Noble family House of Wettin | Name Sophie of | |
Father Christian I, Duke of Saxe-Merseburg Mother Christiana of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg Born 4 August 1660Merseburg ( 1660-08-04 ) Role Christian I, Duke of Saxe-Merseburg's daughter Died August 2, 1686, Saalfeld, Germany Spouse John Ernest IV, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld Children Princess Charlotte Wilhelmine of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld Parents Christiana of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg Grandparents John George I, Elector of Saxony Great-grandparents Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia | ||
Sophie Hedwig of Saxe-Merseburg (4 August 1660 - 2 August 1686), was a German noblewoman member of the House of Wettin and by marriage Duchess of Saxe-Saalfeld.
Born in Merseburg, she was a child of Christian I, Duke of Saxe-Merseburg and his wife Christiana of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg.
Life
In Merseburg on 18 February 1680 Sophie Hedwig married Johann Ernest, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. Both belonged to the House of Wettin: she was a member of the Albertine line while her husband belonged to the Ernestine branch. Three years before (1677) one of Sophie Hedwig's sisters, Christiane, married Christian, Duke of Saxe-Eisenberg, in turn one of Johann Ernest's older brothers, so probably this marriage was instrumental for her future wedding.
The union produced five children, of whom only two survive adulthood:
Sophie Hedwig died in childbirth in Saalfeld, two days before her twenty-six birthday. She was buried in the Johanniskirche, Saalfeld.