Prince Alexander Ludwig Georg Friedrich Emil of Hesse and by Rhine, (15 July 1823 – 15 December 1888), was the third son and fourth child of
Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse
Louis II (26 December 1777 – 16 June 1848) was Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine from 6 April 1830 until 5 March 1848, resigning during the German Revolution of 1848. He was the son of Louis I, Grand Duke of Hesse, and Princess Louise of He ...
, and
Wilhelmine of Baden. He was a brother of
Tsarina Maria Alexandrovna, wife of
Tsar Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II ( rus, Алекса́ндр II Никола́евич, Aleksándr II Nikoláyevich, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ftɐˈroj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ; 29 April 181813 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Finlan ...
. The
Battenberg-
Mountbatten family
The Mountbatten family is a British dynasty that originated as an English branch of the German princely Battenberg family. The name was adopted on 14 July 1917, three days before the British royal family changed its name to “Windsor”, by ...
descends from Alexander and his wife
Countess Julia von Hauke
Julia, Princess of Battenberg (previously Countess Julia Therese Salomea von Hauke; – 19 September 1895) was the wife of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine, the third son of Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse. The daughter of a Polish general o ...
, a former lady-in-waiting to his sister.
Family and background
It was openly rumoured that Alexander and his sister
Marie
Marie may refer to:
People Name
* Marie (given name)
* Marie (Japanese given name)
* Marie (murder victim), girl who was killed in Florida after being pushed in front of a moving vehicle in 1973
* Marie (died 1759), an enslaved Cree person in Tr ...
were not the children of the Grand Duke, but that their father was actually
August von Senarclens de Grancy
August Ludwig Freiherr von Senarclens-Grancy (; 19 August 17943 October 1871) was the firstborn son of three sons and four daughters of César Auguste, Baron von Senarclens de Grancy, (born in 1763) and his wife Élizabeth Claudine Marie-Rose de ...
, their mother's
chamberlain
Chamberlain may refer to:
Profession
*Chamberlain (office), the officer in charge of managing the household of a sovereign or other noble figure
People
*Chamberlain (surname)
**Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855–1927), German-British philosop ...
. His mother, although married to the grand duke, lived apart from her husband, who did not repudiate paternity of any of the four children born during the marriage. His ancestry listed below assumes his legitimacy. See Grancy's page for his
rumored paternal ancestry.
When the future emperor
Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II ( rus, Алекса́ндр II Никола́евич, Aleksándr II Nikoláyevich, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ftɐˈroj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ; 29 April 181813 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Poland and Gra ...
, as
tsarevich
Tsarevich (russian: Царевич, ) is a Slavic title given to tsars' sons. Under the 1797 Pauline house law, the title was discontinued and replaced with ''Tsesarevich'' for the heir apparent alone. His younger brothers were called '' Veli ...
, chose the sixteen-year-old Marie as
consort __NOTOC__
Consort may refer to:
Music
* "The Consort" (Rufus Wainwright song), from the 2000 album ''Poses''
* Consort of instruments, term for instrumental ensembles
* Consort song (musical), a characteristic English song form, late 16th–earl ...
, his parents consented to the
match
A match is a tool for starting a fire. Typically, matches are made of small wooden sticks or stiff paper. One end is coated with a material that can be ignited by friction generated by striking the match against a suitable surface. Wooden matc ...
as worthy due to the Grand Duke's acknowledgement of her as his daughter. Because of her youth, Alexander escorted his sister to Russia for her wedding, remaining at the Russian court and joining the inner circle of his brother-in-law the tsarevich after the rest of Marie's entourage returned to Hesse.
Alexander's marriage
Alexander fell in love with
Countess
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility.L. G. Pine, Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty'' ...
Julia von Hauke
Julia, Princess of Battenberg (previously Countess Julia Therese Salomea von Hauke; – 19 September 1895) was the wife of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine, the third son of Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse. The daughter of a Polish general ...
, lady-in-waiting to his sister (known, since her conversion to
Orthodoxy
Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion.
Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Churc ...
