Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Prince Alfred of the United Kingdom, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Duke of Edinburgh (born 6 August 1844 and died 30 July 1900), was the second son and fourth child of Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. He was created Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Kent and Earl of Ulster in the peerage of the United Kingdom on 24 May 1866. He succeeded his paternal uncle Ernst as the reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in the German Empire on 23 August 1893.

Last Years

The Duke's only son, the Hereditary Prince Alfred, became involved in a scandal involving his mistress and shot himself in January 1899, in the midst of his parents' twenty-fifth wedding anniversary celebrations. He survived, but his embarrassed parents sent him off to Meran to recover, where he died two weeks later, on 6 February. The Duke of Saxe-Coburg died of throat cancer on 30 July 1900 at Schloss Rosenau at Coburg. He was buried at the ducal family's cemetery outside Coburg. He was succeeded as the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha by his nephew, Prince Charles Edward, Duke of Albany, the posthumous son of his youngest brother, Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany. (Alfred's next brother, the Duke of Connaught and his son, Prince Arthur of Connaught, had renounced their succession rights to the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha).

Related Topics:
January - 1899 - Meran - 6 February - Throat cancer - 30 July - 1900 - Prince Charles Edward, Duke of Albany - Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany - Duke of Connaught - Prince Arthur of Connaught

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