The
House of Wettin is a dynasty of
German counts,
dukes,
prince-electors (Kurfürsten) and
kings that once 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: Wettin 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 Wettin 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 Wettin, 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 Wettin 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
The senior Ernestine branch lost the electorship to the Albertine in 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.
From George I to Queen Victoria, the British Royal family was variously called
Hanover,
Brunswick and
Guelph. In the late 19th century,
Queen Victoria charged the
College of Heralds in England to determine the correct personal surname of her late husband,
Prince Albert of
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha - and, thus, the proper surname of the Royal Family upon the accession of her son. After extensive research they concluded that it was Wettin, but this name was never used, either by the Queen or by her son or grandson,
Edward VII and
George V of the United Kingdom; they were simply called 'Saxe-Coburg-Gotha'.
Severe anti-German sentiment during
World War I led some influential members of the public to quietly question the loyalty of the Royal Family, because they had a German or German-sounding name. By
order-in-council, the name of the British royal family was legally changed to Windsor, prospectively for all time.
When
Queen Elizabeth II ascended the throne in 1952, a question arose as to whether the royal family's name would change after her to 'Mountbatten' - the name adopted by the Queen's husband,
Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, from his mother's family ('Battenberg' translated to English). The reply from
Buckingham Palace was immediate that the Royal Family's name would remain "Windsor" in perpetuity. However, the Queen issued an order in 1957, which provides that those of her descendants who do not reign and have no other title may use the surname "Mountbatten-Windsor".
List of branches of the House of Wettin and its agnatic descent
- Kings of Bulgaria (sometimes had been known as "Kohary" and as "Sakskoburggotski")
- Kings of Saxony, currently Prinz/Prinzessin von Sachsen
- Dukes of Saxony, Landgraves of Thuringia, Dukes of Luxembourg
See also
