Category Archives: German Royals

Augusta of Hesse-Kassel, Duchess of Cambridge

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Augusta of Hesse-Kassel, Duchess of Cambridge; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel was the wife of Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, son of King George III of the United Kingdom and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Augusta is an ancestor of the British Royal Family, through her granddaughter Queen Mary, wife of King George V.

Auguste Wilhelmine Luise was born on July 25, 1797, at Rumpenheim Castle (in German) in Offenbach am Main, Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel, now in Hesse, Germany. She was the youngest child of the eight children of Prince Friedrich of Hesse-Kassel and Princess Caroline of Nassau-Usingen.  Her father was the youngest son of Landgrave Friedrich II of Hesse-Kassel and Princess Mary of Great Britain, daughter of King George II of Great Britain.

Princess Augusta Wilhelmina Louisa, Duchess of Cambridge by Johann Giere, after Georg Friedrich Reichmann, lithograph, early 19th-century NPG D7448 © National Portrait Gallery, London

Augusta had seven older siblings:

Augusta’s paternal grandparents had an unhappy marriage. When her grandfather, Landgrave Friedrich II of Hesse-Kassel, converted to Roman Catholicism, her grandmother, Princess Mary of Great Britain, took her children to the Danish court where her sister Louise was married to King Frederik V of Denmark. Princess Mary’s younger sons remained in Denmark and had important positions in the Danish military and government. Augusta’s father was a general in the Danish army, so she grew up mostly in Denmark but spent some time in Hesse-Kassel.

Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1817, in the United Kingdom, after the tragic death in childbirth of Princess Charlotte of Wales, the only legitimate grandchild of King George III, despite the king having twelve surviving children, the king’s aging bachelor sons needed to seek brides to provide for the succession.  Of all the bachelor sons, Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, was the most eligible. He had neither mistresses nor illegitimate children, and he had not married in contravention of the Royal Marriages Act. Adolphus had a military career and attained the rank of Field Marshal. Since the British Kings of the House of Hanover were also Kings of Hanover, someone was needed to represent them in Hanover. In 1816, Adolphus was appointed Governor-General of the Kingdom of Hanover and then Viceroy of Hanover.

Princess Augusta Wilhelmina Louisa, Duchess of Cambridge by James Thomson, published by Dean & Munday, after John Partridge, stipple engraving printed in colours, published 1 July 1818, NPG D8036 © National Portrait Gallery, London

Adolphus was given the task of helping to find a bride for his elder brother, Prince William, Duke of Clarence, the future King William IV. Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel was one of the princesses on his list. Adolphus wrote that Augusta “would make an ideal Queen of England”. Upon hearing this, William said it appeared Adolphus was in love with Augusta and wrote to his brother to take her for himself. By Christmas 1817, Adolphus and Augusta were engaged. Adolphus and Augusta of Hesse-Kassel were in the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel, now in Hesse, Germany, on May 7, 1818, and then again at the Queen’s House (now Buckingham Palace) in the presence of Queen Charlotte on June 1, 1818.  The groom was 44 and the bride was 20.  Despite the age difference, the marriage was happy, and Adolphus was very much in love with Augusta.  The couple lived in Hanover from 1818 to 1837, while Adolphus served his father and then his two brothers, King George IV and King William IV, as Viceroy of Hanover. Upon their return to England, Adolphus and Augusta lived at Cambridge House and later at St. James’s Palace, both in London.

The couple had three children:

Princess Augusta Wilhelmina Louisa, Duchess of Cambridge; Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck by Camille Silvy, albumen carte-de-visite, 9 October 1860 NPG Ax46799 © National Portrait Gallery, London

Prince Adolphus died “of cramps in the stomach” at Cambridge House in London on July 8, 1850, at the age of 76.  He was buried in the Cambridge Mausoleum, built following his death at St. Anne’s Church in Kew, London.  Augusta survived her husband by 39 years, dying at age 91 on April 6, 1889, at St. James’ Palace in London. She was the last surviving daughter-in-law of King George III.  Queen Victoria wrote of her death: “Very sad, though not for her. But she is the last of her generation, & I have no longer anyone above me.” In 1930, the remains of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were removed from the mausoleum at St. Anne’s Church and interred in the Royal Vault in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, at the request of their granddaughter Queen Mary.

