Charles Augustus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1844–1894)

Karl August, Hereditary Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (31 July 1844 – 20 November 1894) was a German prince and Hereditary Grand Duke (Erbgroßherzog) of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.

Biography

Born in Weimar, Karl was the only son of Karl Alexander, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach and Princess Sophie of the Netherlands. He would serve in the army of the Grand Duchy of Saxony (Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach) and he was present when Wilhelm I was crowned as German emperor.

Because his mother was a daughter of King William II of the Netherlands and his older uncles, except King William III, died childless, Karl August was second in line in the succession to the throne of the Netherlands from 1890 to 1894. He was preceded only by his mother. This was the reason for him learning to write and speak fluent Dutch, due to the possibility of Karl August becoming king if his cousin Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands died without issue.

In leisure, Karl dedicated himself to his copperplate collection and coin cabinet. He was also interested in the Grand Ducal Library and the newly built archive, where he often studied historical documents on the history of the house. His popularity and his uncomplicated outreach to the residents of the Grand Duchy made him a beloved leader of the duchy.

Karl August died at Cap Martin, France, six years before his father; because of this, his eldest son Wilhelm Ernst succeeded his grandfather as Grand Duke. Karl August is buried in the Weimar royal crypt.

Family and children

In Friedrichshafen on 26 August 1873 Karl August married Princess Pauline of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. They were second cousins, as she was the paternal granddaughter of Prince Bernhard, who had been in the service of the king of the Netherlands and was a younger brother of the Grand Duke Karl Frederick of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, the grandfather of Karl August. Her maternal grandparents were William I of Württemberg and his third wife Pauline Therese.

Karl August and Pauline had two sons:

1. Wilhelm Ernst Karl Alexander Friedrich Heinrich Bernhard Albert Georg Hermann, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (b. Weimar, 10 June 1876 – d. Heinrichau, 24 April 1923).
2. Bernhard Karl Alexander Hermann Heinrich Wilhelm Oscar Friedrich Franz Peter (b. Weimar, 18 April 1878 – d. Weimar, 1 October 1900).

Honours

He received the following awards:

Ancestry

References

1. Charles Alexander, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
2. Charles Augustus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
3. Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
4. Order of St. Andrew
5. Order of the Chrysanthemum
6. Order of the Redeemer
7. Princess Sophie of the Netherlands
8. Prince Hermann of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1825–1901)
9. Prince Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
10. Saxe-Ernestine House Order
11. Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau
12. House and Merit Order of Peter Frederick Louis
13. Order of the White Falcon
14. Descendants of Queen Victoria
15. Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia
16. Order of the Oak Crown
17. List of members of the House of Wettin
18. House Order of the Wendish Crown
19. Heir apparent
20. Order of Albert the Bear