Bernhard II, Duke of Saxe-Jena

Who was Bernhard II, Duke of Saxe-Jena?

Bernhard II, Duke of Saxe-Jena, was duke of Saxe-Jena.

He was the seventh child but fourth surviving son of Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Weimar and Eleonore Dorothea of Anhalt-Dessau.

Bernhard attended the University of Jena from February 1654 until November 1657. Subsequently, he was pulled into political affairs when his father sent him to Paris in order to strengthen the relations of Ernestine line with the King Louis XIV, hopefully through a marriage. The French king, however, made him wait eighteen months for an audience. The stay in France finally led to his marriage to Marie Charlotte de la Trémoille, daughter of Henri de La Trémoille and Marie de La Tour d'Auvergne. Her family were residents of the French court where they bore the rank of princes étrangers. The wedding took place in Paris on 10 June 1662. Shortly after, the couple moved to Jena, where their five children were born:

Wilhelm.

Stillborn daughter.

Bernhard.

Charlotte Marie, married on 2 November 1683 to Wilhelm Ernst, Duke of Saxe-Weimar; they divorced in 1690.