Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, 1844-1900

Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; Alfred Ernest Albert; Born 6 August 1844, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England; Died 30 July 1900 (aged 55), Schloss Rosenau, Coburg, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, German Empire; parents Queen Victoria, and her husband, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; Alfred was baptized by the Archbishop of Canterbury, William Howley, at the Private Chapel in Windsor Castle on 6 September 1844. His godparents were his mother's first cousin, Prince George of Cambridge (represented by his father, the Duke of Cambridge); his paternal aunt, the Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (represented by his maternal grandmother, the Duchess of Kent); and Queen Victoria's half-brother, the Prince of Leiningen (represented by the Duke of Wellington, Conservative Leader in the Lords); Alfred studied violin at Holyrood, Edinburgh, where his accompanist was Hungarian expatriate George Lichtenstein; In 1856, at the age of 12, it was decided that Prince Alfred, in accordance with his own wishes, should enter the Royal Navy; He passed the examination in August 1858, and was appointed as midshipman in HMS Euryalus at the age of 14; Prince Alfred, therefore, remained in the navy, and was promoted to lieutenant on 24 February 1863, serving under Count Gleichen on the corvette HMS Racoon. He was promoted to captain on 23 February 1866 and was appointed to the command of the frigate HMS Galatea in January 1867; In the Queen's Birthday Honours on 24 May 1866, the Prince was created Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Ulster, and Earl of Kent, with an annuity of £15,000 granted by Parliament. He took his seat in the House of Lords on 8 June; On 23 January 1874, the Duke of Edinburgh married the Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, the second (and only surviving) daughter of Emperor Alexander II of Russia and his wife Marie of Hesse and by Rhine, daughter of Ludwig II, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine and Wilhelmine of Baden, at the Winter Palace, St Petersburg. To commemorate the occasion, a small English bakery made the now internationally popular Marie biscuit, with the Duchess' name imprinted on its top; Children: Alfred, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; Marie, Queen of Romania; Grand Duchess Victoria Feodorovna of Russia; Alexandra, Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg; Princess Beatrice, Duchess of Galliera