Everything about The House Of Wettin totally explained
The
House of Wettin was a dynasty of
German counts,
dukes,
prince-electors (Kurfürsten) and
kings that ruled the area of today's German states of
Saxony, the Saxon part of
Saxony-Anhalt and
Thuringia for more than 800 years as well as holding at times the kingship of
Poland.
Agnates of the House of Wettin have, at various times, ascended the thrones of
Great Britain,
Portugal,
Bulgaria,
Poland,
Saxony, and
Belgium; of these, only the
British and
Belgian lines retain their thrones today. (See
list of members.)
Origins: Wettins of Saxony
The oldest member of the House of Wettin who is known for certain was Thiedericus (died
982), who was probably based in the
Liesgau (located at the western edge of the
Harz). Around
1000, as part of the German conquest of
Slavic territory, the family acquired
Wettin Castle, after which they named themselves. Wettin Castle is located in
Wettin in the
Hosgau on the
Saale River. Around
1030, the Wettin family received the
Eastern March as a fief.
The prominence of the Wettin family in the Slavic
marches caused
Emperor Henry IV to invest them with the
March of Meissen as a fief in
1089. The family advanced over the course of the
Middle Ages: in
1263 they inherited the
landgraviate of
Thuringia (though without
Hesse), and in
1423 they were invested with the
Duchy of Saxony, centred at
Wittenberg, thus becoming one of the
prince-electors of the
Holy Roman Empire.
Ernestine and Albertine Wettins
The family divided into two ruling branches in
1485 when the sons of
Frederick II, Elector of Saxony divided the territories hitherto ruled jointly.
The elder son
Ernest, who had succeeded his father as
Prince-elector, received the territories assigned to the Elector (
Electoral Saxony) and
Thuringia, while his younger brother
Albert obtained the
March of Meissen, which he ruled from
Dresden. As Albert ruled under the title of "Duke of Saxony", his possessions were also known as
Ducal Saxony.
The older, Ernestine branch remained predominant until
1547 and played an important role in the beginnings of the Protestant reformation. Their predominance ended in the
Schmalkaldic War, which pitted the Protestant
Schmalkaldic League against
Emperor Charles V. Although itself Protestant, the Albertine branch rallied to the Empire's cause; Charles V rewarded them by forcing the Ernestines to sign away their rights to the Electoral title and lands to the Albertines. The Ernestine line was thereafter restricted to Thuringia, and its dynastic unity swiftly crumbled.
The Albertine Wettins maintained most of the territorial integrity of Saxony, preserving it as a significant power in the region, and using small
appanage fiefs for their cadet branches, few of which survived for significant lengths of time. The Ernestine Wettins, on the other hand, repeatedly subdivided their territory, creating an intricate patchwork of small
duchies and counties in Thuringia.
The junior Albertine branch ruled as Electors (
1547–
1806) and Kings of Saxony (
1806–
1918) and also played a role in Polish history: two Wettins were
Kings of Poland (between
1697–
1763) and a third ruled the
Duchy of Warsaw (
1807–
1814) as a satellite of Napoleon. After the Napoleonic Wars, the Albertine branch lost about 40% of its lands, including the old Electoral Saxony, to Prussia, restricting it to a territory coextensive with the modern
Saxony),
The House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
1547, but retained its holdings in Thuringia, dividing the area into a number of smaller states. One of the resulting Ernestine houses, that of
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, went on to contribute
kings of Belgium (from
1831) and
Bulgaria (
1908 -
1946), as well as furnishing consorts to
queens regnant of
Portugal (
Ferdinand II of Portugal) and the
United Kingdom (
Prince Albert, husband of Queen
Victoria), as well as to
Maximilian I of Mexico (
Carlota of Mexico, the first Belgian princess). As such, the British, Portuguese, and for a time, Mexican, thrones became a possession of persons who belonged to the House of Wettin.
Although the British Royal Family's
Royal House name was Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, in the late 19th century
Queen Victoria charged her
College of Heralds to determine her correct personal surname; after extensive research they concluded that it was Wettin. In 1917, the male-line descendants of Victoria and Albert had their House name as well as their personal surnames changed to
Windsor by an
Order-in-Council of
King George V.
Queen Elizabeth II will be the last
British monarch agnatically descended from the House of Wettin. As a result of her marriage to
Prince Philip of Greece, the throne will pass to his House, agnatic descendants of the
House of Oldenburg. However, that'll probably continue using the name Windsor as a house name and
Mountbatten-Windsor as a personal surname, as prescribed by Queen Elizabeth.
Mountbatten is an
Anglicisation of
Battenberg, the family name of Prince Philip's mother,
Princess Alice of Battenberg.
List of branches of the House of Wettin and its agnatic descent
Further Information
Get more info on 'House Of Wettin'.
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