The House of Hesse is a European

dynasty 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 ...

, directly descended from the

House of Brabant The Reginarids (or Regnarids, Regniers, Reiniers, etc.) were a family of magnates in Lower Lotharingia during the Carolingian and Ottonian period. Their modern name is derived from the personal name which many members of the family bore, and whic ...

. They ruled the region of

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Dar ...

, one branch as

prince-elector The prince-electors (german: Kurfürst pl. , cz, Kurfiřt, la, Princeps Elector), or electors for short, were the members of the electoral college that elected the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century onwards, the prin ...

s until 1866, and another branch as grand dukes until 1918. Burke's Royal Families of the World, Volume I: ''Europe & Latin America'' (1977), pp. 202, 208, 211-216.

History

The origins of the House of Hesse begin with the marriage in 1241 of

Sophie of Thuringia Sophie of Thuringia (20 March 1224 – 29 May 1275) was the second wife and only Duchess consort of Henry II, Duke of Brabant and Lothier. She was the heiress of Hesse which she passed on to her son, Henry upon her retention of the territory fol ...

(daughter of

Louis IV, Landgrave of Thuringia Louis IV the Saint (german: Ludwig IV. der Heilige; 28 October 1200 – 11 September 1227), a member of the Ludovingian dynasty, was Landgrave of Thuringia and Saxon Count palatine from 1217 until his death. He was the husband of Elizabeth of ...

, and

Elizabeth of Hungary Elizabeth of Hungary (german: Heilige Elisabeth von Thüringen, hu, Árpád-házi Szent Erzsébet, sk, Svätá Alžbeta Uhorská; 7 July 1207 – 17 November 1231), also known as Saint Elizabeth of Thuringia, or Saint Elisabeth of Thuringia, ...

) with

Henry II, Duke of Brabant Henry II of Brabant ( nl, Hendrik, french: Henri; 1207 – February 1, 1248) was Duke of Brabant and Lothier after the death of his father Henry I in 1235. His mother was Matilda of Boulogne. Henry II supported his sister Mathilde's son, ...

, from the

House of Reginar The Reginarids (or Regnarids, Regniers, Reiniers, etc.) were a family of magnates in Lower Lotharingia during the Carolingian and Ottonian period. Their modern name is derived from the personal name which many members of the family bore, and whic ...

. Sophie was the heiress of Hesse, which she passed on to her son,

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

, upon her retention of the territory following her partial victory in the

War of the Thuringian Succession The War of the Thuringian Succession (German: ''Thüringisch-hessischer Erbfolgekrieg'') (1247–1264) was a military conflict over a successor to the last Landgrave of Thuringia for control of the state of Thuringia (now in modern-day Germany). ...

, in which she was one of the belligerents. Originally the western part of the

Landgraviate Landgrave (german: Landgraf, nl, landgraaf, sv, lantgreve, french: landgrave; la, comes magnus, ', ', ', ', ') was a noble title used in the Holy Roman Empire, and later on in its former territories. The German titles of ', ' ("margrave"), a ...

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...

, in the mid 13th century, it was inherited by the younger son of Henry II,

Duke of Brabant The Duke of Brabant (, ) was the ruler of the Duchy of Brabant since 1183/1184. The title was created by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in favor of Henry I of the House of Reginar, son of Godfrey III of Leuven (who was duke of Low ...

, and became a distinct political entity. From the late 16th century, it was generally divided into several branches, the most important of which were those 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 ...

(or Hesse-Cassel) and

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 ...

. In the early 19th century, the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel was elevated to

Elector Elector may refer to: * Prince-elector or elector, a member of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Holy Roman Emperors * Elector, a member of an electoral college ** Confederate elector, a member of ...

of Hesse (1803), while the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt became the

Grand Duke of Hesse The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine (german: link=no, Großherzogtum Hessen und bei Rhein) was a grand duchy in western Germany that existed from 1806 to 1918. The Grand Duchy originally formed from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806 ...

(1806), later the Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine. The Electorate of Hesse (Hesse-Kassel) was annexed by

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

in 1866, while the Grand Duchy of Hesse (Hesse-Darmstadt) remained a sovereign realm until the end of the German monarchies in 1918. Since 23 May 2013, the head of the house has been

Donatus, Landgrave of Hesse Donatus, Prince and Landgrave of Hesse (legally ''Heinrich Donatus Philipp Umberto Prinz und Landgraf von Hessen''; born 17 October 1966) is the head of the House of Brabant and the German House of Hesse. He is the eldest son and successor of Ge ...

. He descends from the Hesse-Kassel branch of the family, which has been the genealogically senior male line since the house's major partition in 1567. He is married to Countess Floria-Franziska of Faber-Castell. They have three children together.

