After being naturalised as a British subject, Edward's military career began on 1 June 1841, when, having trained at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, he joined the 67th (South Hampshire) Regiment of Foot as an ensign.[3] He was promoted to ensign in the Grenadier Guards and lieutenant in the Army on 8 June 1841 and lieutenant in his regiment and captain in the Army on 19 May 1846[4] before becoming adjutant of his battalion in November 1850.[5]
Edward was promoted to brevet major in the Grenadier Guards on 20 June 1854.[6] He served in the Crimean War and fought at the Battle of Alma in September 1854 and the Siege of Sevastopol in October 1854, where he was slightly injured.[7] He fought on at the Battle of Balaclava in October 1854 and the Battle of Inkerman in November 1854.[1] He was promoted to brevet lieutenant-colonel "for distinguished Service in the Field" during the war on 12 December 1854.[8]
In retirement Edward was a commissioner of the Patriotic Fund.[16] He also became colonel of the 10th Regiment of Foot[17] and then colonel of the 1st Regiment of Life Guards.[18] He was promoted to field marshal on 22 June 1897[19] following which there was adverse comment in The Times that his career had included no great military achievements.[1]
Prince and Princess Edward had for several years a summer residence at North Berwick, and in October 1902 the Prince was honoured with the Freedom of the Royal burgh of North Berwick, a week after he had hosted King Edward VII as his guest there for a couple of days.[20]
Edward died on 16 November 1902 at Portland Place in London and was buried in Chichester Cathedral,[21] in the crypt of his wife's family, the dukes of Richmond and Lennox.[1]
Family
On 27 November 1851 Edward married, morganatically, Lady Augusta Katherine Gordon-Lennox,[3] (a daughter of Charles Gordon-Lennox, 5th Duke of Richmond), who was created Countess of Dornburg by the Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar the day before the wedding. The Court Circular shows that she was usually known by that title until early 1886, when the Circular began to consistently refer to her by her husband's title, i.e. "HSH Princess Edward of Saxe-Weimar".[22] They had no children.[1]
Ancestry
Honours
Edward received the following orders and decorations:[23]
^"Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar at North Berwick". The Times. No. 36909. London. 27 October 1902. p. 4.
^"Funeral of Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar", The Times (20 November 1902): 12.
^"Saxe-Weimar' H.S.H. Princess Edward". Historic Autographs. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
^"Genealogie des Großherzoglichen Hauses", Staatshandbuch für das Großherzogtum Sachsen / Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach (in German), Weimar: Böhlau, 1900, pp. 8–9, archived from the original on 25 June 2020, retrieved 5 April 2020
^"Großherzoglich Hausorden der Wachsamkeit oder vom Weißen Falken", Staatshandbuch für das Großherzogtum Sachsen / Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach (in German), Weimar: Böhlau, 1851, p. 7, retrieved 5 April 2020[permanent dead link]
^"Herzoglich Sachsen-Ernestinischer Hausorden", Adreß-Handbuch des Herzogthums Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha (in German), Coburg and Gotha, 1843, p. 7, retrieved 5 April 2020
^Staat Hannover (1860). Hof- und Staatshandbuch für das Königreich Hannover: 1860. Berenberg. p. 71.
^"Militaire Willems-Orde: Saxen-Weimar-Eisenach, W.A.E. hertog van" [Military William Order: Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, W.A.E. Duke of]. Ministerie van Defensie (in Dutch). 7 April 1858. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
^"Großherzogliche Orden und Ehrenzeichen". Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Großherzogtums Mecklenburg-Strelitz: 1878 (in German). Neustrelitz: Druck und Debit der Buchdruckerei von G. F. Spalding und Sohn. 1878. p. 11.
^"Rother Adler-orden", Königlich Preussische Ordensliste (in German), vol. 1, Berlin: Gedruckt in der Reichsdruckerei, 1886, p. 23, retrieved 18 August 2021 – via hathitrust.org
^"Königlicher Orden: Orden der Württembergischen Krone", Hof und Staatshandbuch des Königreichs Württemberg (in German), Stuttgart: Druck von W. Kohlhammer, 1896, p. 28, retrieved 5 April 2020
^"Großherzogliche Orden und Ehrenzeichen", Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Hessen (in German), Darmstadt: Im Verlag der Invalidenanstalt, 1883, p. 14, retrieved 29 December 2020
Sources
Heathcote, Tony (1999). The British Field Marshals 1736–1997. Leo Cooper. ISBN 0-85052-696-5.
Shaw, Willam (2012). The Knights of England: a Complete Record from the Earliest Time to the Present Day. Forgotten Books. ISBN 9780806304434.
External links
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