Ludwig Johann Wilhelm Gruno Erbprinz von Hessen-Homburg (15 January 1705 – 23 October 1745) was hereditary prince of

Hesse-Homburg Hesse-Homburg was formed into a separate landgraviate in 1622 by the landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt; it was to be ruled by his son, although it did not become independent of Hesse-Darmstadt until 1668. It was briefly divided into Hesse-Homburg and H ...

, member of the

House of Hesse The House of Hesse is a European dynasty, directly descended from the House of Brabant. They ruled the region of Hesse, one branch as prince-electors until 1866, and another branch as grand dukes until 1918. Burke's Royal Families of the World, ...

and an Imperial Russian

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

Early life

He was the eldest surviving son of

Frederick III, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg Frederick III James of Hesse-Homburg (19 May 1673, in Cölln – 8 June 1746, in 's-Hertogenbosch) was a Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg Life Frederick III James was the second son of Landgrave Frederick II of Hesse-Homburg (1633–1708), the famou ...

and his wife Princess Elisabeth Dorothea of

Hesse-Darmstadt The Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Darmstadt) was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by a younger branch of the House of Hesse. It was formed in 1567 following the division of the Landgraviate of Hesse betwee ...

(1676–1721), daughter of

Louis VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt Louis VI of Hesse-Darmstadt (german: Ludwig) (25 January 1630 – 24 April 1678) was Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt from 1661 to 1678. He was the eldest of three sons of the Landgrave George II of Hesse-Darmstadt and Sophia Eleonore of Saxony. M ...

Biography

He studied at the

University of Giessen University of Giessen, official name Justus Liebig University Giessen (german: Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen), is a large public research university in Giessen, Hesse, Germany. It is named after its most famous faculty member, Justus von L ...

and was sent by his father to Russia in 1723. He became Major-General in Riga and commander of the Narva-Regiment. As the grandson of Princess

Louise Elisabeth of Courland Louise Elisabeth of Courland (12 August 1646 in Jelgava – 16 December 1690 in Weferlingen) was Landgravine of Hesse-Homburg by marriage to Frederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg. Life Louise Elisabeth was a daughter of Duke Jacob of Cour ...

, he hoped in vain to succeed his cousin

Ferdinand Kettler Ferdinand Kettler (November 1, 1655 - May 4, 1737) was the Duke of Courland and Semigallia from 1730 to 1737. He was married to Johanna Magdalene of Saxe-Weissenfels in 1730. Early life Ferdinand Kettler was the son of Jacob Kettler and Louise ...

as Duke of Courland.

Anna of Russia Anna Ioannovna (russian: Анна Иоанновна; ), also russified as Anna Ivanovna and sometimes anglicized as Anne, served as regent of the duchy of Courland from 1711 until 1730 and then ruled as Empress of Russia from 1730 to 1740. Much ...

moved him to Saint Petersburg, where he was promoted to General-Lieutenant and commander of the Saint Petersburg garrison. In 1732, he led a successful campaign against the Crimean Tatars in the Caucasus. After operations in Eastern Poland in 1734-1735, he again fought against the Crimean Tatars and the Turks in 1736-1737, but now under command of Count

Burkhard Christoph von Münnich Burkhard Christoph Graf von Münnich (, tr. ; – ) was a German-born army officer who became a field marshal and political figure in the Russian Empire. He carried out major reforms in the Russian Army and founded several elite militar ...

. He was awarded with the rank of General-Feldzeugmeister and was appointed Governor of Astrachan and the Persian provinces. Ludwig Gruno also had good relations with the new Empress

Elizabeth of Russia Elizabeth Petrovna (russian: Елизаве́та (Елисаве́та) Петро́вна) (), also known as Yelisaveta or Elizaveta, reigned as Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. She remains one of the most popular Russian ...

. She gave him in 1742 the title of General-Fieldmarshal, a house in Moscow and an estate in Livonia. He died from illness on a travel in Berlin. He pre-deceased his father and was buried in the crypt of

Bad Homburg Castle Bad Homburg Castle (''Schloss Bad Homburg'') is a castle and palace in the German city of Bad Homburg vor der Höhe. Originally the residence of the Landgraves of Hesse-Homburg, it was first built in the 12th century. All but the keep was demolish ...

Family

Roslin Anastasia Ivanovna, Hereditary Princess of Hesse-Homburg, Princess Trubetskaya

Ludwig Gruno of Hesse-Homburg married Princess

Anastasija Trubetskaya Anastasija Ivanovna, Hereditary Princess of Hesse-Homburg and Princess Trubetskaya (russian: Анастасия Трубецкая; 1700-1755), was a Russian Imperial noblewoman, courtier, Princess of Moldavia and Landgravine of Hesse-Homburg. S ...

, widowed Princess Cantemir, on 3 February 1738.
By birth she was member of House of Trubetskoy as a daughter of Prince

Ivan Trubetskoy Prince Ivan Yurievich Trubetskoy (russian: Иван Юрьевич Трубецкой; 28 June 1667 – 27 January 1750 in Aleksandr Nevsky Monastery) was a Russian Field Marshal, promoted in 1728. Son of Yuriy Trubetskoy, as a member of the ...

, cousin of Prince

Nikita Trubetskoy Prince Nikita Yurievich Trubetskoy (Russian: ''Никита Юрьевич Трубецкой'') (26 May 1699 – 16 October 1767) was a Russian statesman and Field Marshal (1756), minister of defense of Russia 1760. His parents were general-p ...

. She was widow of Dimitrie Cantemir,

Prince of Moldavia This is a list of rulers of Moldavia, from the first mention of the medieval polity east of the Carpathians and until its disestablishment in 1862, when it united with Wallachia, the other Danubian Principality, to form the modern-day state of Ro ...

.
They had no children.

Sources

Deutsche Biographie
{{Authority control 1705 births 1745 deaths Field marshals of Russia Ludwig Gruno 18th-century military personnel from the Russian Empire 18th-century German people Heirs apparent who never acceded Sons of monarchs