Princess Marie Elisabeth of Saxe-Meiningen

Princess Marie Elisabeth of Saxe-Meiningen (23 September 1853 – 22 February 1923) was the only daughter of George II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, by his first wife, Princess Charlotte of Prussia. She was notable as a musician and composer. One of her most famous works is Romanze in F major for clarinet and piano. Early life Princess Marie Elisabeth was born on 23 September 1853 in Potsdam. She was the third child and only daughter of Georg, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Meiningen, by his first wife, Princess Charlotte of Prussia, and had one surviving brother, Hereditary Prince Bernhard. Her parents’ marriage was very happy, as it was the rare instance of a love match rather than a marriage of state. In 1855, tragedy struck with the death of their younger infant brother; Charlotte died three months later of complications after childbirth of a baby son, two months earlier. This youngest brother died, one day old. Georg was inconsolable, but remarried several years later to Princess Feodora of Hohenlohe-Langenburg in order to provide a mother for his remaining young children. Marie Elisabeth’s father succeeded as Duke Georg II of Saxe-Meiningen in 1866. His second marriage was unhappy; it pr