Background
The Prince was born to Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Princess Victoria Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg.
Duke of Saxe Head of the Ducal Family of Saxe
The Prince was born to Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Princess Victoria Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg.
Charles Edward was forced to abdicate on 14 November 1918. In 1938, the Prince entered the Wehrmacht and participated in the occupation of Czechoslovakia, Poland and France. In 1941, he fought in Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union.
He fell seriously ill in the winter of 1941.
After his recovery, he fought as Oberleutnant in the Caucasus. In 1944, he was an Ordonnanzoffizier under Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel on the French coast.
He was stationed in June 1944 in Denmark under General von Hanneken, where he was captured by the British in May 1945 but released in autumn 1945. The third of three sons, Prince Friedrich Josias was not expected to succeed as Head of the Ducal Family.
He succeeded to the Headship on the death of his father on 6 March 1954.