Ernest Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen
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Ernst Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen (b. Hildburghausen, 17 December 1707 - d. Hildburghausen, 13 August 1745), was a duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen.
He was the third but eldest surviving son of Ernst Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen and Sophie Albertine of Erbach-Erbach.
He succeeded his father as Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen at seventeen years old in 1724; as a result, his mother, the Dowager Duchess Sophie Albertine, acted as a regent on behalf of her son until he reached adulthood, in 1728.
In 1743 he received an Infantry Regiment from the Electress of the Palatinate as a General Lieutenant. Later, the Emperor Karl VII appointed him General Master of Field.
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 all public revenues did not even cover the interest.
In Fürstenau on 19 June 1726 Ernst Frederick married Caroline of Erbach-Fürstenau (d. July 1745). They had four children:
- Ernst Frederick III Karl, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen (b. Königsberg, 10 June 1727 - d. Seidingstadt, 23 September 1780).
- Frederick August Albrecht (b. Hildburghausen, 8 August 1728 - d. Hildburghausen, 14 June 1735).
- 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.
- 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 |
