Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Born Prince Leopold Franz Julius of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Duke in Saxony on 31 January 1824, he was the third son of Ferdinand, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry and Princess Maria Antonia Koháry de Csábrág et Szitnya.

Leopold was a younger son and was unlikely to inherit titles or land, so he entered the Army in the service of the Austrian Empire. At one point, Leopold was considered as a potential husband for Isabel II of Spain. This did not, however, prove to be realistic, given the resistance of France and other European powers. Spain had been the scene of Great Power rivalry throughout the period since 1815 and all the Great Powers were seeking to exert their influence by supporting different candidates. The Saxe-Coburg family was perceived to be too closely linked with British interests. The Coburg influence extended widely. In Great Britain, Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert were Leopold's first cousins, while Leopold I of Belgium was Leopold's paternal and Victoria's maternal uncle, and Leopold's brother was King Ferdinand II of Portugal, husband of Queen Maria II of Portugal. Leopold's candidature in the Affair of the Spanish Marriages was used by France as the excuse to negotiate the hasty marriage between Queen Isabella II of Spain and her cousin Francis of Spain at the same time as that between the son of Louis Philippe and the Queen of Spain's younger sister.Kenneth Bourne, The Foreign Policy of Victorian England 1830-1902 (Oxford, 1970), pp.58-60

Later, Leopold met Constanze Geiger, a common woman. They had a son, Franz, in Vienna on 12 October 1860. Leopold and Constanze married six months later on 23 April 1861. Immediately, he recognized his son, who was created Freiherr von Ruttenstein on 24 July 1862. That same day, Constanze was created Freifrau von Ruttenstein in her own right. Because the marriage of his parents was unequal (and thus morganatic), Franz was barred from the succession of Koháry and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Regardless, he died childless and unmarried on 29 August 1899.

Leopold is buried in the ducal mausoleum at {{Interlanguage link multi|Friedhof am Glockenberg|de}}, Coburg.{{cite book|last=Klüglein|first=Norbert|title=Coburg Stadt und Land (German)|publisher=Verkehrsverein Coburg|year=1991}}{{rp|47}}

• {{flag|Belgium}}: Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold (military), 3 May 1850{{citation|chapter-url=https://archives.bruxelles.be/almanach/watch/AR/ALMANACH%20ROYAL%20OFFICIEL_1851_R%20208/ALMANACH%20ROYAL%20OFFICIEL_1851_R%20208#page/18|title=Almanach Royal Officiel|year=1851|chapter=Liste des Membres de l'Ordre de Léopold|lang=french|via=Archives de Bruxelles|page=36}}
• {{flagicon|Saxe-Coburg and Gotha}} {{flagicon|Saxe-Altenburg}} {{flagicon|Saxe-Meiningen}} Ernestine duchies: Grand Cross of the Saxe-Ernestine House Order, March 1842Adreß-Handbuch des Herzogthums Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha (1843). "Herzoglich Sachsen-Ernestinischer Hausorden", [https://zs.thulb.uni-jena.de/rsc/viewer/jportal_derivate_00243961/Sachsen_Coburg_Gotha_165771801_1843_0040.tif?logicalDiv=jportal_jparticle_00473415 p. 3]
• {{flag|Kingdom of Portugal}}: Grand Cross of the Order of the Tower and Sword, 19 June 1843{{cite journal|last1=Bragança |first1=Jose Vicente de|date=2014 |title=Agraciamentos Portugueses Aos Príncipes da Casa Saxe-Coburgo-Gota |url=https://www.academia.edu/10576008 |language=pt|trans-title=Portuguese Honours awarded to Princes of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|journal=Pro Phalaris |volume=9-10 |page=9 |access-date=28 November 2019 }}

{{Reflist}}

• E. Jones-Parry, The Spanish Marriages, 1841-1846 (London, 1936)

{{Princes of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld}}

{{Princes of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha}}

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Category:1824 births

Category:1884 deaths

Category:Princes of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Category:House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha-Koháry

Category:Nobility from Vienna

Category:Burials at the Ducal Family Mausoleum, Glockenburg Cemetery, Coburg