Georg I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen


Georg I Frederick Karl, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, was Duke of Saxe-Meiningen from 1782 to 1803. He was known as a reformer and considered a model prince by many of his peers.

Family

Georg was born on 4 February 1761 at Frankfurt as the fourth but second surviving son of Anton Ulrich, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen and Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Philippsthal. His father was 73 years old at the time and died two years later in 1763.

Reign

Georg succeeded his older and childless brother, Karl Wilhelm in the Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen in 1782. He ruled based on the principles of "enlightened absolutism" emphasizing in particular the importance of education. He initiated the building of the Gymnasium later named Bernhardinum after his son. Georg I also opened the ducal library to the public, reformed the church practices in his princedom and initiated new social policies. Under a nom-de-plume he published philosophical treatises. As a result, many of his fellow princes considered him a model ruler and his duchy as the German state where enlightened absolutism reached its apogee.

Marriage and heir

In Langenburg on 27 November 1782, Georg married Luise Eleonore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. After ten years they began to have children, finally having four:
  1. Adelaide Luise Therese Karoline Amalie, married on 11 July 1818 to the Duke of Clarence, later King William IV of the United Kingdom.
  2. Ida, married on 30 May 1816 to Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.
  3. stillborn daughter.
  4. Bernhard II Erich Freund, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen.

    Death

Georg I died of a fever on 24 December 1803 at Meiningen.

Ancestry