Ernst II (31 August 1871 in Altenburg – 22 March 1955 in Trockenborn-Wolfersdorf) was the last reigning duke of Saxe-Altenburg and a German general active during World War I.

They had four children: During World War I, Ernst refused all honorary appointments at the Kaiser's headquarters, which would have been considerably safer than other areas.

[1] Resigning from his courtesy rank of Generalleutnant, he requested and was granted the colonelcy and the command of his duchy's regiment, the 153rd (8th Thuringian) Infantry.

[2] A great lover of science, Ernst had a wireless installation fitted inside his castle in Altenburg at the start of the war, especially to communicate with airships.

On 15 July 1934 Ernst married his second wife, Maria Triebel, who had been his companion for many years, at his home, Schloss Fröhliche Wiederkunft ("Palace of Happy Returning") at Wolfersdorf.

This hunting lodge received its name when its first owner, John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony, returned there in 1552 to meet his family after five years of absence as a war prisoner.