Alexander Karl, Duke of Anhalt-Bernburg (Ballenstedt

Ballenstedt

Ballenstedt is a town in the Harz district, in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is situated at the northern rim of the Harz mountain range, about 10 km southeast of Quedlinburg. The municipality includes the villages of Badeborn and Oppenrode...

, 2 March 1805 – Hoym

Hoym

Hoym is a town and former municipality in the district of Salzlandkreis in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 15 July 2009, it is part of the town Seeland. Hoym is located on the river Selke, between the towns Aschersleben and Quedlinburg. One of the main features of the town is Schloss Hoym,...

, 19 August 1863), was a German prince of the House of Ascania and the last ruler of the duchy of Anhalt-Bernburg

Anhalt-Bernburg

Anhalt-Bernburg was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire and a duchy of the German Confederation ruled by the House of Ascania with its residence at Bernburg in present-day Saxony-Anhalt...

.

He was the second (but eldest and only surviving) son of Alexius Frederick Christian, Duke of Anhalt-Bernburg

Alexius Frederick Christian, Duke of Anhalt-Bernburg

Alexius Frederick Christian of Anhalt-Bernburg , was a German prince of the House of Ascania, ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Bernburg, and from 1807 the first "Duke of Anhalt-Bernburg."...

, by his first wife Maria Fredericka

Marie Friederike of Hesse-Kassel

Marie Frederike of Hesse-Kassel was a German noblewoman. She was a daughter of William I, Elector of Hesse and his wife Princess Wilhelmina Caroline of Denmark...

, daughter of William I, Elector of Hesse

William I, Elector of Hesse

William I, Elector of Hesse was the eldest surviving son of Frederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel and Princess Mary of Great Britain, the daughter of George II.-Early life:...

.

Life

After the death of his father in 1834, Alexander Karl succeeded him in Anhalt-Bernburg.

In Gottorp

Gottorp

Gottorf Castle is a castle and estate in the city of Schleswig, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the ancestral home of the Holstein-Gottorp branch of the House of Oldenburg...

 on 30 October 1834 Alexander Karl married Fredericka Karoline Juliane

Princess Friederike of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg

Princess Friederike of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg was the second-eldest daughter of Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and Princess Louise Caroline of Hesse-Kassel and an elder sister of Christian IX of Denmark...

 (b. Gottorp, 9 October 1811 - d. Alexisbad

Alexisbad

Alexisbad is a small spa town of Germany, in the municipality of Harzgerode, and the district of Harz, Saxony-Anhalt, lying in the outskirts of the Harz Mountains, 1000 ft. above sea level. It has its own station on the narrow-gauge steam railway from Gernrode to Harzgerode...

, 10 July 1902), daughter of Frederick William, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg

Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg

Friedrich Wilhelm Paul Leopold was the first Duke of the Second Line of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and founder of a line that includes the Royal Houses of Denmark, Greece, Norway, and the United Kingdom...

, and by birth a princess of Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 as a descendant in the male line of King Christian III

Christian III of Denmark

Christian III reigned as king of Denmark and Norway. He was the eldest son of King Frederick I and Anna of Brandenburg.-Childhood:...

; she was also a sister of the later King Christian IX of Denmark

Christian IX of Denmark

Christian IX was King of Denmark from 16 November 1863 to 29 January 1906.Growing up as a prince of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, a junior branch of the House of Oldenburg which had ruled Denmark since 1448, Christian was originally not in the immediate line of succession to the Danish...

. The union was childless.

By November 1855 the Duke was confined to Schloss Hoym due to a progressive mental illness (some sources state that he suffered from schizophrenia

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...

). There, Alexander Karl spend the rest of his life under medical care in the company of his chamberlain, the painter Wilhelm von Kügelgen

Wilhelm von Kügelgen

Wilhelm von Kügelgen was a Russian-born German painter.-External links:*...

.

Due to his incapacity, his wife Fredericka acted as regent.

With him, the line of Anhalt-Bernburg became extinct. On his death, he was succeeded by his kinsman, Leopold IV of Anhalt-Dessau.