, as
Maria Alexandrovna, ranking only after her mother-in-law
the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna). The countess was an orphaned German-Polish
ward
Ward may refer to:
Division or unit
* Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward
* Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...
of the Russian Emperor, and daughter of the Emperor's former minister of war,
Count Johann Moritz von Hauke, a Polish general of German descent. At that time, the Emperor
Nicholas I was considering Alexander as a possible husband for his niece and, when he heard of Alexander's romance, he forbade the couple to marry.
Alexander left for England to contemplate his future, but then returned to Russia and
eloped
Elopement is a term that is used in reference to a marriage which is conducted in a sudden and secretive fashion, usually involving a hurried flight away from one's place of residence together with one's beloved with the intention of getting ma ...
with Julia from
St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, being stricken by the Emperor's orders from the roll of the Russian imperial army for insubordination. The two were married in
Breslau in 1851.
Alexander's older brother
Louis III, Grand Duke of Hesse
Louis III, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine (german: link=no, Großherzog Ludwig III von Hessen und bei Rhein; 9 June 1806, Darmstadt – 13 June 1877, Seeheim) was Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine from 1848 until his death in 1877.
Biogr ...
, allowed him to
re-patriate to Hesse with his bride, although he did not recognize their marriage as
dynastic
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A d ...
. He granted her the new, hereditary title of ''
Gräfin
(feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title of "earl" (whose female version is "cou ...
von Battenberg'' (
Battenberg was a small town and ruined castle in the north of the grand duchy which, according to the memoirs of their eldest child Marie, the family visited once during her youth, although it never became their residence).
Alexander's wife would deliver his first child barely six months after their elopement. Nonetheless, Julia von Hauke was a countess in her own right, as well as a former ward of the Russian Emperor whose husband retained, despite exile from Russia, the sympathetic support of the tsarevich and tsarevna. Grand Duke Louis III therefore chose to distinguish her from several non-royal wives of other Hessian princes by conferring upon her, along with the Battenberg countship, the
style
Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to:
* Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable
* Design, the process of creating something
* Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...
of ''Erlaucht'' (
Illustrious Highness
His/Her Illustrious Highness ( abbreviation: H.Ill.H.) is the usual English-language translation for ''Erlaucht'', a style historically attributed to certain members of the European aristocracy. It is not a literal translation, as the German wor ...
), usually reserved in Germany for counts of
mediatized Mediatization or mediatisation may refer to:
* German mediatisation
German mediatisation (; german: deutsche Mediatisierung) was the major territorial restructuring that took place between 1802 and 1814 in Germany and the surrounding region by ...
(i.e., dynastic) rank.
Career
As a
cadet
A cadet is an officer trainee or candidate. The term is frequently used to refer to those training to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. Its meaning may vary between countries which can include youths in ...
of the Hessian grand ducal dynasty, Prince Alexander had followed the martial tradition of his family by offering his sword to the military service of a
Great Power
A great power is a sovereign state that is recognized as having the ability and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength, as well as diplomatic and soft power inf ...
while still a teenager, having accompanied his sister to St. Petersburg. He became a respected commander in the Russian army, with the prospect of a distinguished career. He had a regiment of
lancer
A lancer was a type of cavalryman who fought with a lance. Lances were used for mounted warfare in Assyria as early as and subsequently by Persia, India, Egypt, China, Greece, and Rome. The weapon was widely used throughout Eurasia during the M ...
s named after him and was awarded the
Order of St. George
The Order of Saint George (russian: Орден Святого Георгия, Orden Svyatogo Georgiya) is the highest military decoration of the Russian Federation. Originally established on 26 November 1769 Julian (7 December 1769 Gregorian) a ...
4th class. His elopement, in sending him abroad
AWOL
Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or Military base, post without permission (a Pass (military), pass, Shore leave, liberty or Leave (U.S. military), leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with u ...
, terminated his military career and made him, initially, a fugitive from Russia.
But once his elder brother recognized his wife, he was able to obtain an appointment in the Austrian army, where he resumed his military career, although remaining sufficiently in disgrace never to be
billet
A billet is a living-quarters to which a soldier is assigned to sleep. Historically, a billet was a private dwelling that was required to accept the soldier.
