by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2018
Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein: In November 1863, Prince Friedrich of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg claimed the twin duchies as Friedrich VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein after the death without a male heir of King Frederick VII of Denmark, who was also the Duke of Schleswig and the Duke of Holstein. In 1864, following the Second Schleswig War, the Duchy of Holstein and the Duchy of Schleswig became occupied territories of the German Confederation and two years later, following the Austro-Prussian War, part of the new Prussian Province of Schleswig-Holstein. However, Prussia recognized the head of the House of Oldenburg as the *mediatized duke of these two duchies, with the rank and all the titles. The Duchy of Schleswig and the Duchy of Holstein are now the German state of Schleswig-Holstein.
*mediatize – to annex (a principality) to another state, while allowing certain rights to its former sovereign
Dorothea of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein; Credit – WIkipedia
Princess Dorothea Maria Henriette Auguste Louise of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was born in Vienna, Austria on April 30, 1881, to Prince Philipp of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Princess Louise of Belgium. Through her mother, she was a granddaughter of King Leopold II of the Belgians. Dorothea had one older brother:
- Prince Leopold Clement of Belgium (1878-1916) – unmarried
Ernst Günther, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein. source: Wikipedia
On August 2, 1898, in Coburg, Dorothea married Ernst Günther, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein. He was the son of Friedrich VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein and Princess Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. Upon his father’s death in January 1880, Ernst Günther had inherited his father’s title. However, just like his father before him, the title was merely in pretense, as the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein had been annexed by Prussia following the Austro-Prussian War in 1866. Ernst Günther served as a General in the Cavalry and was a member of the Prussian House of Lords.
Dorothea and Ernst Günther had no children of their own, but in 1920, they adopted Princess Marie Luise and Prince Johann Georg of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, the children of Prince Albrecht of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and his first wife, Countess Ortrud of Ysenburg and Büdingen.
Schloss Taxis. source: Wikipedia
Widowed in 1921, Dorothea survived her husband by nearly 46 years. The Dowager Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein, aged 86, died at Schloss Taxis in Dischingen, Germany on January 21, 1967. She is buried at St. Augustin Church in Coburg, Germany.
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