Princess Augusta Wilhelmina Louisa, Duchess of Cambridge by Walery, published by Sampson Low & Co, carbon print, published April 1889 NPG x9115 © National Portrait Gallery, London

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.

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. (2018). Auguste von Hessen. [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auguste_von_Hessen [Accessed 12 Sep. 2018].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Prince Frederick of Hesse-Kassel. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landgrave_Frederick_of_Hesse-Kassel [Accessed 12 Sep. 2018].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Augusta_of_Hesse-Kassel [Accessed 12 Sep. 2018].
  • Flantzer, S. (2013). Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/july-8-daily-featured-royal-date/ [Accessed 12 Sep. 2018].
  • Fraser, Flora. Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III. (2004). New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
  • Van Der Kiste, John (2013). George III’s Children. New York: The History Press.
  • Van Der Kiste, John. (2000). The Georgian Princesses. Phoenix Mill: Sutton Publishing.

Friedrich VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Friedrich VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg; Credit – Wikipedia

Friedrich VI was a reigning Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg and the husband of Princess Elizabeth of the United Kingdom, daughter of King George III of the United Kingdom. Friedrich Joseph Ludwig Carl August was born on July 30, 1769, in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe in the Landgraviate of Hesse-Homburg, now in Hesse, Germany. He was the eldest child of Friedrich V, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg and Caroline of Hesse-Darmstadt.

Friedrich had fifteen siblings, but only eleven survived childhood:

Friedrich was educated with his brother Ludwig Wilhelm. They studied together in Geneva, and in 1788, they joined the Prussian army together. Friedrich then served in the Austrian army during the Napoleonic Wars, reaching the rank of Field Marshal. He was injured several times and was created a Commander of the Austrian Military Order of Maria Theresa.

While Friedrich was in the military, he showed no inclination to marry. In 1814, 45-year-old Friedrich had met 44-year-old Princess Elizabeth, the third daughter and seventh of the fifteen children of King George III of the United Kingdom and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, at a ball held at the British court. None of George III’s six daughters had been allowed to marry at the age when most princesses would marry. The daughters were very sheltered and spent most of their time with their parents and sisters. The living conditions of King George’s daughters came to be known as “the Nunnery.”

Perhaps this over-protection of King George III’s daughters was due to what happened to his sister Caroline Matilda when she married King Christian VII of Denmark. Christian’s mental illness led to Caroline Matilda having an affair, being caught, the execution of her lover, and her exile. Two of King George III’s daughters managed to get married: In 1797, Charlotte, Princess Royal married the future King Friedrich I of Württemberg at the age of 31 and had one stillborn daughter. In 1816, 40-year-old Princess Mary married her cousin Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester, and had no children. Princess Elizabeth was the last of the daughters to finally escape from “the Nunnery.”  Augusta, Sophia, and Amelia never married.

Princess Elizabeth of the United Kingdom, Landgravine of Hesse-Homburg; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1818, Elizabeth read a letter from 48-year-old Friedrich, then Hereditary Prince of Hesse-Homburg to her mother asking to marry Elizabeth, and she finally saw the way to exit “the Nunnery.” Elizabeth was nearly 48 years old and was hardly likely to provide heirs for Hesse-Homburg. Her dowry would go a long way in helping tiny Hesse-Homburg out of its debts and would provide funds for needed building renovations. Elizabeth would have her own household to administer, a husband, and freedom from her mother. Queen Charlotte was not easily persuaded to agree to the marriage, and after heated discussions and interventions from several of Elizabeth’s siblings, the Queen agreed to the marriage.

On April 7, 1818, in the Private Chapel at the Queen’s House (now Buckingham Palace), Princess Elizabeth married her prince and gained her freedom. The bride wore a dress of silver tissue and Brussels lace with ostrich feathers on her head. Friedrich was not handsome, but he was very kindhearted and a war hero, wounded at the Battle of Leipzig. The couple spent their honeymoon at the Royal Lodge at Windsor. The marriage was not a love match, but through mutual understanding and respect, it was a happy marriage that met the needs of both Elizabeth and Friedrich.

