Product Description

At the dawn of the nineteenth century, the Duchy of Coburg, ruled by the Saxe-Coburg-Saalfield (later Saxe-Coburg-Gotha) family, was a small, impoverished German fiefdom with no political influence, and little prospect of improving its lot. Less than fifty years later, the family had transformed its position. Their finances were healthy and they held, or were closely related to, many of the crowns of Europe. By the beginning of the twentieth century, the genes of the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha family ran in no fewer than thirteen royal families. Just how did they achieve this astonishing turnaround?Queen Victoria's marriage to Prince Albert, and the subsequent marriages of their many, highly eligible, offspring, is well known. But Richard Sotnick gives a new twist to the story by concentrating on the earlier, less well-documented period, when the most astute of the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha family - Leopold, Prince Albert's uncle and subsequently King of the Belgians, and his mother, the Dowager Duchess Augusta - worked behind the scenes. Richard Sotnick draws on contemporary family documents, most in the original German and only made available to the public since the reunification of Germany. He tells of Prince Albert's mother, the tragic Luise, whose scandalous divorce resulted in her being exiled for life and banished from her sons. And he explores the rumours around Albert's paternity, proposing three plausible candidates for his fatherhood.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #179095 in Books
• Published on: 2008-02-12
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

About the Author
Richard Sotnick took part in National Service in the RAF before working as a solicitor, based in Portsmouth. In the 1970s he became involved in local politics, becoming Lord Mayor of Portsmouth in 1978-9; from 1979 to 1987 he was Chairman of Portsmouth Cultural Festival and a Director and Trustee of the Mary Rose Trust, and in 1985 he was elected an Honorary Alderman of the city. His passion for music, and work with the London String Quartet Foundation, led to Honorary Membership of Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He lives in North London with his wife, with whom he has three daughters.

Customer Reviews

The meteoric rise of the Coburgs: two conspiracies?
Richard E. Sotnick was inspired to write a book about the Coburgs after a meeting with Lord Mountbatten and throughout this book one can feel the passion he puts behind each line. It is a well-written book with a great flow, it is easy to read and easy to digest. This in itself is a great achievement taking into account how difficult royal genealogy is. Family trees, maps of Germany, a chronology and great photos help the reader along and enhance the value of this nice book.

This book is actually about two "conspiracies" which are however linked: the first is how the Coburgs acquired much dominance and thrones and the second about the paternity of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's much loved Prince Consort.

The first "conspiracy" focused on Prince Leopold and how he became husband to Britain's heiress and later nearly King of Greece and than King of the Belgians. This story is already very well known. So for those who have read about Leopold this is a great summary but hardly new. The Coburgs made exceptional good marriages at the beginning of the 19th century which helped a lot to acquire thrones and social standing, but not just Leopold. The wider implications of the Coburgs marriage policy, for instance with the House of Orléans and the House of Habsburg is hardly touched upon but had a major impact (throne of Portugal and Bulgaria). I simply wished Mr Sotnick would have broadened his research and book here instead of focusing nearly exclusively on the British side of things. Yes, the marriage of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert was properly the greatest achievement and it is interesting to see how Albert was groomed form day one to be Victoria's husband and how the same was more or less done with Victoria. Here Richard Sotnick's book is very clear and I really enjoyed these parts. But the information are not really new, but presented in an excellent way.

The second "conspiracy" is about Prince Albert's paternity. Mr. Sotnick has really well-researched here his description of Albert's parents and their relationship is excellent. As it seems clear that his mother Louise had affaires - as much as his father had - and as the marriage broke down right after Albert's birth, there is the possibility that Albert was not Ernst I's son, even if he recognized him as his own son. But who was Albert's real father? Sotnick presents two possible options. The first is a certain Friedrich Blum, who happened to be a lower servant in the ducal household. As proof serves "family history of the Blums" and alikeness of looks in Blum's descendants. I leave it up to you to judge whether you find this convincing. I have to admit I was not impressed. Remember the Anastasia case where tons of photos were suppose to prove the likeness of Anna Anderson with the Imperial Russian Family. The second option is even more astonishing: it is Leopold I of Belgium. Here the case is made up by physical and intellectual similarities between uncle and nephew and an entry in the journal of the Dowager Duchess of Coburg that - about the time of conception of Albert - that Luise and Leopold were inseparable. This is supposing the reason why Leopold took from his birth a rather paternal interest in Albert. Well, this was quite new and astonishing. But I feel not very convincing either. If Albert would have been really the bastard son of King Leopold, then the family would have known and might have covered it up, but I cannot see that they would have given him to Victoria as her husband. If such a cover would have blown, it would have crumbled the throne. In the end two pretty interesting theories, but none very convincing.

Strangely, Mr Sotnick never looks into the question of Queen Victoria's paternity where some raised questions too.

So all in all, this is a very written book, giving lots of information, particularly to those not yet to familiar with the meteoric rise of the Coburg family at the beginning of the 19th century. The paternity question with regard to the prince Consort makes interesting reading, but is not too convincing. But worthwhile a read and judge for yourself. It is a book I enjoyed and finished it in two days.

What A Story
This book reads better than a novel. A real page turner, beautifully written, well researched by Richard Sotnick with fine attention to detail. I loved reading this book and was sorry when I reached the last page. They say that "Truth is stranger than fiction" and the Coburg Conspiracy cetainly is a fine example of this.

Beverly Miller

The Coburg Conspiracy - review from a non-historian
Richard Sotnick sets the book out beautifully. It is explained very well and is an easy read - even for those who are not historians.

The family trees at the front explain who is who, and how each European royal family is linked. It is definitely a case of "six degress of separation"!

I finished the book within a few days and was sorry that it had ended. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes a mystery and wants a good read. I'm looking forward to the follow up!