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Duchess Marie of Württemberg

Marie of Württemberg
Marie Wurttenberg 1799-1860.JPG
Pastel portrait around 1850, Schloss Callenberg
Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Tenure 1832–1844
Born (1799-09-17)17 September 1799
Coburg
Died 24 September 1860(1860-09-24) (aged 61)
Schloss Friedenstein, Gotha
Burial Friedhof am Glockenberg (), Coburg
Spouse Ernest I
Full name
Antoinette Friederike Auguste Marie Anna
House Württemberg
Father Duke Alexander of Württemberg
Mother Princess Antoinette of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
Religion Lutheranism
Full name
Antoinette Friederike Auguste Marie Anna

Duchess Marie of Württemberg (full name: Antoinette Friederike Auguste Marie Anna Herzogin von Württemberg; 17 September 1799 – 24 September 1860) was a daughter of Duke Alexander of Württemberg and Antoinette of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. She was Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha from 1832 to 1844 as the second wife of Duke Ernest I. As such, she was the stepmother of Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria.

Marie was born on 17 September 1799, the eldest child of Duke Alexander of Württemberg and his wife Princess Antoinette of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. She had two younger surviving brothers, Duke Alexander and Duke Ernest. The Kingdom of Württemberg, as it was known from 1806 onward, was a prominent entity in Germany on the level of Prussia, Bavaria, and Saxony, with connections to the English and Russian royal families.

Marie was raised at Schloss Fantaisie in Bayreuth. As her father was a general in the Russian army, and later governor of Belarus, Marie lived from 1802 to 1832 at Jelgava (modern day Latvia) and in a St. Petersburg palace.

In Coburg on 23 December 1832, Marie became the second wife of 48-year-old Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Ernest had been eager to find a new bride after the death of his first, estranged wife, Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. While Ernest initially sought a wife of high status, he found that his age and poor reputation limited his choices. He settled for Marie, who was thirty-three years old and his niece – uncle-niece relationships were by this time becoming discouraged among European royalty, and Marie was the daughter of Ernest's sister Antoinette.


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