Elizabeth of the United Kingdom and Frederick VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg; Credit – royalcollection.org.uk

On January 20, 1820, Friedrich’s father died, and he succeeded him as Landgrave of the 85 square mile/ 221 km2 Landgraviate of Hesse-Homburg. Using Elizabeth’s dowry and annual allowance, the couple built new roads, restored the castles in Bad Homburg and Meisenheim, and became involved in caring for the poor. They created an English garden at Bad Homburg Castle using seeds and seedlings from England.

Bad Homburg Castle; Credit – By ziegelbrenner – Private photo, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1324918

Friedrich VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg died in Bad Homburg in the Landgraviate of Hesse-Homburg, now in Hesse, Germany, at the age of 59 on April 2, 1829, due to influenza and complications from an old leg wound. He was buried in the Ducal Crypt in the castle church at Bad Homburg Castle.  Elizabeth wrote, “No woman was ever more happy than I was for eleven years and they will often be lived over again in the memory of the heart.”  She survived Friedrich by nearly eleven years, dying on January 10, 1840, at the age of 69, and was buried next to Friedrich.

As Friedrich had no children, his brother Ludwig Wilhelm succeeded him. Three other brothers succeeded as the reigning Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg. Only one of Friedrich’s five brothers had children. Gustav had one son and two daughters, but his son died at the age of eighteen.

  • Ludwig Wilhelm: reigned 1829-1839, no children
  • Philip V: reigned 1839-1846, no children
  • Gustav: reigned 1846-1848, no surviving male children
  • Ferdinand: reigned 1848-1866, unmarried

After the death of Ferdinand in 1866, the Landgraviate of Hesse-Homburg was briefly added to the territory of Ludwig III, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, before being annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia later in 1866.

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. (2018). Friedrich VI. (Hessen-Homburg). [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_VI._(Hessen-Homburg) [Accessed 11 Sep. 2018].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Frederick VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_VI,_Landgrave_of_Hesse-Homburg [Accessed 11 Sep. 2018].
  • Flantzer, S. (2014). Princess Elizabeth, Landgravine of Hesse-Homburg. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/january-10-1840-death-of-princess-elizabeth-of-the-united-kingdom-daughter-of-king-george-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/ [Accessed 11 Sep. 2018].
  • Fraser, Flora. Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III. (2004). New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
  • Van Der Kiste, John (2013). George III’s Children. New York: The History Press.
  • Van Der Kiste, John. (2000). The Georgian Princesses. Phoenix Mill: Sutton Publishing.

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.

Frederica Charlotte of Prussia, Duchess of York

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Frederica Charlotte of Prussia, Duchess of York; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia was the wife of Prince Frederick, Duke of York, the second son of King George III of the United Kingdom. Given the German names Friederike Charlotte Ulrike Katharina, she was born on May 7, 1767, at Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany, the only child of the future King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia, eldest son of Prince August Wilhelm of Prussia (the second son of King Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia),  and his first wife and first cousin, Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Lüneburg.

Frederica had no siblings but had seven half-siblings from her father’s second marriage to Friederike Luise of Hesse-Darmstadt:

The family of King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia, circa 1777 – seated: the future King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia and his second wife Frederika Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt holding Princess Wilhelmina; standing, left to right: Prince Friedrich Wilhelm, Prince Ludwig Karl, and Princess Frederica Charlotte; Credit – Wikipedia

At the time of her birth, Frederica’s great uncle (the uncle of both her parents) Friedrich II, better known as Frederick the Great, was King of Prussia. Friedrich II had no children, so the heir presumptive to the Prussian throne was Frederica’s father as the eldest son of Friedrich II’s next brother Prince August Wilhelm who was deceased.

