Ernest Frederick II

Ernest Frederick II
Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen
Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen
Reign	1724–1745
Predecessor	Ernest Frederick I
Successor	Ernest Frederick III
Born	(1707-12-17)17 December 1707 Hildburghausen
Died	13 August 1745(1745-08-13) (aged 37) Hildburghausen
Spouse	Caroline of Erbach-Fürstenau
Issue	Ernest Frederick III Prince Frederick August Albrecht Prince Frederick Wilhelm Eugen Princess Sophie Amalie Caroline
House	House of Saxe-Hildburghausen
Father	Ernst Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen
Mother	Countess Sophia Albertine of Erbach-Erbach

Ernst Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen (Hildburghausen, 17 December 1707 – Hildburghausen, 13 August 1745), was a duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen.

Young duke

He was the third but eldest surviving son of Ernst Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen and Countess Sophia Albertine of Erbach-Erbach. At the age of 17, he succeeded his father as Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen in 1724. As a result, his mother, the Dowager Duchess Sophia Albertine, acted as a regent on his behalf until he reached adulthood four years later.

Appointments

In 1743 he received an Infantry Regiment from Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria as a Lieutenant-General. Later, Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor appointed him Quartermaster-General.

Always ailing in body and mind, he was helpless in the face of the problems of the duchy. In the meantime, the indebtedness of the duchy had become so high that total public revenues did not even cover the interest.

Family

In Fürstenau on 19 June 1726 Ernst Frederick married Caroline of Erbach-Fürstenau (d. July 1745). They had four children:

1. Ernst Frederick III Karl, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen (b. Königsberg, 10 June 1727 – d. Seidingstadt, 23 September 1780).
2. Frederick August Albrecht (b. Hildburghausen, 8 August 1728 – d. Hildburghausen, 14 June 1735).
3. Frederick Wilhelm Eugen (b. Hildburghausen, 8 October 1730 – d. Öhringen, 4 December 1795), married on 13 March 1778 to his niece Caroline of Saxe-Hildburghausen (daughter of Ernst Frederick III). Their marriage was childless.
4. Sophie Amalie Caroline (b. Hildburghausen, 21 July 1732 – d. Öhringen, 19 June 1799), married in 1749 to Ludwig of Hohenlohe-Neuenstein-Öhringen.

Ancestors

Family of Ernest Frederick II

16. Johann, Duke of Saxe-Weimar 8. Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Altenburg 17. Dorothea Maria of Anhalt 4. Ernest, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen 18. Johann Philipp, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg 9. Elisabeth Sophie of Saxe-Altenburg 19. Elisabeth of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel 2. Ernest Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen 20. Wolrad IV, Count of Waldeck 10. Prince Georg Friedrich of Waldeck 21. Maria of Baden-Durlach 5. Sophie of Waldeck 22. William of Nassau-Hilchenbach (= 30) 11. Elisabeth Charlotte of Nassau-Hilchenbach 23. Christina of Erbach-Breuberg (= 31) 1. Ernest Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen 24. George III, Count of Erbach-Breuberg 12. George Albert I, Count of Erbach-Breuberg 25. Maria of Barby-Mühlingen 6. George Louis I, Count of Erbach-Erbach 26. George Frederick II of Hohenlohe-Schillingfürst 13. Elisabeth Dorothea of Hohenlohe-Schillingfürst 27. Dorothea Sophia of Solms-Hohensolms 3. Countess Sophia Albertine of Erbach-Erbach 28. Wolrad IV, Count of Waldeck 14. Philip Theodor of Waldeck-Eisenberg 29. Anna of Baden-Durlach 7. Amalie Katharina, Countess of Waldeck-Eisenberg 30. William of Nassau-Hilchenbach (= 22) 15. Maria Magdalena of Nassau-Hilchenbach 31. Christina of Erbach-Breuberg (= 23)

References

• Johann Samuel Ersch (Hrsg.): Allgemeine Encyclopädie der Wissenschaften und Künste, 1. Sektion, 37. Teil, Leipzig, 1842, S. 300 (Digitalisat)
• Heinrich Ferdinand Schoeppl: Die Herzoge von Sachsen-Altenburg. Bozen 1917, Neudruck Altenburg 1992
• Georg Hassel: Allg. Europäisches Staats u. Address: Handbuch, 1816, etc, Band 1-2, Weimar, 1816, S. 324 (Digitalisat)