Frederick III of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg

He was born in Gotha, the eldest son of Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and Magdalene Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst.

After the death of his father, in 1732, Frederick III assumed the duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg.

In 1734 he began a flourishing soldier trade with the Emperor, to the Prince of Waldeck and to the King of Prussia, which put him into the position to create a tax in his own duchy. The duchy had to suffer for Frederick with difficulty in the Seven Years' War. In 1747/1748, Frederick entered war with his neighbour, duke Anton Ulrich of Saxe-Meiningen, an uncle of his wife. The so-called "War of Wasungen", named after a town in the duchy Saxe-Meiningen, was officially caused by a hierarchy conflict between nobles at the princely court in Meiningen in the course of which a noble couple had been illegally arrested. Following the emperor's command, Frederick sent his troops to free the captives. For him, this was an occasion to partly occupy his wife's homeland that was ruled by the elderly Anton Ulrich. This duke did not only prefer to live far away in Frankfurt but was also unequally married. The rising question of legal succession induced Frederick to send about 10% of his army to Saxe-Meiningen until in 1748 the Prussian King Frederick II. mediated a compromise.^[1]

Frederick's attempts to be appointed as a member of the Danish Order of the Elephant, a fellowship of which both his father and his grandfather had been members, failed in 1734 due to ceremonial difficulties. After his sister's marriage with Frederick, Prince of Wales, he became knight of the Order of the Garter in 1741. In 1732, he had already received the Polish Order of the White Eagle that was sent to him by post.^[2]

In Gotha on 17 September 1729, Frederick married Luise Dorothea of Saxe-Meiningen, his first cousin. They had nine children:

1. Frederick Louis, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (b. Gotha, 20 January 1735 – d. Gotha, 9 June 1756) died unmarried.
2. Louis (b. Gotha, 25 October 1735 – d. Gotha, 26 October 1735) died young.
3. stillborn son (Gotha, 25 October 1735), twin of Louis.
4. stillborn twin sons (1739).
5. Fredericka Louise (b. Gotha, 30 January 1741 – d. Gotha, 5 February 1776) died unmarried.
6. Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (b. Gotha, 30 January 1745 – d. Gotha, 20 April 1804).
7. Sophie (b. Gotha, 9 March 1746 – d. Gotha, 30 March 1746) died young.
8. August (b. Gotha, 14 August 1747 – d. Gotha, 28 September 1806).

From 1748 to 1755 he was regent of the Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach on behalf of Ernest Augustus II. From 1750, he acted as regent alongside his kinsmen Franz Josias, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. He died in Gotha, aged 72.