Princess Charlotte of Saxe-Meiningen


Princess Charlotte of Saxe-Meiningen was a member of the House of Saxe-Meiningen and a Princess of Saxe-Meiningen by birth and a member of the House of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and Duchess consort of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg through her marriage to Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg.

Early life and family

Princess Charlotte was born on
11 September 1751. She was the eldest child and daughter of Anton Ulrich, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen and his second wife, Landgravine Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Philippsthal. Charlotte was an elder sister of Charles William, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen and George I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen.

Marriage

Charlotte married Ernest, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, son of Frederick III, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and his wife Luise Dorothea of Saxe-Meiningen, on 21 March 1769 in Meiningen. Charlotte and Ernest had four children:
  1. Ernest, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg.
  2. Augustus, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
  3. Frederick IV, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg.
  4. Prince Ludwig of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg.
Charlotte's husband, Ernest, was regarded as an enlightened monarch and a great patron of art and science, who led his country into a cultural flowering. He was assisted in his cultural undertakings by his wife, Charlotte.
Like her husband, Charlotte was a patron of astronomy. She counted relief panels for the court astronomer Franz Xaver von Zach and she also participated in observations. Charlotte also participated in the first European congress of astronomers in 1798 at the Seeberg Observatory and independently corresponded with the leading astronomers of her time.

Later life

After her husband's death in 1804, there were difficulties with Charlotte's son, Augustus, upon his succession. Charlotte left Gotha with Zach and spent some time in Eisenberg. Later she traveled with Zach throughout southern Europe and lived several years in Marseille, and later in Genoa, where she died in 1827.