Category Archives: Battenberg Royals

Prince Alexander of Battenberg, Prince of Bulgaria

by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2014

Prince Alexander of Battenberg, Prince of Bulgaria; Credit –  Wikipedia

Prince Alexander Joseph of Battenberg (known as Sandro) was born on April 5, 1857, in Verona, Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, now in Italy. His parents were Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine and Countess Julia von Hauke. Julia had been a lady-in-waiting to Alexander’s sister, Marie of Hesse and by Rhine, the future Empress Maria Alexandrovna of Russia (wife of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia), and the couple met while Alexander was visiting St Petersburg, Russia. As the Emperor would not condone a relationship between the two, they left Russia and were married in 1851 in Breslau, Kingdom of Prussia, now Wroclaw, Poland. Because their marriage was morganatic, Julia did not gain any of her husband’s titles and their children would not be eligible for succession to the Hesse Grand Ducal throne. However, her brother-in-law, Grand Duke Ludwig III of Hesse and by Rhine granted the title Countess of Battenberg to Julia and the children of the marriage. A few years later, this was elevated to Princess of Battenberg.

Alexander had four siblings:

Prince Alexander often visited his aunt in Russia and became close to his uncle by marriage Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia. It was through this relationship that Alexander’s future role as a sovereign materialized. Bulgaria became a principality of the Ottoman Empire under the terms of the Treaty of Berlin in 1878. Alexander II of Russia proposed Alexander for the newly created throne, and he was unanimously elected as Prince of Bulgaria in April 1879. He arrived in his new homeland in July 1879, swearing allegiance to the new Bulgarian Constitution.

After a contentious reign, often caught between the conflicting goals of the Bulgarian politicians and the Russian Emperor, Alexander fell victim to a military coup on August 20, 1886. He was forced to sign his abdication before being rushed out of the country and handed over to the Russians. Following a counter-coup a few weeks later, Alexander returned to Bulgaria. However, with the Austrian, German, and Russian governments all working against him, he formally, and freely, relinquished the Bulgarian throne on September 7, 1886, and left Bulgarian the following day.

On February 6, 1889, Alexander married opera singer Johanna Loisinger, at which point he assumed the title Count von Hartenau, which he used for the remainder of his life. The couple had two children:

  • Assènne Ludwig Alexander, Count von Hartenau (1890–1965), married Bertha Husa-Ramos, no children
  • Marie Therese Vera Zvetana, Countess von Hartenau (1893–1935), married CharlesErcula Boassevan, no children

Johanna Loisinger with her two children circa1894, Credit – Wikipedia

The couple lived in Graz, Austria where Alexander held a post in the Austrian Army. He died at his home in Graz, Villa Hartenau, on October 23, 1893. Alexander was initially buried in Graz, but later his remains were returned to Bulgaria, and a state funeral was held at the St Nedelya Church in Sofia, at the direction of the new Prince Ferdinand of Bulgaria. Alexander later was entombed at the newly built Battenberg Mausoleum in the center of Sofia, Bulgaria.

Bulgaria Resources at Unofficial Royalty

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Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine

by Emily McMahon  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine; Credit – Wikipedia

Scandal followed Alexander in one way or another for much of his life. Born in Darmstadt in the Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, now in Hesse, Germany, on July 15, 1823, Alexander Ludwig Georg Friedrich Emil was the third son of Ludwig II, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine and Wilhelmina of Baden. At the time of Alexander’s birth, the couple had been living apart for some time. Alexander’s biological father may have been August Ludwig, Freiherr von Senarclens de Grancy, his mother’s chamberlain and lover. August is believed to have fathered Wilhelmina’s youngest four children. Nevertheless, Ludwig claimed all of Wilhelmina’s children as his own.

Alexander had four siblings:

In 1841, Alexander accompanied his sister Marie on her journey to Russia to marry the future Alexander II. After the wedding, Alexander stayed for a time in Russia, where he became close to his sister’s imperial in-laws. Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia was so impressed by Alexander that he considered marrying the Hessian prince to one of the daughters of his brother Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich.

However, Alexander had fallen in love with Julia Hauke, one of Marie’s ladies-in-waiting and the daughter of the former minister of war. Although forbidden by Nicholas I to marry, the couple married anyway in 1851 as Julia was already pregnant with their first child. The marriage forced the couple to leave Russia, but the two were allowed to settle in the Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine. However, the marriage was viewed as morganatic and removed any future children from the Hesse and by Rhine line of succession. Julia was granted the title of Countess of Battenberg, a castle in Hesse and by Rhine. Eventually, the two regained some of their favor in Russia and Hesse and Hesse and by Rhine.

Julia and Alexander; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Alexander and Julia had five children.  Through their son Louis, they are the ancestors of the British Royal Family and through their son Henry, they are ancestors of the Spanish Royal Family.

Alexander’s second son, also named Alexander, was named Prince of Bulgaria in 1879, with help from his uncle, Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia. The younger Alexander ruled Bulgaria under considerable turmoil until 1886 when he was forced to resign. In the following years, Alexander was the object of affection of Victoria of Prussia, another granddaughter of Queen Victoria. A possible marriage between Alexander and Victoria was long debated in Prussia but was eventually vetoed due to Alexander’s now-sour relationship with Russia. The younger Alexander eventually made his own morganatic marriage to actress Johanna Loisinger.

Alexander died of cancer at the age of 65 on December 15, 1888, in Seeheim, Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, now in Hesse, Germany. He was first buried in the Altes Mausoleum in the Rosenhöhe in Darmstadt.  In 1894, his remains were moved to the newly built Mausoleum on the grounds of Heiligenberg Castle, where his wife’s remains were also interred after her death in 1895.  In 1902, the mausoleum was converted to a memorial chapel, and Alexander and Julia’s remains were moved to a gravesite just outside of the mausoleum.

In the foreground, the graves of Alexander and his wife Julia; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.