Talk:Princess Dorothea of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Succession box

What is the purpose of the succession box? Can anyone please name one source that says that Princess Dorothea of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha succeeded Princess Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg as "Duchess consort of Schleswig-Holstein"? Or a source that says that Princess Dorothea of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was succeeded by Princess Karoline Mathilde of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg as "Duchess consort of Schleswig-Holstein"? Is there any source that actually uses the phrase "Duchess consort of Schleswig-Holstein" itself? No such source will be found because being married to a claimant to a non-existent statelet is far too trivial. Surtsicna (talk) 09:00, 25 June 2013 (UTC)

I'll explain:

A) There are sources confirming that:

1. Princess Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg was married to Frederick VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein
2. Princess Dorothea of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was married to Ernst Gunther, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein
3. Princess Karoline Mathilde of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg was married to Friedrich Ferdinand, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein

B) There are sources confirming that the succession to the Ducal throne or at least to the claim to it was as follows:

1. Frederick VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein
2. Ernst Gunther, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein
3. Albert, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein (unmarried)
4. Friedrich Ferdinand, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein

Here are your sources!--The Theosophist (talk) 12:48, 25 June 2013 (UTC)

But that is a perfect example of synthesis - it takes seven steps to prove something that should be fairly simple. Besides, the point here is that the succession box is trivial; it indicates the "position" of the spouse of the person who claimed the throne of a tiny state that had not existed for a long time. Imagine a Duchess of Cornwall succession box in the article about Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, or the same box in the article about Mary of Teck - it's simply pointless. One can find sources that straightforwardly say that Margrethe II succeeded Frederick IX as Queen of Denmark, that Vladimir Putin preceded and succeeded Dmitry Medvedev as President of Russia, that Edward Fitzalan-Howard succeeded Miles Fitzalan-Howard as Duke of Norfolk, etc. There is no source that would straightforwardly say that Princess Dorothea of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha succeeded Princess Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg as "Duchess consort of Schleswig-Holstein", nor one that would actually mention such a position, because that's trivia. Surtsicna (talk) 13:14, 25 June 2013 (UTC)

Because consorts are rarely termed as succeeding each other that is why we don't have predecessor and successor links on the infobox but we do in the succession boxes. You won't find any sources saying Mary of Teck succeed before Alecandra of Denmark. All these woman held a common title as the Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, the consort part is just a Wikipedia formality. It's not hard to find sources that they held this title. However, I won't revert this only because it is a title in pretense.--The Emperor's New Spy (talk) 16:23, 25 June 2013 (UTC)

The question that follows is: Why are consorts rarely termed as succeeding each other? I'd say it's because such "successions" are trivial and historians do not discuss trivia. If sources don't, neither should we. Surtsicna (talk) 16:37, 25 June 2013 (UTC)

Anyway, we do have a List of consorts of Schleswig and Holstein...--The Theosophist (talk) 12:31, 26 June 2013 (UTC)