Soldiers are generally billeted in barracks or garrisons when not on combat duty, alth ...
ed in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
. Each of his children would be born in a different city, depending upon where in the Austro-Hungarian empire Prince Alexander was stationed.
After serving Austria with distinction in several battles, he was given a major command in Hesse's small army in its war, as an ally of Austria, with Prussia in 1866. By this time his wife and children had taken up their home at Alexander's small castle at
Seeheim-Jugenheim
Seeheim-Jugenheim is a municipality in the Darmstadt-Dieburg district in Hesse, Germany. It has a population of approximately 17,000.
Seeheim-Jugenheim consists of seven villages:
*Balkhausen (population 693)
*Jugenheim (population 4,448)
*Malch ...
in Hesse, to which he retired after Prussia defeated Austria and Hesse. Although the electorate of
Hesse-Kassel
The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Kassel), spelled Hesse-Cassel during its entire existence, was a state in the Holy Roman Empire that was directly subject to the Emperor. The state was created in 1567 when the Lan ...
, ruled by another branch of Alexander's family, was
annexed
Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...
by Prussia for adhering to the losing side, the fact that Hesse-Darmstadt's grand duke was the brother-in-law of the Russian tsar saved its independence, although not without loss of territory. Henceforth, Alexander and his family alternated between their castle in the grandducal capital of
Darmstadt
Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...
, and their country home a few hours away by carriage.
Alexander was often in attendance at his elder brother's court. But a shift occurred when his sister, now Empress of Russia, began to pay annual visits to her brother in the 1870s along with her husband, children, and a large entourage. Louis III, while benefitting from his kinship to the tsar, preferred to defer entertaining him to Alexander and Marie at Heiligenberg. These annual visits had the twofold effect of enhancing the international prestige of the grandduchy while socially rehabilitating Alexander's morganatic household. The memoirs of his daughter,
Marie of Battenberg, document the cordiality between Alexander and his eldest brother, while also recording the growing importance of her own family's household as diplomats who wished to pay court to the Russian emperor would await his annual visit to the Hessian countryside to do so discreetly in the more intimate setting of Alexander's home.
Children
Although Prince Alexander retained his own dynastic rights and
appanage
An appanage, or apanage (; french: apanage ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture. It was common in much o ...
, his
morganatic
Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spous ...
wife lived a quiet life. Their family lived primarily at
Heiligenberg Castle, in southern Hesse. In 1858 Grand Duke Louis III raised his sister-in-law from "Countess" to "Princess" (''Prinzessin'') von Battenberg, her children sharing in the princely title, and accorded them the style of
Serene Highness
His/Her Serene Highness ( abbreviation: HSH, second person address: Your Serene Highness) is a style used today by the reigning families of Liechtenstein, Monaco and Thailand. Over the past 400 years, it has also used as a style for senior members ...
(''Durchlaucht'').
Alexander of Hesse and Julia of Battenberg had five children. The children were:
*
Princess Marie of Battenberg 1852–1923
*
Prince Louis of Battenberg
Admiral of the Fleet Louis Alexander Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven, (24 May 185411 September 1921), formerly Prince Louis Alexander of Battenberg, was a British naval officer and German prince related by marriage to the British ...
1854–1921
*
Prince Alexander of Battenberg, 1857–1893
*
Prince Henry of Battenberg
Prince Henry of Battenberg (Henry Maurice; 5 October 1858 – 20 January 1896) was a morganatic descendant of the Grand Ducal House of Hesse. He became a member of the British royal family by marriage to Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom ...
1858–1896
*
Prince Francis Joseph of Battenberg
Prince Francis Joseph of Battenberg, (german: Franz Joseph; 24 September 1861 – 31 July 1924), was the fourth and youngest son and child of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine and his morganatic wife Countess Julia von Hauke.
Biograph ...
1861–1924
Prince Alexander of Hesse died of cancer in 1888; Princess Julia of Battenberg, having converted to
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
in 1875, died at
Schloss Heiligenberg in 1895 at the age of 70. They lived to see four of their five children, who had no rights of succession to the Hessian throne, mount a throne or marry
dynastically, and to become welcome in-laws to
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
, whose correspondence reflected a consistent respect and fondness for the Battenberg family.