Frederica’s mother Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Crown Princess of Prussia; Credit – Wikipedia

Frederica’s mother Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was the daughter of Karl I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Philippine Charlotte of Prussia, sister of King Friedrich II of Prussia. Friedrich II had arranged the marriage of his niece Elisabeth Christine and nephew Friedrich Wilhelm hoping they would produce heirs for the Prussian throne. However, the marriage was unsuccessful. Friedrich Wilhelm neglected his wife and had constant affairs with dancers and actresses. When Frederica was born, a girl instead of a male heir, the marriage further deteriorated. Hurt by her husband’s behavior, Elisabeth Christine began to have affairs with army officers and musicians.

In January 1769, Elisabeth Christine discovered she was pregnant with the child of her lover, a musician named Pietro, and the couple planned to escape to Italy. However, at a masked ball, Friedrich Wilhelm was informed by a masked, anonymous person that his wife was pregnant. Angered by his wife’s pregnancy, Friedrich Wilhelm asked his uncle for a divorce. King Friedrich II initially refused to allow the couple to divorce but then relented. The musician Pietro was arrested and beheaded. Elisabeth Christine was placed under house arrest as a prisoner of the state in the Ducal Castle of Stettin. She never saw her daughter Frederica again. Elisabeth Christine died on February 18, 1840, at the age of 93, after spending 71 years under house arrest.

Frederica was less than two years old when her mother was banished. During her childhood, Frederica was raised with her half-siblings and she was cared for by her paternal grandmother Luise Amalie of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and her stepmother Friederike of Hesse-Darmstadt, her father’s second wife. She also maintained a close relationship with Friedrich II’s childless wife Queen Elisabeth Christine, Frederica’s paternal great-aunt, the sister of her paternal grandmother.

Frederica’s father, King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia; Credit – Wikipedia

Upon the death of Friedrich II (Frederik the Great) in 1786, Frederica’s father succeeded to the Prussian throne as King Friedrich Wilhelm II. Frederica was nineteen years old, a marriageable age, but had no offers. Five years earlier, Prince Frederick, Duke of York, the second son of King George III of the United Kingdom, had visited the Prussian count and met Frederica. In 1791, Frederick returned to the Prussian court hoping to enlist in the Prussian army in a war against Austria which ultimately never happened. He stayed at the Prussian court for a while and developed feelings for Frederica. Frederick proposed and Frederica accepted, and her father was glad that his 24-year-old daughter would finally be married.

Wedding of Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia and Prince Frederick, Duke of York; Credit – Wikipedia

On September 29, 1791, at Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, Frederica married Prince Frederick, Duke of York. When the new Duchess of York arrived in London, England, she received an enthusiastic welcome. A second marriage was held on November 23, 1791, at the Queen’s House (now Buckingham Palace) because the Archbishop of Canterbury was not authorized to grant a license for a ceremony held in Prussia.

The marriage was unsuccessful. Frederick was unfaithful and the couple was unable to have children. In 1794, the couple separated and Frederica lived out her life at Oatlands Park in Weybridge, Surrey, England. Frederick and Frederica remained on good terms and the couple never caused any scandal. Frederica did not like London and did not get involved in politics or any royal family issues, instead, she spent her time in Weybridge doing charity work to help the needy and working on musical projects. Frederick visited her regularly but there was never any attempt at reconciliation.

Frederica had been suffering from tuberculosis for some time and died on 6 August 6, 1820, at the age of 53 at Oatlands Park. Frederick was present at her death and shortly before she died,  Frederica begged him to allow her to be buried in Weybridge instead of  St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. On August 13, 1820, Frederica, Duchess of York was buried in the chancel of St. Nicholas at Weybridge, also known as Weybridge Old Church, in a simple vault at her request. Today the vault stands close to the tower of St. James’ Church which replaced the old church in 1848.

Grave of Frederica, Duchess of York; Credit – www.findagrave.com

The people of Weybridge so admired Frederica’s charitable works that funds were raised through a voluntary contribution for the York Column, a monument to be erected in Weybridge in her memory. The inscription on the monument reads:

“This column was erected by the inhabitants of Weybridge and its vicinity on the 6th day of August 1822 by voluntary contribution. In token of their sincere esteem and regard for her late Royal Highness the most excellent and illustrious Frederica Charlotte Ulrica Catherina, Duchess of York who resided for upwards of thirty years at Oatlands in this parish, exercising every Christian virtue and died, universally regretted, on the 6th day of August 1820.”