Links

Rulers of Hesse This is a list of rulers of Hesse (german: Hessen) during the history of Hesse on west-central Germany. These rulers belonged to a dynasty collectively known as the House of Hesse and the House of Brabant,''Burke's Royal Families of the World ...

Faber-Castell family The House of Faber-Castell, originating from Stein near Nuremberg, Germany, is the name of an entrepreneurial noble family, morganatic branch of the House of Castell-Rüdenhausen, which founded the Faber-Castell AG in 1761 and the Nürnberger ...

Branches

Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, died in 1567. Hesse was then divided between his four sons, thus four main branches arose:

Hesse-Marburg The Landgraviate of Hesse-Marburg (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Marburg) was a German landgraviate, and independent principality, within the Holy Roman Empire, that existed between 1458 and 1500, and between 1567 and 1604/1650. It consisted ...

Hesse-Rheinfels Hesse-Rheinfels was created as a cadet line of Hesse for Philip II, Landgrave of Hesse-Rheinfels (1541–1583), landgrave from 1567 until 1583, and as a cadet line of Hesse-Kassel for Ernest, Landgrave of Hesse-Rheinfels (1623–1693), landgrave ...

and

. *

(1264–1567) ***

(1567–1866), became Electorate of Hesse in 1803 ****

Hesse-Rotenburg Hesse-Rotenburg is a former German landgraviate created from the landgraviate of Hesse-Cassel in 1627. Its independence ended in 1834 when the estates not bequeathed to princes Victor and Chlodwig of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst were reu ...

(1627–1834) ****

Hesse-Wanfried The mini-state Hesse-Wanfried existed from about 1700 to 1731. It was a principality ( Landgraviate) of the Holy Roman Empire in the area of the today's Land of Hesse. Governed by a cadet line of the House of Hesse under the sovereignty of the lan ...

(1627–1755) ****

(1627–1754) **** Hesse-Eschwege (1632-1657) ****

Hesse-Philippsthal This is a list of rulers of Hesse (german: Hessen) during the history of Hesse on west-central Germany. These rulers belonged to a dynasty collectively known as the House of Hesse and the House of Brabant,''Burke's Royal Families of the World ...

(1685-1866) *****

Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld This is a list of rulers of Hesse (german: Hessen) during the history of Hesse on west-central Germany. These rulers belonged to a dynasty collectively known as the House of Hesse and the House of Brabant,''Burke's Royal Families of the World ...

(1721–1866) **** Hanau-Schaumburg (1831/1853, morganatic line) ***

(1567, divided in 1604 between Hesse-Darmstadt and Hesse-Kassel) ***

(1567, divided in 1583 between Hesse-Darmstadt, Hesse-Kassel and Hesse-Marburg) ***

(1567–1918), became Grand Duchy of Hesse in 1806 **** Hesse-Butzbach (1609–1642) **** Hesse-Braubach (1609–1651) ****

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 ...

(1622–1866) **** Hesse-Itter (1661–1676) **** Battenberg (1858, morganatic line.

Mountbatten 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 ...

since 1917) The

Battenberg family The Battenberg family is a non-dynastic cadet branch of the House of Hesse-Darmstadt, which ruled the Grand Duchy of Hesse until 1918. The first member was Julia Hauke, whose brother-in-law Grand Duke Louis III of Hesse created her Countess of ...

are

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 ...

descendants in the male-line of the House of Hesse, issuing from the marriage 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 ...

with

Countess Julia 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 ...

who, along with her children and agnatic descendants, were made princes and princesses of Battenberg and

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 ...

es. The Battenbergs who later settled in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

changed that name to

after World War I at the behest of

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

, who substituted

British peerage The peerages in the United Kingdom are a legal system comprising both hereditary title, hereditary and life peer, lifetime titles, composed of various Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks, and forming a constituent part of the Orders ...

s for their former German princely title. Those descended from the marriage of Alexander of Battenberg, Prince of Bulgaria, contracted with a commoner after the loss of his throne, were granted the title Count von Hartenau. Hesse-Kassel and its junior lines were annexed by

in 1866. Hesse-Darmstadt became the

People's State of Hesse The People's State of Hesse (german: Volksstaat Hessen) was one of the constituent states of Germany from 1918 to 1945, as the successor to the Grand Duchy of Hesse (german: Großherzogtum Hessen) after the defeat of the German Empire in World W ...

when the monarchy was abolished in 1918. Hesse-Philippsthal died out in the male line in 1925, and Hesse-Darmstadt in 1968. The male-line heirs of Hesse-Kassel and Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld continue to exist to the present day.

Family tree

House of Reginar Lorraine Brabant and Hesse

References

External links