Descendants
Prince Alexander's children formed marital ties with several reigning families.
*Prince Louis married
Princess Victoria (daughter of Queen Victoria's second daughter,
Alice). Their children included:
**
Princess Louise became Queen of
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
through her marriage to
Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden
Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave may refer to:
* Gustav (name), a male given name of Old Swedish origin
Art, entertainment, and media
* ''Primeval'' (film), a 2007 American horror film
* ''Gustav'' (film series), a Hungarian series of animated short car ...
.
**
Princess Alice married
Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark
Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark ( el, Ανδρέας; da, Andreas; – 3 December 1944) of the House of Glücksburg, House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, was the seventh child and fourth son of King George I of Greece ...
, with whom her children include
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from El ...
, the husband of
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
and father of
King Charles III
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...
of the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
.
*Prince Henry married Queen Victoria's youngest daughter,
Beatrice. Their only daughter:
**
Princess Ena became queen of
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
upon her marriage to King
Alfonso XIII of Spain
Alfonso XIII (17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also known as El Africano or the African, was King of Spain from 17 May 1886 to 14 April 1931, when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed. He was a monarch from birth as his father, Alf ...
. Their grandson
Juan Carlos I
Juan Carlos I (;,
* ca, Joan Carles I,
* gl, Xoán Carlos I, Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 Novem ...
was King of Spain until 2014 when he abdicated in favor of his son,
Felipe VI
Felipe VI (;,
* eu, Felipe VI.a,
* ca, Felip VI,
* gl, Filipe VI, . Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Grecia; born 30 January 1968) is King of Spain. He is the son of former King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía, and h ...
.
*Prince Alexander became the first
reign
A reign is the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation (e.g., Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Andorra), of a people (e.g., the Franks, the Zulus) or of a spiritual community (e.g., Catholicism, Tibetan Buddhism, N ...
ing Prince of modern
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
. He obtained the consent of
Frederick III, German Emperor
Frederick III (german: Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl; 18 October 1831 – 15 June 1888), or Friedrich III, was German Emperor and King of Prussia for 99 days between March and June 1888, during the Year of the Three Emperors. Known informa ...
, to marry his daughter,
Princess Viktoria of Prussia
Princess Friederike Amalia Wilhelmine Viktoria of Prussia (12 April 1866 – 13 November 1929) was the second daughter of Frederick III, German Emperor and his wife Victoria, Princess Royal, eldest daughter of Queen Victoria. Born a member of th ...
, whose mother and grandmother,
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
, also supported the marriage as a
love match. But even before Alexander was
deposed
Deposition by political means concerns the removal of a politician or monarch.
ORB: The Online Reference for Med ...
from his throne, the marriage was opposed by
Prince Bismarck
Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (, ; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, was a conservative German statesman and diplomat. From his origins in the upper class of ...
for political reasons and by his fiancée's brother,
Wilhelm II
Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until his abdication on 9 November 1918. Despite strengthening the German Empir ...
, as a matter of dynastic pride, prompting Queen Victoria to withdraw her support as a concession to diplomacy, and Alexander to lose interest in favor of a
morganatic marriage
Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spous ...
to
Johanna Loisinger
Johanna Maria Louise Loisinger (18 April 1865 – 20 July 1951) was an Austrian actress, pianist and operatic soprano singer. She was born in Preßburg, Austria (today Bratislava), the daughter of John Loisinger and Maria Meier.
After she h ...
.
Honours and awards
Prince Alexander received the following awards:
[''Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Hessen'' (1886/7), Genealog]
pp. 3
4
Ancestry
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander Of Hesse And By Rhine, Prince
1823 births
1888 deaths
Princes of Hesse-Darmstadt
Battenberg family
Presidents of the First Chamber of the Estates of the Grand Duchy of Hesse
People of the Austro-Prussian War
German military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War
Recipients of the Military Merit Cross (Mecklenburg-Schwerin)
Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class)
Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary
Knights Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus
Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint-Charles
Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class
Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Russia)
Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Third Degree
Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 1st class
Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath