Frederick III, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg

Frederick III
Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
Reign	23 March 1732 – 10 March 1772
Predecessor	Frederick II
Successor	Ernst II
Born	(1699-04-14)14 April 1699 Gotha
Died	10 March 1772(1772-03-10) (aged 72) Gotha
Spouse	Princess Luise Dorothea of Saxe-Meiningen ​ ​ (m. 1729; died 1767)​
Issue	Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg Prince Ludwig Princess Fredericka Luise Ernst II Princess Sophie Prince August
House	Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
Father	Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
Mother	Magdalene Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst

Frederick III, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (14 April 1699 – 10 March 1772), was a duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg.

Biography

He was born in Gotha, the eldest son of Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and Magdalene Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst.

After the death of his father, in 1732, Frederick III assumed the duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg.

In 1734 he began a flourishing soldier trade with the Emperor, to the Prince of Waldeck and to the King of Prussia, which put him into the position to create a tax in his own duchy. The duchy had to suffer for Frederick with difficulty in the Seven Years' War and he forced the duchy into a war with his neighbour, duke Anton Ulrich of Saxe-Meiningen (The "Wasunger War").

Issue

In Gotha on 17 September 1729, Frederick married Luise Dorothea of Saxe-Meiningen, his first cousin. They had nine children:

1. Frederick Louis, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (b. Gotha, 20 January 1735 – d. Gotha, 9 June 1756) died unmarried.
2. Louis (b. Gotha, 25 October 1735 – d. Gotha, 26 October 1735) died young.
3. stillborn son (Gotha, 25 October 1735), twin of Louis.
4. stillborn twin sons (1739).
5. Fredericka Louise (b. Gotha, 30 January 1741 – d. Gotha, 5 February 1776) died unmarried.
6. Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (b. Gotha, 30 January 1745 – d. Gotha, 20 April 1804).
7. Sophie (b. Gotha, 9 March 1746 – d. Gotha, 30 March 1746) died young.
8. August (b. Gotha, 14 August 1747 – d. Gotha, 28 September 1806).

From 1748 to 1755 he was regent of the duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach on behalf of Ernst August II Konstantin. From 1750, he acted as regent alongside his kinsmen Franz Josias, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. He died in Gotha, aged 72.

Ancestors

Ancestors of Frederick III, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg[1]

8. Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha 4. Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg 9. Princess Elisabeth Sophie of Saxe-Altenburg 2. Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg 10. August, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels 5. Magdalena Sibylle of Saxe-Weissenfels 11. Anna Maria of Mecklenburg-Schwerin 1. Frederick III, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg 12. John VI, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst 6. Prince Charles of Anhalt-Zerbst 13. Sophie Augusta of Holstein-Gottorp 3. Princess Magdalena Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst 14. August, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels (= 10) 7. Sophie of Saxe-Weissenfels 15. Anna Maria of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (= 11)

References

1. Genealogie ascendante jusqu'au quatrieme degre inclusivement de tous les Rois et Princes de maisons souveraines de l'Europe actuellement vivans [Genealogy up to the fourth degree inclusive of all the Kings and Princes of sovereign houses of Europe currently living] (in French). Bourdeaux: Frederic Guillaume Birnstiel. 1768. p. 102.

• Beck, August (1878), "Friedrich II. (Herzog von Sachsen-Gotha-Altenburg)", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 8, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 3–5
• Christian Ferdinand Schulze, Leben des Herzogs von Sachsen-Gotha und Altenburg Friedrich II., Digitaliat

Frederick III, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg House of Wettin Born: 14 April 1699 Died: 10 March 1772
Regnal titles
Preceded by Frederick II	Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg 1732–1772	Succeeded by Ernst II