Franz Josias, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld/Saxe-Coburg and Gotha: In 1675, Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg died. Initially, his seven sons collectively governed the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, as set out in their father’s will. In 1680, the seven brothers concluded a treaty of separation, with each brother getting a portion of the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha Altenburg and becoming a Duke. One of the seven new duchies was the Duchy of Saxe-Saalfeld and Johann Ernst, one of the seven sons of Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg became the first Duke of Saxe-Saalfeld.  When two of his brothers died without male heirs, Johann Ernst took possession of Coburg (in 1699) and Römhild (in 1714). In 1699, Johann Ernst’s title changed to Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld.

In 1825, 145 years after the initial split, another line became extinct and there was another split between three surviving duchies. Ernst III, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld became Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. For more information on the switch, see Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld/Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Index.

On November 9, 1918, after the German Empire lost World War I, the Workers’ and Soldiers Council of Gotha, deposed the last Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Charles Edward, a grandson of Queen Victoria.  Five days later, he signed a declaration relinquishing his rights to the throne. The territory that encompassed the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha is now in the German states of Bavaria and Thuringia.

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Franz Josias, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld; Credit – Wikipedia

Franz Josias, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld was born September 25, 1697, in Saalfeld, Duchy of Saxe-Saalfeld, now in the German state of Thuringia. He was the youngest of the three sons and the seventh of the eight children of Johann Ernst IV, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and his second wife Charlotte Johanna of Waldeck-Wildungen.

Franz Josias had seven siblings:

  • Wilhelm Friedrich (1691 – 1720), unmarried
  • Karl Ernst (1692 – 1720), unmarried
  • Sophia Wilhelmina (1693 – 1727), married Friedrich Anton, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, had one son and two daughters
  • Henriette Albertine (1694 – 1695), died in infancy
    Luise Amalia (1695 – 1713), died as a teenager
  • Charlotte (born and 1696), died in infancy
  • Henriette Albertine (1698 – 1728), unmarried

He also had three half-siblings from his father’s first marriage to Sophie Hedwig of Saxe-Merseburg, who died in childbirth along with a stillborn son:

Franz Josias’s paternal uncles Albrecht, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Heinrich, Duke of Saxe-Römhild died without male heirs. Upon their deaths, Franz Josias’s father Johann Ernst took possession of Coburg (in 1699) and Römhild (in 1714). In 1699, Johann Ernst’s title changed to Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld.

Franz Josias had served in the army of the Holy Roman Empire since 1718, had fought in 1719 in the Battle of Francavilla, and participated in the sieges of Palermo and Messina. In 1720, after the deaths of his two elder brothers, he returned to Coburg upon his father’s request. Johann Ernst IV, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld had only two surviving sons, Christian Ernst from his first marriage and Franz Josias from his second marriage. Franz Josias was described as a handsome man although he lost his left eye while playing a match in the then very popular sport, badminton.

Anna Sophie of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt; Credit – Wikipedia

Franz Josias married Anna Sophie of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt in Rudolstadt, Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, now in the German state of Thuringia, on January 2, 1723. Anna Sophie was the daughter of Ludwig Friedrich I, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Anna Sophie of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg.

Franz Josias and Anna Sophie had eight children:

Christian Ernst, Franz Josias’s elder half-brother had fallen in love with Christiane von Koss, the daughter of Saalfeld forestry master. This relationship displeased both his father and his half-brother. Eventually, Christian Ernst’s father consented to the marriage, and the couple was married morganatically on August 18, 1724. A morganatic marriage meant that Christiane and any children from the marriage would not be entitled to her husband’s titles and privileges.

Veste Coburg; Credit – By Presse03 – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6251198

As the elder son, Christian Ernst was his father’s heir but because of his unequal marriage, Franz Josias claimed the sole inheritance of the duchy. However, Johann Ernst decided that both his sons should reign jointly, and upon his death in 1729, his will forced the joint reign. After their father’s death, Christian Ernst resided at Schloss Saalfeld (link in German) and Franz Josias lived at Veste Coburg. From 1735, with the support of the Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, Franz Josias effectively ruled over Coburg in his own right.

On September 4, 1745, Christian Ernst died at Schloss Saalfeld at the age of 62. Christian Ernst had died childless and his half-brother Franz Josias became the sole Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. After the death of his brother, Franz Josias introduced primogeniture in the duchy so there would be no question about the succession.

From 1750 to 1755, he served as Regent of the Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, along with Friedrich III, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, for Ernst August II Konstantin, Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach until he came of age.

Franz Josias, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld died on September 16, 1764, aged 66, at Schloss Rodach in Rodach, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. He was buried in the ducal crypt at the Morizkirche (or Stadtkirche St. Moriz) in Coburg, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, now in Bavaria, Germany. His wife Anna Sophie survived him by sixteen years, dying on December 11, 1780, at the age of 80. She was buried with her husband at the Morizkirche in Coburg.

Morizkirche where Franz Josias is buried; Credit – Wikipedia

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Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld/Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. (2019). Franz Josias (Sachsen-Coburg-Saalfeld). [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Josias_(Sachsen-Coburg-Saalfeld) [Accessed 6 Feb. 2019].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Francis Josias, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Josias,_Duke_of_Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld [Accessed 6 Feb. 2019].
  • Flantzer, S. (2019). Johann Ernst IV, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/johann-ernst-iv-duke-of-saxe-coburg-saalfeld/ [Accessed 6 Feb. 2019].
  • Flantzer, S. (2019). Christian Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/christian-ernst-ii-duke-of-saxe-coburg-saalfeld-8-4-19/ [Accessed 6 Feb. 2019].