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Ernest Frederick II
Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen
Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen
Reign	1724–1745
Predecessor	Ernest Frederick I
Successor	Ernest Frederick III
Spouse	Caroline of Erbach-Fürstenau
Issue
Ernest Frederick III Prince Frederick August Albrecht Prince Frederick Wilhelm Eugen Princess Sophie Amalie Caroline
House	House of Saxe-Hildburghausen
Father	Ernst Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen
Mother	Sophie Albertine of Erbach-Erbach
Born	17 December 1707(1707 -12-17) Hildburghausen
Died	13 August 1745 (aged 37) Hildburghausen

Ernst Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen (b. Hildburghausen, 17 December 1707 - d. Hildburghausen, 13 August 1745), was a duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen.

[edit] Young Duke

He was the third but eldest surviving son of Ernst Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen and Sophia Albertine of Erbach. At the age of 17, he succeeded his father as Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen in 1724. As a result, his mother, the Dowager Duchess Sophia Albertine, acted as a regent on his behalf until he reached adulthood four years later.

[edit] Appointments

In 1743 he received an Infantry Regiment from the Palatinate Elector Charles IV Theodore as a Lieutenant-General. Later, the Emperor Karl VII appointed him Quartermaster-General.

Always ailing in body and mind, he was helpless in the face of the problems of the duchy. In the meantime, the indebtedness of the duchy had become so high that total public revenues did not even cover the interest.

[edit] Family

In Fürstenau on 19 June 1726 Ernst Frederick married Caroline of Erbach-Fürstenau (d. July 1745). They had four children:

1. Ernst Frederick III Karl, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen (b. Königsberg, 10 June 1727 - d. Seidingstadt, 23 September 1780).
2. Frederick August Albrecht (b. Hildburghausen, 8 August 1728 - d. Hildburghausen, 14 June 1735).
3. Frederick Wilhelm Eugen (b. Hildburghausen, 8 October 1730 - d. Öhringen, 4 December 1795), married on 13 March 1778 to his niece Caroline of Saxe-Hildburghausen (daughter of Ernst Frederick III). Their marriage was childless.
4. Sophie Amalie Caroline (b. Hildburghausen, 21 July 1732 - d. Öhringen, 19 June 1799), married in 1749 to Ludwig of Hohenlohe-Neuenstein-Öhringen.

Preceded by Ernst Frederick I

Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen 1724–1745

Succeeded by Ernst Frederick III