York Column erected in memory of Frederica, Duchess of York; Credit – https://www.allaboutweybridge.co.uk/shops-services/york-column-monument-green-history-weybridge

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.

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Crown Princess of Prussia. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeth_Christine_of_Brunswick-Wolfenb%C3%BCttel,_Crown_Princess_of_Prussia [Accessed 10 Sep. 2018].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Frederica_Charlotte_of_Prussia [Accessed 10 Sep. 2018].
  • Flantzer, S. (2016). Prince Frederick, Duke of York. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/prince-frederick-duke-of-york/ [Accessed 10 Sep. 2018].
  • Fraser, Flora. Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III. (2004). New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
  • Van Der Kiste, John (2013). George III’s Children. New York: The History Press.
  • Van Der Kiste, John. (2000). The Georgian Princesses. Phoenix Mill: Sutton Publishing.

Archduchess Gisela of Austria, Princess of Bavaria

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Archduchess Gisela of Austria; Credit – Wikipedia

The eldest surviving child of Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria and Elisabeth of Bavaria (Sisi), Archduchess Gisela was born in Laxenburg, Austria, the summer retreat of the Habsburgs, on July 12, 1856. The infant archduchess was baptized Gisella Luise Marie – Gisella with a double L – but she always wrote her name with only one L.  Gisela had an older sister Sophie, born in 1855, and the birth of another girl was a disappointment to the family who was anxiously awaiting the birth of a boy to succeed to the throne.

In 1857, on a trip to Hungary, part of the Habsburg empire, Sophie and Gisela became ill with diarrhea and a very high fever. Gisela survived but Sophie died in her mother’s arms.

Gisela had three siblings:

Empress Elisabeth with her two eldest surviving children, Gisela and Rudolf  with a portrait of the deceased Sophie on the wall in 1858; Credit – Wikipedia

Gisela was never close to her mother. Empress Elisabeth’s mother-in-law Archduchess Sophie, born Princess Sophie of Bavaria, was also Elisabeth’s aunt and deemed the teenage mother too young to care for her first two children. After their baptisms, Sophie and Gisela were taken away from their mother and raised by their grandmother.

Gisela with her brother Rudolf in 1861; Credit – Wikipedia

Gisela was two years old when her brother Rudolf, the Crown Prince and heir to the throne, was born. Gisela had a close relationship with her brother even after she married and moved to Bavaria. She never got over Rudolf’s suicide. On January 30, 1889, at Mayerling, a hunting lodge in the Vienna Woods which Rudolf had purchased, in an apparent suicide plot, Rudolf shot his 17-year-old mistress Baroness Mary Vetsera, and then shot himself.

Gisela and Prince Leopold of Bavaria in 1872; Credit – Wikipedia

In April 1872, Gisela was betrothed to her second cousin Prince Leopold of Bavaria, son of Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria and Archduchess Augusta of Austria.  Leopold’s father Prince Luitpold served as Prince Regent from 1886 until he died in 1912 due to the mental incompetence of his nephews King Ludwig II and King Otto. On April 20, 1873, 16-year-old Gisela and 27-year-old Leopold were married at the Augustinerkirche, the parish church of the Habsburgs, near Hofburg Palace in Vienna. The bride was overshadowed by her radiant and youthful-looking mother. Wedding festivities included a special performance of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and a gala ball given by the city of Vienna at the Musikverein, a concert hall. Gisela was warmly welcomed by Leopold’s family in Munich. The couple had a happy marriage and lived in the Palais Leopold in the Schwabing section of Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria.

Gisela and Leopold had four children:

Gisela and Leopold with their four children, circa 1885; Credit – Wikipedia

On September 10, 1898, Gisela’s mother Empress Elisabeth was assassinated when she was stabbed in the heart by the Italian anarchist Luigi Lucheni in Geneva, Switzerland. After her mother’s death, Gisela received 40% of her mother’s monetary assets and Achilleion Palace which her mother had built on the Greek island of Corfu to escape life at court.

Achilleion Palace in Corfu, Greece; By Marc Ryckaert (MJJR) – Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=23107846

During World War I, Leopold was given the command of the German 9th Army and quickly proved himself to be an able commander. Gisela set up a military hospital in her Munich palace. Gisela’s father Emperor Franz Joseph died on November 21, 1916, in the middle of World War I, at the age of 86. As he had no son to succeed him, his great-nephew succeeded him as Emperor Karl I of Austria but only reigned for two years as the monarchy was abolished at the end of World War I.

Golden Wedding of Leopold and Gisela by Hermann Eißfeldt, 1923; The bishop presiding is Papal Nuncio Eugenio Pacelli, the future Pope Pius XII. To his right is Leopold and Gisela’s son George who became a priest

In 1923, Gisela and Leopold celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Leopold died on September 28, 1930, at the age of 84. Two years later, Gisela died on July 27, 1932, aged 76. She was buried with her husband in the Wittelsbach crypt at St. Michael’s Church in Munich, Germany.

Wittelsbach crypt at St. Michael’s Church; Photo Credit – Susan Flantzer

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.

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. (2018). Gisela von Österreich. [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gisela_von_%C3%96sterreich [Accessed 1 Sep. 2018].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Archduchess Gisela of Austria. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archduchess_Gisela_of_Austria [Accessed 1 Sep. 2018].
  • Van Der Kiste, J. (2005). Emperor Francis Joseph: Life, Death and the Fall of the Habsburg Empire. Stroud: Sutton Publishing.
  • Wheatcroft, A. (1995). The Habsburgs. London: Viking.

Sophie Friederike of Bavaria, Archduchess of Austria

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Sophie Friederike of Bavaria, Archduchess of Austria; Credit – Wikipedia

The mother of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria and the ill-fated Emperor Maximilian of Mexico, the grandmother of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria whose assassination sparked World War I, and the great-grandmother of  Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria, Sophie Friederike Dorothea Wilhelmine was born January 27, 1805, in Munich, then in the Electorate of Bavaria, now in Bavaria, Germany, along with her identical twin sister Maria Anna Leopoldine Elisabeth Wilhelmine. At the time of Sophie’s birth, her father Maximilian Joseph was Duke of Zweibrücken, Elector of Bavaria, Duke of Berg, and Elector Palatine. Due to his loyal service to Napoleon, Emperor of the French, Maximilian Joseph’s Electorate of Bavaria was created a kingdom and he became the first King of Bavaria on January 1, 1806. Maximilian Joseph’s first wife Augusta Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt died in 1796 and he married Sophie’s mother Caroline of Baden in 1797.

Maximilian Joseph was an adherent of The Enlightenment, the intellectual and philosophical movement that dominated the world of ideas in Europe during the 18th century, and his children were educated to think in modern ways. Now that Bavaria was a kingdom, King Maximilian I Joseph and later his son King Ludwig I ensured that the females of the family made good marriages.

Sophie had five half-siblings from her father’s first marriage:

Sophie had six siblings including a twin sister and another set of twin siblings:

Sophie with her twin sister Maria Anna and their youngest surviving sister Ludovika by Joseph Karl Stieler; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1816, Sophie’s half-sister Caroline Augusta became the fourth wife of Franz I, Emperor of Austria. Franz’s only surviving children were by his second wife Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily, who had died in childbirth along with her twelfth child. His eldest son and heir Ferdinand was developmentally delayed and suffered from epilepsy, hydrocephalus, neurological problems, and a speech impediment. Ferdinand learned to walk and talk late, and his condition and behavior caused great concern. Because of his frail constitution, he did not receive the education appropriate for the heir to the throne.

Perhaps it was through the influence of Caroline Augusta, Emperor Franz’s fourth wife and Sophie’s half-sister, that the idea developed of Franz’s second son Franz Karl being a good match for Sophie. At a family gathering of the Habsburgs and the Wittelsbachs (the Bavarian royal family), Franz Karl, who was clumsy and shy, became attracted to Sophie, who was strong-willed and authoritarian. Franz Karl sent Sophie letters and gifts and regularly traveled to Munich to see her. Eventually, he found the courage to ask her to marry him. Some thought the eldest son Ferdinand was incapable of reigning and his father considered removing him from the succession. Franz Karl was somewhat feeble-minded but Sophie’s family agreed to the marriage because they thought that the disabilities of Franz Karl’s brother might cause Franz Karl to succeed to the throne.

