Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Ernest II | |||||
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Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, German Empire | |||||
Burial | ], Coburg | ||||
Spouse | |||||
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House |
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Father | Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha | ||||
Mother | Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg | ||||
Religion | Lutheranism |
Ernest II (German: Ernst August Karl Johann Leopold Alexander Eduard; 21 June 1818 – 22 August 1893) was
In 1842, Ernest married
A supporter of a unified Germany, Ernest watched the various political movements with great interest. While he initially was a great and outspoken proponent of
Ernest and his only full sibling, his younger brother
Early life
Ernest, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, was born at
There are various accounts of Ernest's childhood. When he was fourteen months old, a servant commented that Ernest "runs around like a weasel. He is teething and as cross as a little badger from impatience and liveliness. He is not pretty now, except his beautiful black eyes."[3] In May 1820, his mother described Ernest as "very big for his age, as well as intelligent. His big black eyes are full of spirit and vivacity."[4] Biographer Richard Hough writes that "even from their infancy, it was plainly evident that the elder son took after his father, in character and appearance, while Albert strongly resembled his mother in most respects."[5] Ernest and his brother often lived with their grandmother the Dowager Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld until her death in 1831.
He and Albert were brought up and educated together as if they were twins.[6] Though Albert was fourteen months younger, he surpassed Ernest intellectually.[6] According to their tutor, "they went hand-in-hand in all things, whether at work or at play. Engaging in the same pursuits, sharing the same joys and the same sorrows, they were bound to each other by no common feelings of mutual love".[7] Perhaps the aforementioned "sorrows" related to their parents' marriage; it was not happy, and Duke Ernest I was continually unfaithful.[8] In 1824, Ernest I and Louise divorced; she subsequently left Coburg and was disallowed from seeing her sons again.[9] She soon remarried to Alexander von Hanstein, Count of Pölzig and Beiersdorf, dying in 1831 at the age of thirty.[10] The year after her death, their father married his niece Duchess Marie of Württemberg, who was his sister Antoinette's daughter. Their stepmother was thus also their first cousin. The duke and his new duchess were not close, and would produce no children; while the boys formed a happy relationship with their stepmother, Marie had little to no input in her stepsons' lives.[11] The separation and divorce of their parents, as well as the later death of their mother, left the boys scarred and in close companionship with each other.[12]
In 1836, Ernest and Albert visited their matrimonially eligible cousin Princess Victoria of Kent, spending a few weeks at Windsor Castle.[13] Both boys, especially Albert, were considered by their family to be a potential husband for the young princess, and they were both taught to speak competent English.[14] Their father at first thought that Ernest would make a better husband to Victoria than Albert, possibly because his sporting interests would be better received by the British public.[15] However, most others favored Albert over Ernest as a possible husband. Temperamentally, Victoria was much more like Ernest, for both were lively and sociable with a love for dancing, gossip, and late nights; conversely, this fast pace made Albert physically ill.[16] Victoria believed Ernest had a "most kind, honest, and intelligent expression in his countenance", while Albert "seemed full of goodness and sweetness, and very clever and intelligent."[14] No offer of marriage was forthcoming for either brother however, and they returned home.
Ernest entered military training later that year.[16] In April 1837, Ernest and Albert and their household moved to the University of Bonn.[17] Six weeks into their academic term, Victoria succeeded as Queen of the United Kingdom. As rumors of an impending marriage between her and Albert interfered with their studies, the two brothers left on 28 August 1837 at the close of the term to travel around Europe.[18] They returned to Bonn in early November to continue their studies. The brothers travelled to England again in 1839, at which time Victoria found her cousin Albert agreeable, and soon proposed.[19] This connection would have many implications for Ernest in the future; for example, he was selected as godfather for Albert's second daughter Princess Alice, and would eventually come to give her away at her wedding, only months after Albert's death.[20]
Thanks to his widespread royal connections, he travelled widely at this stage of his life. In 1840 and 1841 he went to Spain and Portugal; in Portugal another cousin, Ferdinand, was King Consort.[21]
Marriage
Various candidates were put forward as a possible wife for Ernest. His father wanted him to look to a woman of high rank, such as a Russian grand duchess, for a wife.
In
Ernest had suffered from a
Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
On 29 January 1844, Ernest's father died in Gotha, one of the territories their family had recently acquired. Ernest consequently succeeded to the duchies of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha as Ernest II.[28]
Development of a constitution
Extravagant to a great degree, Ernest had many money troubles throughout his reign. In January 1848, Ernest visited his brother in the midst of political unrest in Germany. Upon his return, he also discovered unrest in Coburg. One of the many concerns related to finances. Although Ernest had a large inheritance, he also had frequent debts.[22] There were increasing calls to nationalize most of his property. Indeed, Albert had to intervene at one point and spare his brother the embarrassment of losing one of his Coburg properties.[22]
During the
Schleswig-Holstein wars
From 1848 to 1864,
Relationship with Victoria and Albert
The first war ended in 1851, but would resume in 1864. During this interlude, Ernest fervently opposed the marriage of his nephew Albert Edward, Prince of Wales ('Bertie'), to Princess Alexandra of Denmark, a daughter of the future Christian IX of Denmark (and therefore an enemy of the German states). He believed that such a match flew in the face of German interests.[34] Albert replied angrily: "What has that got to do with you?... Vicky has racked her brains to help us to find someone, but in vain...We have no [other reasonable] choice".[35] Albert agreed there were going to be problems with the match, but as he could find no alternative bride, he wrote to Ernest that keeping the affair a private matter (and outside the realm of government) was "the only way to prevent a break with Prussia and the only way to keep the game in our own hands, impose the conditions that we think necessary, and as far as we can, take off its political edge".[36] Albert also warned his son of Ernest's endeavors to interfere with the match, commenting, "Your uncle...will try his hand at this work. Your best defence will be not to enter on the subject, should he broach it".[37]
Soon after writing these letters, Prince Albert died on 14 December 1861. His death helped Ernest repair his relationship with his sister-in-law, as Victoria had been becoming increasingly angry over Ernest's objections to the Danish match. The two brothers had always been close, whatever their disagreements, and Albert's death left Ernest "wretched", noted Victoria in a letter to her eldest daughter.[38] The death did not solve their argument however; seeing that his direct involvement had failed to persuade Victoria, Ernest tried a new tactic. He began to spread gossip about Alexandra and her family, saying that her mother Princess Louise "had illegitimate children and Alexandra had flirtations with young officers"; he also wrote to Louise herself, warning that Bertie would be an unfortunate choice for a husband.[39] Additionally, Ernest met with his nephew at Thebes, most likely attempting to discourage him from the match in person.[40] In an 11 April letter, Victoria unhappily noted to her eldest daughter, "You did not tell me that Bertie had met Uncle Ernest at Thebes...I am always alarmed when I think of Uncle Ernest and Bertie being together as I know the former will do all he can to set Bertie against the marriage with Princess Alix".[36] Despite Ernest's disapproval, Bertie was duly married to Alexandra on 10 March 1863.
His close relationship with the English court gave him a position of great influence, and the marriage of his niece, Princess Victoria, to Prince Frederick William further strengthened his ties to Prussia, and in 1862 he offered to make his troops available to the King of Prussia in case of war. But his liberalism caused increased suspicion in Germany of the Coburg influence. Prussian conservatives would soon turn against him, and in particular he was opposed by Prussian Minister President Otto von Bismarck.[21]
During the American Civil War, the Duke assigned Ernst Raven to the position of consul in the state of Texas. On 30 July 1861, Raven applied to the Confederate Government for a diplomatic exequatur and was accepted.[41]
Nomination for the Greek throne
On 23 October 1862,
There were problems to the nomination; Ernest had no legitimate children, and thus would have had to adopt one of the princes of his house to succeed him as King of Greece. To solve this problem, Ernest suggested to Palmerston that he simply take the title Regent of Greece and hold the kingdom in trust for his chosen heir.[44] He also stipulated that if he accepted the throne, it should be subject to certain guarantees by the other powers. The apparent deal-breaker, though, was the fact that Ernest wanted to acquire the Greek throne and still maintain control of his "safer" duchies.[43] In the end, the British cabinet thought the proposed conditions unacceptable. His recommendations having been turned down, Ernest in turn refused. In 1863, the Greek throne was accepted by another member of a royal family: the Princess of Wales' younger brother Prince William of Denmark. Ernest would later comment, "That this cup was spared me, I always regarded as a piece of good fortune".[45]
Austro-Prussian and Franco-Prussian Wars
Ernest, like his brother, was in favor of a unified but federal German state.
The Austro-Prussian War of 1866 was triggered by the desire of German conservative leaders to unify, albeit on different terms than their liberal counterparts. Ernest urged Prussian leaders against the impending war, and was an active advocate of the Austrian cause.[43] Though Ernest normally followed more liberal politics than many of his counterparts, he began switching his views to align more closely with Bismarck by the mid-1860s. Despite this change in his private political views, he still had strong publicly known ties to Austria, where his cousin Alexander, Count Mensdorff, was Foreign Minister,[21] and no one foresaw that Ernest would immediately side with the better-equipped Prussians upon breakout of the war. His reasoning is usually understood as acting in the best interests of his duchies, and by extension, of himself.[43] Some influence came from Bismarck, who explained his policy and tactics in a letter to Ernest.[21] Regardless, it was seen as a betrayal of former friends; Queen Victoria commented that Ernest "might have agreed to neutrality—for that might be necessary, but to change colours I cannot think right".[43]
Ernest was fortunate in his support of victorious Prussia; for his services he received the forest of
Ernest's support of the Prussians in the Austro-Prussian War and later
Later years
Later in his reign, Ernest's actions managed to continually anger his sister-in-law. Though Victoria loved Ernest because he was Albert's brother, she was displeased that Ernest was writing his memoirs, worrying about their contents mainly in regard to her dead husband.[56] Despite their disputes, Ernest still met with Victoria and her family occasionally. In 1891, they met in France; Victoria's lady-in-waiting commented "the old Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha has been here today with his wife. He is the Prince Consort's only brother and an awful looking man, the Queen dislikes him particularly. He is always writing anonymous pamphlets against the Queen and the Empress Frederick, which naturally creates a great deal of annoyance in the family".[57]
Throughout his reign, Ernest had been known for his extravagance and womanizing; as he grew older, Ernest enjoyed gossip and was "now a thoroughly disreputable old roué who enjoyed the outrage provoked by his actions", leading Vicky to declare that her uncle "was his own enemy".[54] His behavior and manner of dress increasingly became a joke for younger generations.[56] His great-niece Marie of Edinburgh would later describe Ernest as "an old beau, squeezed into a frock-coat too tight for his bulk and uncomfortably pinched in at the waist, sporting a top hat, lemon coloured gloves, and a rosebud in his lapel".[56] He put on weight and though on paper his wealth was large, he was still constantly in debt.[54]
An excellent musician
Ernest II died at
Ernest was succeeded by his nephew Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh.
Inheritance to Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
For much of Ernest's reign, the
Issues arose over authority to control the upbringing of his heir-presumptive. As head of the Coburg family, Ernest would normally have been able to arrange Alfred's education and general upbringing unchallenged.
In media
Ernest appears in the 2016 ITV series Victoria, portrayed by David Oakes. He is inaccurately depicted as having an affair with Harriet Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland. In real life, Ernest likely never met the Duchess; he was already married at the time, and the Duchess was twelve years older than him.[66]
Honours
- German honours[67]
- Ernestine duchies:
- Grand Cross of the Saxe-Ernestine House Order, February 1836;[68] Joint Grand Master, 29 January 1844
- Knight of St. Joachim
- Master Mason, 1857[69]
- Baden:[70]
- Knight of the House Order of Fidelity, 1842
- Grand Cross of the Zähringer Lion, 1842
- Knight of St. Hubert, 1846[71]
- Brunswick: Grand Cross of Henry the Lion
- Hanover:[72]
- Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach: Grand Cross of the White Falcon, 13 January 1840[73]
- Saxony:[74]
- Knight of the Rue Crown, 1839
- Commander of the Military Order of St. Henry, 1st Class, 1849
- Prussia:
- Knight of the Black Eagle, 23 March 1844; with Collar, 1856[75]
- Pour le Mérite (military), 11 September 1849[75]
- Grand Cross of the Red Eagle, 19 September 1865; with Swords, 1866[75]
- Iron Cross (1870), 1st and 2nd Classes[76]
- Grand Commander's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, with Swords, 17 May 1876[75]
- Württemberg: Grand Cross of the Württemberg Crown, 1886[77]
- Foreign decorations[67]
- Kingdom of Portugal:[78]
- Grand Cross of the Royal Military Order of Our Lord Jesus Christ, 23 April 1836
- Grand Cross of the Tower and Sword, 1 March 1844
- Grand Cross of the
- Belgium: Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold, 18 November 1839[79]
- Kingdom of France: Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, May 1843[80]
- United Kingdom: Stranger Knight of the Garter, 12 December 1844[22][81]
- Grand Cross of the Royal Hungarian Order of St. Stephen, 1852[82]
- Empire of Brazil: Grand Cross of the Southern Cross
- Empire of Japan: Grand Cordon of the Order of the Chrysanthemum, 20 April 1883[83]
- Sovereign Military Order of Malta: Bailiff Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion, 16 December 1839[84]
- Kingdom of Serbia: Grand Cross of the Cross of Takovo[85]
Ancestry
Ancestors of Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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See also
- List of knights and ladies of the Garter
- List of members of the House of Wettin
- List of famous big game hunters
- Rosine Stoltz
- Schloss Ketschendorf
References
- ^ Grey, p. 29 and Weintraub, p. 21.
- ^ a b c d e François Velde. "House Laws of the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha". Heraldica.org. Retrieved 4 September 2010.
- ^ Grey, pp. 32-33.
- ^ Grey, p. 35.
- ^ Hough, p. 9.
- ^ a b Weintraub, p. 30.
- ^ Grey, p. 44.
- ^ Weintraub, pp. 23-25.
- ^ Weintraub, p. 25-28.
- ^ Feuchtwanger, pp. 29-31.
- ^ Packard, p. 16 and Weintraub, pp. 40–41.
- ^ Weintraub, pp. 25–28.
- ^ Feuchtwanger, p. 37.
- ^ a b Weintraub, p. 49.
- ^ D'Auvergne, p. 164.
- ^ a b c d e Zeepvat, p. 1.
- ^ Feuchtwanger, pp. 35-36.
- ^ Weintraub, p. 58-59.
- ^ Feuchtwanger, pp. 38-39.
- ^ Packard, p. 104.
- ^ a b c d e Headlam 1911, p. 751.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Zeepvat, p. 2.
- ^ a b c Feuchtwanger, p. 62; Gill, pp. 142-43.
- ^ a b c Weintraub, p. 52.
- ^ D'Auvergne, pp. 188-89.
- ^ a b c Gill, p. 143.
- ^ Zeepvat, p. 2 and Lundy.
- ^ a b Encyclopædia Britannica. "Ernest II". Britannica.com. Retrieved 16 November 2010.
- ^ a b c Coit Gilman et al, p. 841.
- ^ Baillie-Grohman, p. 60 and Kenning, pp. 204-05.
- ^ Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Volume 1, p. 48. A letter written to him by his servant Von Stein states that while there were many candidates who could take command of parts of the army, there was only one Duke, hinting that Ernest was needed to continue promulgating the German Constitution in his duchy.
- ^ Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Volume 1, p. 50.
- ^ Coit Gilman et al, p. 841 and Alden, Berry, Bogart et al, p. 481.
- ^ Zeepvat, p. 3 and Hibbert, p. 43.
- ^ Hibbert, p. 42.
- ^ a b quoted in Zeepvat, p. 3.
- ^ Hibbert, p. 43.
- ^ Zeepvat, p. 3.
- ^ Hibbert, p. 57.
- ^ Zeepvat, p. 3 and Hibbert, p. 57.
- ^ 58th Congress, 2nd Session, Senate Document No. 234, Journal of the Congress of the Confederate States of America, 1861–1865, Volume 5 (Washington, D. C.: Government Printing Office, 1905), page 422
- ^ D'Auvergne, pp. 269-270 and Zeepvat, p. 4.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Zeepvat, p. 4.
- ^ a b D'Auvergne, p. 271.
- ^ D'Auvergne, p. 272.
- ^ Zeepvat, p. 2 and Coit Gilman et al, p. 841.
- ^ Zeepvat, p. 4 and Alden, Berry, Bogart et al, p. 481.
- ^ Alden, Berry, Bogart et al, p. 481.
- ^ quoted in Zeepvat, p. 2.
- ^ a b Headlam 1911, p. 752.
- ^ Pakula, p. 241 and Zeepvat, p. 5.
- ^ Allinson, p. 139.
- ^ Zeepvat, p. 5. Victoria wrote in 1873, "The accounts of Uncle Ernest's conduct are too distressing", and two weeks later to her Vicky, "What you say about Uncle E. alas! alas! is what I have heard from but too many and is most painful and humiliating. Really one cannot go to Coburg when Uncle is there".
- ^ a b c d Zeepvat, p. 5.
- ^ a b Zeepvat, p. 6 and Feuchtwanger, p. 209.
- ^ a b c Zeepvat, p. 6.
- ^ quoted in Zeepvat, p. 6.
- JSTOR 3363520.
- ^ Weintraub, p. 50 and The Musical Times and Singing Class Circular, pp. 539-540.
- ^ Grove's Dictionary of Music, 5th ed, 1954, Liszt: Works, p. 275
- ^ "Amusements", The New York Times, The Metropolitan Opera House, 10 January 1891
- ^ a b c Baillie-Grohman, p. 60.
- ^ Zeepvat, p. 6 and Baillie-Grohman, p. 60.
- ^ "Buried in the Moritzkirche", The New York Times, Coburg, 29 August 1893
- ^ Klüglein, Norbert (1991). Coburg Stadt und Land (German). Verkehrsverein Coburg.
- ^ Griffiths, Eleanor Bley. Victoria: Who was the real Harriet Duchess of Sutherland--and did she fall in love with Prince Ernest? RadioTimes. https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2019-04-15/victoria-real-harriet-duchess-of-sutherland/
- ^ a b Staatshandbücher für das Herzogtum Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha (1890), "Genealogie des Herzoglichen Hauses" pp. 10-11
- ^ Staatshandbücher ... Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha (1843), "Herzogliche Sachsen-Ernestinischer Hausorden" p. 3
- ^ Kenning, pp. 204-05.
- ^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden (1873), "Großherzogliche Orden" pp. 59, 73
- ^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Bayern (1873), "Königliche Orden" p. 8
- ^ Staat Hannover (1865). Hof- und Staatshandbuch für das Königreich Hannover: 1865. Berenberg. pp. 38, 79.
- ^ Staatshandbuch für das Großherzogtum Sachsen / Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach (1843), "Großherzogliche Hausorden" p. 8 Archived 2020-07-06 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Königlich Sächsischer Hof-, Civil- und Militär-Staat. Dresden. 1857. pp. 3, 6.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b c d "Königlich Preussische Ordensliste", Preussische Ordens-Liste (in German), 1, Berlin: 4, 11, 22, 935, 1886
- ^ Allinson, p. 112.
- ^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg (1886/7), "Königliche Orden" p. 23
- ^ Bragança, Jose Vicente de (2014). "Agraciamentos Portugueses Aos Príncipes da Casa Saxe-Coburgo-Gota" [Portuguese Honours awarded to Princes of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]. Pro Phalaris (in Portuguese). 9–10: 7, 9. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
- ^ H. Tarlier (1854). Almanach royal officiel, publié, exécution d'un arrête du roi (in French). Vol. 1. p. 37.
