Carl Eduard

It is the fourth and last work of the Saxony Koburg Gota . After being abandoned by the November Revolution in Germany during the first World War, he served as president of the Nazi Red Cross. He is the maternal grandfather of the current king of Sweden , Gustav, and the heterogeneous cousin of former Dutch queen Wilhelmina .[4]

1884 He was born on July 19th as the second and eldest son of Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany , and Princess Helen of Waldeckfirmont . His name at birth was Charles Edward .[5] His father, Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, was the fourth son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, but he had already died of hemophilia before Charles Edward was born . In other words, Charles Edward was a wealthy man . As a result, as his father had already died, he inherited the title of Duke of Albany as soon as he was born. When he was born, there were already influential heirs to the British throne, including his first uncle, Edward VII , and cousins , Prince Albert and George V, so Charles Edward lived in the countryside during his childhood. Although he lived a simple life for a royal, he lived a happy life with his mother Helena and older sister Princess Alice of Albany . His grandmother, Queen Victoria , was a cold and strict mother to her children, but she was kind and gentle to her grandchildren, so Charles Edward followed her example.

Prince Alfred , the only son among the 1st son and 4 daughters of his second uncle , Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Duke of Edinburgh ( 1844-1900 )[6] ( 1874 ~ 1899 ) 1899 He died on February 6th without any children. The Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was a minor duchy of the German Empire . Because German-speaking countries such as the German Empire and Austria-Hungary maintained the Salica law , the four daughters of Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and Duke of Edinburgh, including the eldest daughter Marie, the second daughter Victoria Melita, the third daughter Alexandra, and the fourth daughter Beatrice, could not become the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. In addition, his third uncle, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, refused to inherit the Dukedom of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.[7]

That is why his nephew , Charles Edward, was suddenly selected as the successor . As a result, he changed his real name , Charles Edward , to the German name Karl Eduard . However, great confusion arose between their identity as British and their identities as Germans . Karl Eduard was permanently expelled from the British royal family because Emperor Gojong's cousin, Wilhelm II of the German Empire, who led the German-speaking countries, led a line of conflict with English-speaking countries such as Britain and the United States .

1900 On July 30 , upon the death of Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and Duke of Edinburgh, Charles Eduard ascended to the throne. Karl Eduard ascended to the throne at the young age of 16 , and Ernst of Hohenlohe-Langenburg ( 1863-1950 ) served as regent from 1900 to 1905 . Ernst was the husband of Karl Eduard's cousin, Princess Alexandra, and the son-in-law of Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and Duke of Edinburgh. Carl Eduard was devastated that he could not see his mother Helena and older sister Alice. In 1914 , Carl Eduard entered World War I on the side of the German Empire . However, in 1918 , the allies that included the German Empire were defeated, and the German Empire rapidly disintegrated. Like other German monarchs, Karl Eduard was caught up in the whirlwind of defeat and was eventually dethroned. In addition, he was stripped of the title of Duke of Albany, which he had inherited from his father Leopold, due to the 1917 Title Revocation Act, which was enacted due to anti-German sentiment following World War I. After being dethroned, Carl Eduard visited a house in his hometown. However, her mother, Helena, Duchess of Albany, died in 1922 , and her older sister, Princess Alice of Albany, married Alexander, Earl of Athlone . The Earl of Athlone was the brother-in-law of George V , meaning that his cousin's brother-in-law became his brother-in-law.

In this situation, the crooked Karl Eduard collaborated with Nazi Germany . He participated even before the Nazis came to power, and in 1929, he contributed to the Nazi Party winning the mayoral position in Coburg for the first time in Germany.[8] When the Nazis came to power, Karl Eduard joined the Storm Troopers , was promoted to captain , and was also a supporting member of the Schutzstaffel .[9] nazi germany He served as president of the Red Cross and was also a member of the Imperial Diet in 1936. Karl Eduard thought that Nazi Germany would restore his title as Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Like Karl Eduard, Emperor Gojong's cousin, Wilhelm II , and his eldest son, Crown Prince Wilhelm , supported Nazi Germany in the hope of restoring the monarchy, but Adolf Hitler so hated the monarchy that restoration of the monarchy was out of the question.

Even in this situation, Karl Eduard supported Nazi Germany. Meanwhile, Carl Eduard married his eldest daughter, Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, to Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden , the grandson of Gustav V.[10] Gustav V , the king of Sweden at the time , declared neutrality in World War II, but was friendly to Nazi Germany , so he supported welcoming Sibylla, the daughter of a Nazi supporter, as his grandson-in-law.

In May 1940 , as president of the Nazi German Red Cross, he visited Gyeongseong-bu . #

In 1945 , as Nazi Germany was defeated, Karl Eduard stood trial like other collaborators. His older sister, Princess Alice of Albany , and his wife, Victoria Adelheidt, had hoped that Karl Eduard would not be put on trial, but this was not accepted. In the end, the international court sentenced Carl Eduard to a hefty fine of 5,000 marks.

The Gotha region, which was Karl Eduard's territory, was incorporated into the Soviet military administration and its properties were forcibly confiscated. However, it was a lenient punishment compared to the nature of the crime, such as actively participating in Operation T4 .[11] After almost going bankrupt, he lived in Coburg, West Germany , and in 1954 Died on March 6th . At the age of 69, he lived the second longest life among the German royal family who were deposed in 1918.[12]

For more information, see Queen Victoria/Family Relations .

The eldest son, Johann Leopold, Prince of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, left the family by marrying into a noble family , and the second son, Hubertus, died unmarried, so the position of head of the family was inherited by the third son, Frederick Josias.[13] Frederick Josias's eldest son , Andreas (1943-2025), became the next head of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, followed by his eldest son Hubertus (1975-) who became the head of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. As long as nothing goes wrong, the position of head of the family will continue to be his only son, Philip (born in 2015).

For reference, the only remaining male descendants to this day are George V and Karl Eduard.[14]