Prince Albert of Saxe-Altenburg

Names
	Albert Heinrich Joseph Carl Viktor Georg Friedrich

Prince Albert
Prince Albert
Born	14 April 1843; Munich
Died	22 May 1902 (aged 59); Serrahn
Spouse	; Marie of Prussia (m. 1885; died 1888) ; Duchess Helene of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (m. 1891)
Issue	Olga, Countess von Pückler-Burghauss; Marie, Princess Reuss of Köstritz;
Names
Names
	Albert Heinrich Joseph Carl Viktor Georg Friedrich
House	Wettin
Father	Eduard of Saxe-Altenburg
Mother	Luise Caroline Reuss of Greiz

Prince Albert of Saxe-Altenburg (Albert Heinrich Joseph Carl Viktor Georg Friedrich; Munich, 14 April 1843 – Serrahn, 22 May 1902) was a German prince of the ducal house of Saxe-Altenburg.^[1]

Biography

Family and early life

Prince Albert was the eldest son (third in order of birth but the only one who survived to adulthood) of Prince Eduard of Saxe-Altenburg (youngest son of Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen) and his second wife, Princess Luise Caroline Reuss of Greiz.

He entered the Russian army early in life, and attained the rank of Major-General in this service, but subsequently exchanged it for the Prussian army, where he became a general of cavalry.^[2]

Marriages

He was first married in Berlin on 6 May 1885 to Princess Marie of Prussia, widow of Prince Henry of the Netherlands.^[1]

They had two daughters:

Princess Olga Elisabeth Carola Victoria Maria Anna Agnes Antoinette of Saxe-Altenburg (Schloß Albrechtsberg, 17 April 1886 – Münster, 13 January 1955); married on 20 May 1913 Karl Frederick, Count of Pückler-Burghauss and Freiherr von Groditz (1886–1945).
Marie (Schloß Albrechtsberg, 6 June 1888 – Hamburg, 12 November 1947); married on 20 April 1911 Heinrich XXXV, Prince von Reuss of Köstritz (1887–1936, son of Heinrich VII, Prince Reuss of Köstritz); they divorced in 1921, and Heinrich remarried to Princess Marie Adelheid of Lippe-Biesterfeld. Marie adopted in 1942 her godson Theodor Franz (Graf Praschma) von Sachsen-Altenburg (1934–2012).

Princess Marie died in 1888 from the effects of puerperal fever. A few years later on 13 December 1891, at Remplin, Albert married Duchess Helene of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. The couple had no children.

Albert was a conspicuous figure in Berlin society, and was a great favorite due to his "clever" mind, genial disposition, pleasant address, and enthusiasm as a sportsman.^[3] Marie died in 1888.^[3] Sources reported that the Emperor′s "arbitrary manners" became so intolerable to Albert and others, as they were used to the days of social courtesy under the old Wilhelm I.^[4]

Prince Albert died on 22 May 1902 at Remplin, his death "sincerely regretted" by all the royal houses in Germany.^[1]^[3]

Honours

He received the following orders and decorations:^[5]

Ernestine duchies: Grand Cross of the Saxe-Ernestine House Order, May 1861^[6]
Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach: Grand Cross of the White Falcon, 17 December 1866^[7]
Kingdom of Saxony: Knight of the Rue Crown
Mecklenburg: Grand Cross of the Wendish Crown, with Crown in Ore
Ascanian duchies: Grand Cross of Albert the Bear, 1 January 1863; with Swords, 2 November 1864^[8]
Kingdom of Hanover: Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order, 1862^[9]
Persian Empire: Order of the Lion and the Sun, 1st Class
Kingdom of Italy: Grand Cross of Saints Maurice and Lazarus
Kingdom of Prussia:
- Knight of the Red Eagle, 3rd Class with Swords, 1864; Grand Cross with Swords on Ring, 6 May 1885^[10]
- Member of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, with Swords
- Knight of Justice of the Johanniter Order, 1900^[11]
- Iron Cross (1870), 2nd Class
Oldenburg: Grand Cross of the Order of Duke Peter Friedrich Ludwig, with Golden Crown and Collar
Netherlands: Grand Cross of the Netherlands Lion
Austria-Hungary: Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of Leopold, 1889^[12]
Russian Empire:
- Knight of St. George, 4th Class
- Knight of St. Vladimir, 2nd Class with Swords
- Knight of St. Alexander Nevsky
- Knight of St. Anna, 3rd Class with Swords

Ancestry

Ancestors of Prince Albert of Saxe-Altenburg

8. Ernest Frederick III, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen

4. Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg

9. Princess Ernestine of Saxe-Weimar

2. Prince Eduard of Saxe-Altenburg

10. Charles II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

5. Duchess Charlotte Georgine of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

11. Princess Friederike of Hesse-Darmstadt

1. Prince Albert of Saxe-Altenburg

12. Heinrich XIII, Prince Reuss of Greiz

6. Heinrich XIX, Prince Reuss of Greiz

13. Princess Louise of Nassau-Weilburg

3. Princess Luise Caroline Reuss of Greiz

14. Charles Gaspard, Prince of Rochefort

7. Gasparine de Rohan-Rochefort

15. Marie-Louise-Joséphine de Rohan

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Lundy, Darryl. "The Peerage: Albrecht Heinrich Joseph Prinz von Sachsen-Altenburg". Retrieved 14 October 2010.
^ "Obituary". The Times. No. 36776. London. 24 May 1902. p. 8.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Berlin-Malcom Clarke", Minneapolis Tribune, 22 July 1902
^ "Snubbed By The Kaiser", The New York Times, 17 February 1896
^ Staatshandbücher für das Herzogtum Sachsen-Altenburg (1902), "Genealogie des Herzoglichen Hauses" pp. 7-8
^ Staatshandbücher für das Herzogtum Sachsen-Altenburg (1869), "Herzoglich Sachsen Ernestinischer Hausorden" p. 18
^ Staatshandbuch für das Großherzogtum Sachsen / Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach (1869), "Großherzogliche Hausorden" p. 11
^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Herzogtum Anhalt (1867) "Herzoglicher Haus-orden Albrecht des Bären" p. 18
^ Staat Hannover (1865). Hof- und Staatshandbuch für das Königreich Hannover: 1865. Berenberg. p. 80.
^ "Rother Adler-orden", Königlich Preussische Ordensliste (in German), vol. 1, Berlin, 1886, p. 27{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ Johanniter-Ordensblatt: amtliche Monatschrift der Balley Brandenburg (in German), vol. 43, 1902, p. 133
^ "Ritter-Orden", Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie, 1901, p. 70, retrieved 1 December 2020