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 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, and Wilhelmine of Baden. He was a brother of Tsarina Maria Alexandr ...

and 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

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 ...

Biography

At one time, he was considered for the throne of

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 ...

, which eventually went to his brother

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

;Stuart, Amanda Mackenzie, ''Consuelo and Alva Vanderbilt: The Story of a Daughter and Mother in the Gilded Age,'' Harper Perennial, 2005, p. 101 nonetheless, as Alexander was unmarried and without legitimate heirs at the time, Francis Joseph was considered heir presumptive to the throne. He followed his brother to Bulgaria, where he served as a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in the Bulgarian cavalry, seeing action during the

Serbo-Bulgarian War The Serbo-Bulgarian War or the Serbian–Bulgarian War ( bg, Сръбско-българска война, ''Srăbsko-bălgarska voyna'', sr, Српско-бугарски рат, ''Srpsko-bugarski rat'') was a war between the Kingdom of Serb ...

. During the coup of 1886, he was arrested and expelled from Bulgaria, along with his brother. From an early age Francis Joseph showed great interest in science, and unlike his brothers – who pursued careers in the military – he pursued a career in academics; in 1891 he published an academic study on Bulgarian economic history, which he dedicated to his brother. At a family reunion in London in 1894 Franz Joseph met

Consuelo Vanderbilt Consuelo Vanderbilt-Balsan (formerly Consuelo Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough; born Consuelo Vanderbilt; March 2, 1877 – December 6, 1964) was a socialite and a member of the prominent American Vanderbilt family. Her first marriage ...

, the daughter of an extremely wealthy American railway tycoon

William Kissam Vanderbilt William Kissam "Willie" Vanderbilt I (December 12, 1849 – July 22, 1920) was an American heir, businessman, philanthropist and horsebreeder. Born into the Vanderbilt family, he managed his family's railroad investments. Early life William Kiss ...

. He made a marriage proposal to Consuelo, but she disliked him and turned him down. In 1897 he married Princess Ana Petrović-Njegoš of Montenegro (1874–1971), the sixth daughter of King

Nicholas I of Montenegro Nikola I Petrović-Njegoš ( sr-cyr, Никола I Петровић-Његош; – 1 March 1921) was the last monarch of Montenegro from 1860 to 1918, reigning as prince from 1860 to 1910 and as the country's first and only king from 1910 to 19 ...

; they had no children. He served as a colonel in the

Montenegrin Army Montenegrin Ground Army ( cnr, Kopnena vojska Crne Gore) is the ground force of the Armed Forces of Montenegro The Armed Forces of Montenegro ( cnr, Војска Црне Горе, Vojska Crne Gore) are the military forces of Montenegro. The A ...

during the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defe ...

.''Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Hessen'' (1912/13), Genealogy p. 3 They lived in Prinz Emil Palais, but upon the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he and his wife moved to

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, where he lived until his death in 1924. He was a close friend of his brother-in-law King

Victor Emmanuel III of Italy Victor Emmanuel III (Vittorio Emanuele Ferdinando Maria Gennaro di Savoia; 11 November 1869 – 28 December 1947) was King of Italy from 29 July 1900 until his abdication on 9 May 1946. He also reigned as Emperor of Ethiopia (1936–1941) and K ...

, whom he visited often.

Honours

He received the following orders and decorations:

Ancestry

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Francis Joseph Of Battenberg, Prince 1861 births 1924 deaths Battenberg family Bulgarian military personnel Montenegrin military personnel of the Balkan Wars Recipients of the Order of Bravery, 4th class Officers of the Order of Military Merit (Bulgaria) Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath