In 1768 and 1769, both princes went on an educational journey to the Netherlands, England and France, and Ernest met important people in politics, science and the arts.

[1] For his special interests, he employed the services of the important astronomer Franz Xaver von Zach for Gotha.

It was so successful that Gotha, despite its size, was thought of as a place that important people of the time should visit.

In 1783, he became a member of the Bavarian Illuminati under the name of Quintus Severus and/or Timoleon, and in 1784, he was made Supervisor of Abessinien (a name for Upper Saxony).

In Meiningen on 21 March 1769, Ernest married Princess Charlotte of Saxe-Meiningen, the half-first cousin of his mother.