DEATH OF THE PRINCE OF SAXE-COBURG AND GOTHA
DEATH OF THE PRINCE OF SAXE-COBURG AND GOTHA, AT 82
Andreas, the Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Duke of Saxony passed away at the age of 82 on the 3rd April. The Head of the illustrious House of Saxe-Coburg und Gotha grew up in the United States, reacquired lost family estates and was a close friend and cousin of the Swedish, Belgian and Bulgarian Royal Families. He had been the head of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha since 1998. He was the grandson of Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the last ruling duke. He is styled as His Highness.
He was born 21 March 1943 at Schloss Casel in Lower Lusatia, Germany to Friedrich Josias, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Princess Viktoria Luise of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha . After their divorce in 1946, he was left in the custody of his mother, who moved to her family home “Steinwaendt” in Austria. It was there that she met and married her second husband, Captain Richard Whitten, who was serving in the American army in Salzburg, Austria.
In 1949, the army transferred his new family to the United States, where he spent most of his childhood and teenage life. On 6 March 1954, at the age of 12, his father became head of the house and he became heir apparent to the headship of the ducal house. When he was 16 he began to make regular visits to Germany in preparation for his future role as head of the Ducal House Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. It was during these visits that he was introduced to the old hunting traditions that became his lifelong passion.
In the early 1960s, he attended Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he studied Business Administration. He was one of the founding members of the Delta Tau Delta Fraternity Chapter at the university and later became an honorary member.
As a dual citizen, and of the age when young men serve their country, it was not a difficult choice for him to become a full German citizen. In 1965 he returned to Coburg, and the first thing he did was to enrol in a German language school. Soon after, he joined the Armoured Reconnaissance Battalion 6 based in Eutin, Schleswig-Holstein, where he served from 1966 to 1968.
After serving in the army, he trained at various foresting companies in Germany, notably working as an apprentice timber merchant with Mueller & Son in Hamburg from 1969 to early 1971. That same year, in Hamburg he joined the provisions department of MITSUI & Company, one of the oldest and largest financial empires in Japanese history, and one of the most diversified and comprehensive trading, investment, and service companies in the world. Working for MITSUI taught him how to run a successful business.
In Hamburg he met Carin Dabelstein, and they married on 31 July 1971. Carin was born in Hamburg on 16 July 1946 and is the daughter of Adolf Martin Dabelstein and Irma Maria Classen. Although Carin was not of equal status in terms of royalty, his father approved of the marriage and it was therefore not considered “morganatic”.
After they married, they lived in Hamburg, where their daughter Stephanie was born in 1972 and their son Hubertus in 1975. Soon after Hubertus was born, he sensed that his family presence in Coburg was fading due to the death of his grandmother Victoria Adelheid in 1970 and the fact that his father was spending increasingly more time at their property in Grein, Austria. So, he decided to move his growing family back to Coburg.
Life in a small town was quite different from the city life they were used to in Hamburg. But as they settled in, they realised that Coburg had a lot to offer. Their second son Alexander was born there in 1977. Once back home, hr reached out to relatives, learned his family history, and established a renewed presence in Coburg as well as with families across Europe. This was not an easy task, because contacts with most English families and other dynasties were lost during World War II when my grandfather sided with Hitler. This was a tragic mistake on his part and has been very hard to repair. Mending fences was made even more difficult because his father moved to California. However, he later returned only to live in ther family property in Grein, Austria.
During these first years back in Coburg, he was active in social circles, not only with the royals but also with local society. He joined the Coburg Rotary Club in 1983 and later became president in 1993. Most of his time was spent as Administrator of the Coburg Family Foundation.
In 1989, when the Iron Curtain fell, his main goal was to re-acquire their lost property in former East Germany. After several years, in December 1996, he succeeded in buying back 2,000 hectares (4,942+ acres) of forest land in Thuringia. Later in 2000 the Family Foundation was able to negotiate with the federal government to acquire an additional 6,200 hectares (15,320+ acres) and with the Free State of Thuringia 800 hectares (1,976+ acres). A new forest operation has since been created and in 2013 the 2,000 hectares that he bought were transferred to the Family Foundation.
