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