created in 1826 when the old dynasty of Saxe-Gotha became extinct. From this line came:

the English dynasty

Prince Albert consort of Queen Victoria. They were married in 1840.

changed their name to the House of Windsor in 1917.

Gen. 1 Prince Albert (d. 1861) of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha married Victoria (1819-1901). Victoria reigned from 1837-1901, and in 1877 was ruler of India. Victoria's parents were: Edward, son of King George II. Edward died in 1820. He married (2) Viktoria (died in 1861) of Sachsen-Coburg-Saalfeld.

Gen. 2 Edward VII (1841-1910), son of Victoria and Albert, also ruled India and Denmark (1844-1925)and married Alexandra of Denmark (d. 1925). Alesandra was the daughter of Christian IX.

Gen. 3 George V (reigned 1910-1936) also ruled India. George married Mary (died in 1953) of Teck, daughter of the Duke of Teck (1867-1953).

Gen. 4 Edward VIII abdicated
........George VI (reigned 1936-1952) also ruled India (1936-1948) until their independence. George VI (1895-1952) married Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (1900-2002), daughter of the Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne.

Gen. 5 Elizabeth II (b. 1926)(reigned 1952- )Married Philip Mountbatten of Greece and Denmark. Philip was the son of Prince Andrew of Greece.

Gen. 6 Charles, Prince of Wales married Diana Spencer, daughter of Edward VIII Earl Spencer.

Gen. 7 William (b. 1984) and Harry

the Portuguese Dynasty:

a cousin of Prince Albert's Ferdinand, married Queen Maria II da Gloria (1826-1828, 1834-1853) of Portugal (in 1836) and became king consort as Ferdinand II of Portugal. Maria was the daughter of Pedro IV and Maris Leopoldina of Austria. Maria and Fernando were the founders of the Portuguese branch of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha's royal house of Portugal that reigned from 1853 to 1910.

Gen. 1 Maria II (died in 1853) married Fernando of Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha (died in 1885)

Gen. 2 Their sons were: Pedro V (reigned 1853-1861) and Luis I (reigned 1861-1889) who married Maria Pia (d. 1911) of Italy.

Gen. 3 Carlos I (reigned 1889-1908), son of Pedro I, married Amelie (d. 1951) daughter of Louis Philippe of Orleans.

Gen. 4 Manuel II (reigned 1908-1910). He died in 1932..

the Belgian dynasty:

Leopold I, in 1831.

Gen. 1 Leopold I (reigned 1831-1865) married (2) Louise of France.

Gen. 2 Leopold II (reigned 1865-1909)
........Philippe D: 1905. Philippe married Maria (died in 1912), daughter of Carol I of Romania.

Gen. 3 Albert I (reigned 1909-1934), son of Phillippe and Maria, was the heir of Leopold II. He married Elizabeth (died in 1965) of Bayen.

Gen. 4 Leopold III (reigned 1934-1951) married (1)Astrid (died in 1935), daughter of Carl of Vastergotland.
........Marie Jose married Umberto II of Italy.

Gen. 5 Baudouin (1951-?) married Fabiola, daughter of Gonzalo Mora y Fernandez.
........Albert married Paola, daughter of Fulco/Ruffo di Calabria.

Gen. 6 Philippe

the Bulgarian dynasty:

Czar Ferdinand of Bulgaria in 1908.

His descendants reigned until 1946, when they were deposed.

Gen. 1 Ferdinand I (reigned 1908-1918) and died in 1948. Ferdinand married Marie (died in 1899), daughter of Roberto 1 of Parma.

Gen. 2 Boris III (reigned 1918-1943) married Giovanna of Italy.

Gen. 3 Simeon II (reigned 1943-1946), he married Margarita, daughter of Manuel Gomez-Acebo.

Saxe-Meiningen, a duchy

Saxe-Altenburg, a duchy

The county of Altenburg became a possession of the Wettin family in 1328.

The county of Orlamunde became a possession in 1344.

The estate of Pleissen was the Wettins possession in 1328.

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