He became a member of the City Council in 1996 and remained in that position until 2002. During this period, he was also the Protector of the Coburg Shooting Society and in 1999 became the Protector of the German Shooting Society.
When he first arrived in Coburg, his father was still living there part time, and they were fortunate to spend quiet afternoons and evenings together. They talked about his life and family, but also about their love for cars, especially fast ones. His collection included a Volkswagen, a Mercedes, a Porsche, an Audi, and a Bentley.
On 23 January 1998, his father passed away, and he succeeded to the headship of the Ducal House. He continued his work as administrator of the Family Foundation until January 2012, when he retired and passed the responsibility on to his son Hubertus the Hereditary Prince. Since retiring, he continued to nurture his relationships with his extended family, employees, and friends. He still loved to travel, hunt, and visit his properties in both Germany and Austria. His wish was that succeeding generations of Coburgs will reach out across Europe and continue to restore the once strong relationships these families enjoyed.
His wife, Carin was born in Hamburg, Germany on 16 July 1946 to Irma Maria Margarete Callsen and Adolf Wilhelm Martin Dabelstein. Carin’s father was a merchant and entrepreneur and owned a printing shop in Hamburg. Prince Andreas met Carin while stationed in Hamburg, fell in love, and proposed in late 1970. In accordance with tradition and the house law of 1855, the marriage would have been morganatic, and thus required the approval of Prince Andreas’ father. Prince Friedrich Josias of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Head of the House at the time, willingly approved.
The official state marriage ceremony took place on 18 June 1971 and the ecclesiastical wedding was on 31 July 1971. After their marriage, Prince Andreas and Carin lived with their two elder children for several years in Hamburg. Princess Stephanie was born on 31 January 1972 and Hereditary Prince Hubertus was born on 16 September 1975.
In 1970, the death of Andreas’ grandmother, Duchess Victoria Adelheid, left a family void in Coburg. Her death coupled with the fact that Prince Andreas’ father was spending more time at their property in Grein, Austria, Andreas and Carin felt obligated to fill the void by moving back to Coburg in 1976.
Carin found Coburg to be a great place to raise her children. A year after their move to Coburg, Prince Alexander was born on 4 May 1977. Though raising their three children was a full-time job, Carin found time to become a member of “Help for the Disabled Child Coburg” a non-profit association whose principal goal is to promote and support children and young people with disabilities. Carin later became an honorary member of the “Friends of Friedenstein” and a Protector of the Shooting Guild of New Schuetzenstand.
Unfortunately, in 1997, Carin was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. In the beginning, Carin’s symptoms were mild and she was able to live a normal life, but over the years her condition has worsened and she is now under constant care at home. Carin always enjoyed a good book and loved listening to music, but her favourite thing was to try new recipes in the kitchen. Now that she is no longer able to cook she enjoys watching cooking shows.
Prince Andreas was close to his first cousin, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, and the godfather of Princess Madeleine, and was also friendly with the Belgian and Bulgarian Royal Families, who both originated from the House of Saxe-Coburg und Gotha, but did “lament that the ties with the British Royal family were largely non-existent, as they have shown little interest in closer contacts with Coburg”.
Hereditary Prince Hubertus becomes the Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and the Head of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Hubertus worked as a lawyer for a bank in New York specialising in wealth management. At the beginning of 2012 he moved back from New York to Coburg where he is on the board of the family foundation. Hubertus married American investment banker Kelly Jeanne Rondestvedt (b.Pensacola,Escambia County, Florida, 10 January 1975) civilly on 21 May 2009 in Coburg and religiously on 23 May 2009 at Callenberg Castle in Coburg. They have two daughters and a son, Hereditary Prince Philipp.
The latest genealogy of the SAXE-COBUEG-GOTHA may be found in the respective volume in this serries.
THE ROYAL HOUSES OF EUROPE by Jacques Arnold.