George, King of Saxony

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:More citations needed Template:Infobox royalty George (Template:Langx; 8 August 1832 – 15 October 1904) was king of Saxony and member of the House of Wettin.

Early life

George was born in the Saxon capital Dresden. He was the second son of King John of Saxony (1801–1873) and his wife, Princess Amalie Auguste of Bavaria (1801–1877), daughter of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria (1756–1825).

Marriage

On 11 May 1859 at Belém Palace, Lisbon, George married, Infanta Maria Anna of Portugal, eldest surviving daughter of Queen Maria II of Portugal and her consort, Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry, and the younger sister of King Pedro V of Portugal. Maria Anna died young and George stayed unmarried for the rest of his long life.

Issue

Name	Birth	Death	Notes
Marie Johanna Amalie Ferdinande Antonie Luise Juliane	19 June 1860	Template:Death date and age	died in childhood, no issue
Elisabeth Albertine Karoline Sidonie Ferdinande Leopoldine Antonie Auguste Clementine	14 February 1862	Template:Death date and age	died in childhood, no issue
Mathilde Marie Auguste Viktorie Leopoldine Karoline Luise Franziska Josepha	19 March 1863	Template:Death date and age	died unmarried, no issue
Frederick Augustus Johann Ludwig Karl Gustav Gregor Philipp	25 May 1865	Template:Death date and age	married Archduchess Louise of Austria (1870–1947), had issue
Maria Josepha Luise Philippine Elisabeth Pia Angelica Margarethe	31 May 1867	Template:Death date and age	married to her second cousin Archduke Otto Franz of Austria (1865–1906), had issue
Johann Georg Pius Karl Leopold Maria Januarius Anacletus	10 July 1869	Template:Death date and age	married first Duchess Maria Isabella of Württemberg (1871–1904) and second Princess Maria Immaculata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1874–1906)
Maximilian Wilhelm August Albert Karl Gregor Odo	17 November 1870	Template:Death date and age	ordained as a Roman Catholic priest
Albert Karl Anton Ludwig Wilhelm Viktor	25 February 1875	Template:Death date and age	died unmarried, no issue, the result of injuries sustained in a carriage crash caused by Prince Miguel of Braganza

Military career

George served under his brother Albert's command during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 and in the Franco-German War. In the re-organisation of the army which accompanied the march towards Paris, his brother the Crown Prince gained a separate command over the 4th army (Army of the Meuse) consisting of the Saxon XII corps, the Prussian Guard corps, and the IV (Prussian Saxony) corps and George succeeded him in command of the XII corps.

King of Saxony

File:2 Mark Georg 1903.jpg

2 Mark coin with the portrait of King George (coined 1903)

Prince George was a Generalfeldmarschall before his ascension. It gradually became clear that George's elder brother, Albert (1828–1902), and his wife, Queen Carola (1833–1907), would not have any children, thereby making George the heir presumptive to the throne. He succeeded Albert as King of Saxony on 19 June 1902, albeit for just a brief two-year reign. On 15 October 1904 he died in Pillnitz and was succeeded by his eldest son, Frederick Augustus III (1865–1932), who was deposed in 1918.

King George was a controversial figure. He divorced by royal decree his eldest son from his daughter-in-law, Crown Princess Luise. Luise's flight from Dresden was due to her father-in-law's threatening to have her interned in a mental asylum at the Sonnenstein Castle for life.

Honours and awards

File:Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Saxony 1806-1918.svg

Coat of Arms of the King of Saxony

See also

• Rulers of Saxony

External links

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