Augustus, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
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| Augustus | |
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| Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg | |
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| Reign | 1804–1822 |
| Predecessor | Ernst II |
| Successor | Frederick IV |
| Spouse | Louise Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Karoline Amalie of Hesse-Kassel |
| Issue | |
| Louise, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld | |
| Full name | |
| Emil Leopold August | |
| House | House of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg |
| Father | Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg |
| Mother | Charlotte of Saxe-Meiningen |
| Born | 23 November 1772 Gotha |
| Died | 27 May 1822 (aged 49) Gotha |
Augustus, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (full name: Emil Leopold August) (23 November 1772 – 27 May 1822), was a Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, and the author of one of the first modern novels to treat of same-sex love. He was the maternal grandfather of Albert, Prince Consort of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.
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[edit] Early life
He was born on 23 November 1772 in Gotha, the second son of Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and Princess Charlotte of Saxe-Meiningen. In 1779 the death of his older brother Ernst made him the heir to the duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. In his youth he was very well trained.
[edit] Reign
In 1804 Emil succeeded his father. He sided with Napoleon, and in 1806 joined the Rhine Confederation.
A man of great culture, Augustus was in correspondence with Jean Paul, Madame de Stäel and Bettina von Arnim. In 1805 he published anonymously the poetic novel Kyllenion Ein Jahr in Arkadien (i.e. Cyllenion A year in Arcadia). This is a pastoral idyll, set in ancient Greece, in which several couples fall in love, overcome various obstacles and live happily ever after. It is unique in that one of the couples is homosexual and their love affair is treated no differently from that of any of the others. This is perhaps the first novel since antiquity in which same-sex love is so treated.
Augustus was also a collector of art, tanks and sonderling. He had an aversion for the hunt and riding, as well as a preference for dancing, wearing silk socks and feminine clothes. He called himself "Emilie" among his friends. Goethe called him "angenehm und widerwärtig zugleich": "agreeable and distasteful at the same time".
[edit] Marriages and issue
In Ludwigslust on 21 October 1797 Augustus married firstly Louise Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. They had one child, a daughter:
- Luise Dorothea Pauline Charlotte Fredericka Auguste (b. Gotha, 21 December 1800 - d. Paris, 30 August 1831). She married firstly on 31 July 1817 Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg, but they divorced in 1826; secondly, on 18 October 1826 Alexander von Hanstein, created count of Pölzig.
Secondly, Augustus married in Kassel on 24 April 1802 Karoline Amalie of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel). They had no children.
He died on 27 May 1822 in Gotha.
[edit] Further reading
- August, Herzog von Sachsen-Gotha, Kyllenion Ein Jahr in Arkadien (1805; reprint Berlin 1985 with biographic info.)
[edit] Ancestors
| Preceded by Ernest II |
Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg 1804–1822 |
Succeeded by Frederick IV |
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