Prince Ferdinand Of Saxe-Coburg And Gotha

Prince Ferdinand Georg August of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was born on 28 March 1785 in Coburg. He was the second son of Francis Frederick Anthony, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and his second wife, Countess Augusta Caroline Sophie Reuss of Ebersdorf. In 1826, his title changed from Prince of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld to Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha following a territorial exchange made by his brother, Duke Ernst I. His familial relations included notable relatives such as Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of the United Kingdom, Empress Carlota of Mexico, and King Leopold II of Belgium.

His military career began early; he was commissioned as Unterleutnant in the Dragoon-Regiment Coburg Nr. 6 on 10 December 1791. He was promoted to Oberleutnant on 1 March 1796 and to Second-Rittmeister on 18 November 1798. In 1802, Ferdinand transferred to the Austrian Army, serving initially in the Chevauxleger-Regiment Fürst Rosenberg, where he attained the rank of major on 29 September 1804. He subsequently transferred in 1805 to the Husaren-Regiment Graf Blankenstein Nr. 6, promoted to Oberstleutnant on 6 August 1805.

During the War of the Fifth Coalition in 1808, he was appointed Oberst in the Husaren-Regiment Erzherzog Ferdinand d'Este Nr. 3. He distinguished himself in the campaign under Field Marshal Prince Hohenzollern, and his service at the Battle of Wagram was recognized with the Knight's Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa. He received commendation from his corps commander, Fürst Liechtenstein, and was promoted to Generalmajor on 15 April 1811.

In the subsequent War of the Sixth Coalition, Ferdinand participated in the battles of Kulm and Leipzig. He later held honorary regimental positions; on 8 May 1822, he became Inhaber of the u.k.k. Ulanenregiment „Fürst zu Schwarzenberg“ Nr. 2, and on 22 November 1828, he became Inhaber of the Husaren-Regiment Nr. 8. He achieved the rank of General der Kavallerie during this period.

Ferdinand married Princess Maria Antonia Koháry de Csábrág et Szitnya in Vienna on 30 November 1815. She was the daughter and sole heiress of Ferenc József, Prince Koháry de Csábrág et Szitnya. In 1818, Ferdinand converted to Roman Catholicism. Upon her father’s death in 1826, Maria Antonia inherited significant estates in Hungary, and Ferdinand adopted the title Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry.

The couple had four children, all raised as Catholics: Ferdinand II of Portugal (born 29 October 1816), who married Queen Maria II of Portugal and had eleven children; Prince August of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (born 13 June 1818), who married Princess Clémentine of Orléans and was the father of Ferdinand I of Bulgaria; Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (born 14 February 1822), who married Prince Louis, Duke of Nemours; and Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (born 31 January 1824), who married morganatically to Constanze Geiger.

Ferdinand died in Vienna on 27 August 1851 at the age of 66. He was interred in the ducal mausoleum at Friedhof am Glockenberg in Coburg.