Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Herzogtum Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha
1826–1918
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem Heil unserem Herzog, heil "Hail to our Duke, hail"
The Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (in red)
Capital		Coburg and Gotha
Languages		German
Government		Constitutional monarchy
Duke
•	1826–1844	Ernest I
•	1844–1893	Ernest II
•	1893–1900	Alfred
•	1900–1918	Charles Edward
History
•	Established	1826
•	German Revolution	18 November 1918
Area
•	1905	1,977 km² (763 sq mi)
Population
•	1905 est.	242,000
Density		122.4 /km²  (317 /sq mi)
Preceded by Succeeded by Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg Bavaria Thuringia

Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (German: Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha), or Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, was an Ernestine duchy ruled by a branch of the House of Wettin, consisting of territories in the present-day states of Bavaria and Thuringia in Germany. It lasted from 1826 to 1918.

The name Saxe-Coburg-Gotha also refers to the family of the ruling House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, which played many varied roles in the dynastic and political history of Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries. In the early part of the 20th century, before the First World War, it was the family of the sovereigns of the United Kingdom, Belgium, Portugal, Bulgaria, and Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. In 1910, the Portuguese king was deposed, and the same thing occurred in Saxe-Coburg-Gotha in 1918 and in Bulgaria in 1946. As of 2016^[update], branches of the family still reign in Belgium, the United Kingdom, and the other Commonwealth realms. The former Tsar of Bulgaria, Simeon II (reigned 1943–46), kept his surname while serving as the Prime Minister of Bulgaria from 2001 to 2005.

The Duchy was born when the arbitration of the King of Saxony, Frederick Augustus, produced the Treaty of Hildburghausen on 12 November 1826 for the "Gothaische Teilung" [Gothan Division], the extensive rearrangement of the Ernestine duchies. After the extinction of the Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg line, the Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen exchanged his Duchy for that of Saxe-Altenburg. The Saxe-Meiningen line became Saxe-Hildburghausen and got from Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld the Saalfelder territories as well as the District of Themar and the places of Mupperg, Mogger, Liebau and Oerlsdorf. The Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld received for that the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg, Districts of Königsberg and Sonnefeld from Saxe-Hildburghausen, and the properties of Callenberg and Gauerstadt from Saxe-Meiningen.