Princess Eleonore Ernestine Marie of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich (17 September 1871 – 16 November 1937) was

Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine This is a list of the Landgravine, Electress and Grand Duchess of Hesse, the consorts of the Landgrave of Hesse and its successor states; and finally of the Electors and Grand Dukes of Hesse. Hesse Upper Hesse (Marburg) The only Landgrav ...

as the second wife of Grand Duke Ernest Louis. She was nicknamed "Onor" by her family. She was regent of Hesse in the absence of her spouse during

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 ...

Biography

Family

She was the fourth child and second daughter of Prince

Hermann of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich Prince Herman Adolf of Solms-Lich-Hohensolms-Lich (15 April 1838 in Brtnice – 16 September 1899 in Lich, Hesse) was a German nobleman from the House of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich and a politician. Life Hermann was the eldest son of Prince Ferdi ...

and Countess Agnes of

Stolberg-Wernigerode The County of Stolberg-Wernigerode (german: Grafschaft Stolberg-Wernigerode) was a county of the Holy Roman Empire located in the Harz region around Wernigerode, now part of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was ruled by a branch of the House of Stolberg. ...

Grand Duchess of Hesse

Royal Monogram of Princess Eleonore of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich

Eleonore married

Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse , spouses = , issue = , house = Hesse-Darmstadt , father = Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine , mother =Princess Alice of the United Kingdom , birth_date = , birth_place = New Palace, Darmstadt, Gran ...

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 ...

on 2 February 1905. By marriage, she became Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine. As Grand Duchess, she took over the sponsor- and leadership of a number of charity organizations previously managed by her mother-in-law. When her spouse left to join the First world war in 1914, she was appointed to serve the affairs of state as regent in his absence. She was regarded as a competent regent. She equipped a hospital train to the front. The Hesse monarchy was abolished in 1918. Eleonore continued to manage her charitable programs after the introduction of democracy.

Death

Eleonore died in an

airplane crash An aviation accident is defined by the Convention on International Civil Aviation Annex 13 as an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft, which takes place from the time any person boards the aircraft with the ''intention of fl ...

on her way to her son Louis' wedding in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Also killed in the crash was her elder son

Georg Donatus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse en, George Donatus William Nicholas Edward Henry Charles , spouse = , issue = Prince LudwigPrince AlexanderPrincess JohannaUnnamed son , house = Hesse-Darmstadt , father = Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of ...

, his wife

Princess Cecilie of Greece and Denmark Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...

, and their two sons, Ludwig and Alexander. The remains of their stillborn son was also found in the wreckage.

Orders and decorations

* : Lifesaving Medal on Band, ''20 April 1898'' * : ** Dame of the Order of the Golden Lion, in Diamonds, ''2 February 1905'' ** Grand Cross of the

Ludwig Order The Ludwig Order (german: Großherzoglich Hessischer Ludwigsorden), was an order of the Grand Duchy of Hesse which was awarded to meritorious soldiers and civilians from 1807 to 1918. History The order was founded by Louis I, Grand Duke of Hesse ...

, in Diamonds, ''2 February 1905''

Issue

Eleonore and Ernest Louis had two sons: *

Georg Donatus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine en, George Donatus William Nicholas Edward Henry Charles , spouse = , issue = Prince LudwigPrince AlexanderPrincess JohannaUnnamed son , house = Hesse-Darmstadt , father = Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of ...

(1906–1937), who married

(sister of

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 ...

), and had issue. *

Louis, Prince of Hesse and by Rhine Louis, Prince of Hesse and by Rhine (''Ludwig Hermann Alexander Chlodwig'', 20 November 1908 – 30 May 1968) was the youngest son of Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse by his second wife, Princess Eleonore of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich. He was a great ...

(1908–1968). Married

Hon. ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certain ...

Margaret Campbell Geddes, daughter of

Lord Geddes Baron Geddes, of Rolvenden in the County of Kent, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 28 January 1942 for the prominent Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician and former British Ambassador to the United St ...

, no issue. He adopted

Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse (legally ''Moritz Friedrich Karl Emanuel Humbert Prinz und Landgraf von Hessen'' 6 August 1926 – 23 May 2013) was the son of Prince Philip, Landgrave of Hesse, and the head of the House of Brabant and the German H ...

as heir.

Ancestry

Notes

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Eleonore of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich, Princess 1871 births 1937 deaths Grand Duchesses of Hesse Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Belgium Burials at the Mausoleum for the Grand Ducal House of Hesse, Rosenhöhe (Darmstadt) House of Hesse-Darmstadt House of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1937 20th-century women rulers 20th-century rulers in Europe