Frederick III | |
---|---|
Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg | |
Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg | |
Reign | 1732–1772 |
Predecessor | Frederick II |
Successor | Ernst II |
Born |
Gotha |
14 April 1699
Died | 10 March 1772 Gotha |
(aged 72)
Spouse | Luise Dorothea of Saxe-Meiningen |
Issue | Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg Prince Ludwig Princess Fredericka Luise Ernst II Princess Sophie Prince August |
House | House of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg |
Father | Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg |
Mother | Magdalene Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst |
Frederick III, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (Gotha, 14 April 1699 – Gotha, 10 March 1772), was a duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg.
He was the eldest son of Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and Magdalene Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst.
After the death of his father, in 1732, Frederick III assumed the duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg.
In 1734 he began a flourishing soldier trade with the Emperor, to the Prince of Waldeck and to the King of Prussia, which put him into the position to create a tax in his own duchy. The duchy had to suffer for Frederick with difficulty in the Seven Years' War and he forced the duchy into a war with his neighbour, duke Anton Ulrich of Saxe-Meiningen (The "Wasunger War").
In Gotha on 17 September 1729, Frederick married Luise Dorothea of Saxe-Meiningen, his first cousin. They had nine children:
From 1748 to 1755 he was regent of the duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach on behalf of Ernst August II Konstantin. From 1750, he acted as regent alongside his kinsmen Franz Josias, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld.