See part 3 now: https://www.patreon.com/LindsayHoliday
When studying European history, the various German monarchies come up a lot. They were figuratively and literally in the middle of everything; the protestant reformation, various wars and revolutions, and they married their offspring to royals across the continent, to the extent that most modern monarchs have more German heritage than local. Check out my episodes. But to call these many German Monarchies a Gordian knot is an understatement. They were constantly shifting boarders, merging, dividing and changing names because of battles, treaties and dynastic developments. And their allegiance to the Holy Roman Empire and then to Prussia shifted over time. So let’s slice through the Gordian knot and take a closer look at all of the German monarchies that existed at a single point in time; when they were abolished following Germany’s defeat in WWI. Over three episodes, we’ll examine the 4 Kingdoms, 5 Grand Duchies, 5 Duchies and 6 Principalities that existed in 1918. Look back at the dynasties that founded them and notable family members along the way. Find out which monarch was in the hot seat when the revolution came, and meet their modern decedents who no longer rule, but still have plenty of clout, cash and castles.
In the last episode we explored the three kingdoms of Prussia, Bavaria & Württemberg. Now let’s check out the Saxes. Not those Saxes. The Kingdom of Saxony and the other Saxe monarchies, as the name suggests, are all related. And although they were small states, their names ring loud in European history. Major European monarchs were not always keen to see their offspring paired off with Austrian, Russian or French princess. They usually came with powerful fathers who demanded that their in laws join them in the latest war. However, the smaller German monarchies had very little political weight to throw around. But their offspring still carried the exulted titles of Prince and Princess. So they were seen as ideal matches on the royal marriage market. Royal titles, with no political strings attached. The Saxes in particular became known as “the breeding pens of European Royalty”. Let’s visit the Alpine ancestral land of Prince Albert and so many other modern European royals…
Kingdom of Saxony
Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg
Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen
Duchy of Saxe-Coburg & Gotha
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Music: Brandenburg Concerto No4-1 BWV1049 – Classical Whimsical by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100303
Artist: http://incompetech.com/
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