Predecessor Albert Name George, of | Burial Katholische Hofkirche | |
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Reign 19 June 1902 – 15 October 1904 Born 23 August 1832Dresden ( 1832-08-23 ) Issue Princess Maria JohannaPrincess ElisabethPrincess MathildeFrederick AugustusMaria Josepha, Archduchess Otto Franz of AustriaPrince Johann GeorgPrince MaximilianPrince Albert Spouse Infanta Maria Anna of Portugal (m. 1859–1884) Children Frederick Augustus III of Saxony Parents Amalie Auguste of Bavaria, John of Saxony Grandchildren Charles I of Austria Similar People Frederick Augustus III of Saxony, Albert of Saxony, Amalie Auguste of Bavaria, Prince Ernst Heinrich, Princess Mathilde of Saxony | ||
George (German: Friedrich August Georg Ludwig Wilhelm Maximilian Karl Maria Nepomuk Baptist Xaver Cyriacus Romanus; 8 August 1832 – 15 October 1904) was a King of Saxony of the House of Wettin.
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Early life
George was born in the Saxon capital Dresden. He was the second son of King John of Saxony (1801–1873) and his wife Princess Amelia of Bavaria (1801–1877), daughter of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria (1756–1825).
Marriage
On 11 May 1859 at Belém Palace, Lisbon, George married the younger sister of King Pedro V of Portugal: The Infanta Maria Anna of Portugal, eldest surviving daughter of Queen Maria II of Portugal and her consort Prince Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry. Maria Anna died young and George stayed unmarried for the rest of his long life.
Military career
George served under his brother Albert's command during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 and in the Franco-German War. In the re-organisation of the army which accompanied the march towards Paris, his brother the Crown Prince gained a separate command over the 4th army (Army of the Meuse) consisting of the Saxon XII corps, the Prussian Guard corps, and the IV (Prussian Saxony) corps and George succeeded him in command of the XII corps.
In 1871, Prince George was awarded the Grand Cross of the Württemberg Military Merit.
King of Saxony
Prince George was a Generalfeldmarschall before his ascension. It gradually became clear that George's older brother Albert I (1828–1902) and his wife Queen Carola (1833–1907) would not have any children, thereby making George the heir presumptive to the throne. He succeeded Albert I as King of Saxony on 19 June 1902, albeit for just a brief two-year reign. He died in Pillnitz and was succeeded by his eldest son Frederick Augustus III (1865–1932), who was deposed in 1918.
King George was a controversial figure. He divorced by royal decree his eldest son from his daughter-in-law, Crown Princess Luise. Luise's flight from Dresden was due to her father-in-law's threatening to have her interned in Sonnestein Mental Asylum for life.