- ISBN 978-2-35077-135-9.
- ^ Shaw, Wm. A. (1906) The Knights of England, I, London, p. 57
- ^ "A Szent István Rend tagjai" Archived 22 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ 刑部芳則 (2017). 明治時代の勲章外交儀礼 (PDF) (in Japanese). 明治聖徳記念学会紀要. p. 143.
- ^ Ruolo Generale del Sov.o M. Ordine Gerosolomitano (Roma: Tipografia Fratelli Pallotta, 1877), 104.
- ^ Acović, Dragomir (2012). Slava i čast: Odlikovanja među Srbima, Srbi među odlikovanjima. Belgrade: Službeni Glasnik. p. 607.
Sources
Primary
- Baillie-Grohman, William Adolph (1896). Sport in the Alps in the Past and Present: An Account of the Chase of the Chamois, Red-deer, Bouquetin, Roe-deer, Capercaillie, and Black-cock, with Personal References and Historical Notes and Some Sporting Reminisces of H.R.H. the Late Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. London: Scribner.
- Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Duke Ernest II of (1888). Memoirs of Ernest II: Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. London: Remington & Co. Publishers., four volumes.
Secondary
- Alden, Raymond; George Berry; Ernest I. Bogart; et al. (1918). The Encyclopedia Americana: A Library of Universal Knowledge, Volume 10. New York: The Encyclopedia Americana Corporation.
- Allinson, A.R. (2006). The War Diary of the Emperor Frederick III - 1870 - 1871. Home Farm Books. ISBN 1-4067-9995-5.
- Berwanger, Eugene H. (1994). The British Foreign Service and the American Civil War. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0-8131-1876-X.
- Coit Gilman, Daniel; Harry Thurston Peck; Frank Moore Colby (1903). The New International Encyclopædia, Volume 6. New York: Dodd, Mead, and Company.
- D'Auvergne, Edmund Basil (1911). The Coburgs: The Story of the Rise of a Great Royal House. New York: James Pott & Company. ISBN 1-120-85860-7.
The Coburgs: The Story of the Rise of a Great Royal House.
- Feuchtwanger, E.J. (2006). Albert and Victoria: The Rise and Fall of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. London: Hambledon Continuum. ISBN 1-85285-461-8.
- Gill, Gillian (2009). We Two: Victoria and Albert: Rulers, Partners, Rivals. New York: Ballatine Books. ISBN 978-0-345-52001-2.
- Grey, Hon. Charles (1868). The Early Years of His Royal Highness The Prince Consort. New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers.
The Early Years of His Royal Highness The Prince Consort.
- Headlam, James Wycliffe (1911). Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 9 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 751–752. . In
- Hibbert, Christopher (2007). Edward VII: The Last Victorian King. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Hough, Richard (1996). Victoria and Albert. New York: St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 0-312-30385-8.
Victoria and albert.
- Kenning, George (1878). Kenning's Masonic Encyclopedia and Handbook of Masonic Archeology, History and Biography. London: Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 0-7661-6526-4.
- Packard, Jerome M. (1998). Victoria's Daughters. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-24496-7.
- Pakula, Hannah (1997). An Uncommon Woman: The Empress Frederick, Daughter of Queen Victoria, Wife of the Crown Prince of Prussia, Mother of Kaiser Wilhelm. New York: Simon and Schuster Inc. ISBN 0-684-84216-5.
- Weintraub, Stanley (1997). Uncrowned King: The Life of Prince Albert. London: ISBN 0-7195-5756-9.
- Zeepvat, Charlotte (July 2000). "The Queen and Uncle E". Royalty Digest. X (109): 1–7. Archived from the original on 19 September 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2010.
External links
- Biography of Ernest II at the German National Library. (in German)
- Biography of Ernest II at the Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie. (in German)