Family of Franz I, Emperor of Austria: From left to right: Caroline Augusta of Bavaria, Empress of Austria; Franz I, Emperor of Austria; Napoleon II of France, Duke of Reichstadt (Franz’s grandson); Princess Sophie of Bavaria, Archduchess of Austria; Marie-Louise of Austria, Duchess of Parma (Franz’s daughter and Napoleon II’s mother); the future Ferdinand I, Emperor of Austria; and Archduke Franz Karl of Austria in 1826 by Leopold Fertbauer; Credit – Wikipedia

On November 4, 1824, Sophie married Archduke Franz. In 1831, Franz’s elder brother
Ferdinand married Maria Anna of Savoy, the daughter of King Vittorio Emanuele I of Sardinia. The marriage was childless and probably never consummated, but the couple remained devoted to each other.

After five miscarriages, Sophie and Franz Karl had five children and so they provided the heirs to the throne:

Sophie and her family: Sophie, Franz Joseph with his wife Elisabeth and their two eldest children Rudolf and Gisela, Maximilian with his wife Charlotte, Karl Ludwig, Ludwig Viktor, Photograph by Ludwig Angerer, 1860; Credit – Wikipedia

Franz Karl’s brother Ferdinand succeeded to the throne in 1835 upon the death of his father. His epilepsy caused him to have as many as twenty seizures per day, and this severely restricted his ability to rule with any effectiveness. His father’s will stipulated that Ferdinand’s uncle Archduke Ludwig be consulted on government matters and during Ferdinand’s reign a council called the Secret State Conference controlled the government.

The biggest ambition of Franz Joseph’s mother Sophie was to place her oldest son on the Austrian throne. During the Revolutions of 1848, she persuaded her husband to give up his rights to the throne in favor of their son Franz Joseph. On December 2, 1848, Emperor Ferdinand abdicated the throne in favor of his 18-year-old nephew. Franz Joseph was now Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary and Croatia, and King of Bohemia. During the early years of her son’s reign, Sophie was the power behind the throne, and she fulfilled the duties of an Empress.

Sophie’s four sons left to right: Karl Ludwig, Franz Joseph, Maximilian & Ludwig Viktor, circa 1860; Credit – Wikipedia

The feeling in the Imperial Court was that the young emperor should marry and produce heirs as soon as possible. Franz Joseph’s domineering mother considered several princesses as the future empress but Sophie wanted to forge a relationship with her familial House of Wittelsbach of Bavaria and the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. She arranged for a match between Franz Joseph and Helene, Duchess in Bavaria, the eldest daughter of her sister Ludovika of Bavaria and her husband Duke Maximilian Joseph in Bavaria.

In 1853, Helene traveled with her mother and her younger sister Elisabeth, Duchess in Bavaria (Sisi) to the resort of Bad Ischl, Upper Austria to meet her cousin Franz Joseph, hoping she would become his bride. Instead, Franz Joseph fell in love with the 15-year-old Elisabeth. Franz Joseph told his mother that if he could not marry Elisabeth, he would not marry at all. Five days later their engagement was officially announced. Franz Joseph and Sisi were married on April 24, 1854, at the Augustinerkirche, the parish church of the imperial court of the Habsburgs, a short walk from Hofburg Palace in Vienna.

Sophie’s niece and daughter-in-law Elisabeth of Bavaria; Credit – Wikipedia

Sisi was young, naïve, and shy. Sophie was the stereotype of a nagging mother-in-law, always correcting her daughter-in-law but she was not the monster her niece Sisi made her out to be. Although Sophie was tactless and indiscreet, this was not unusual for a royal matriarch. She had spent her married life with a husband who probably was somewhat mentally disabled and had to deal with many family issues herself. Sophie devoted herself to her four sons and their futures, especially Franz Joseph. She felt it was her duty to school Sisi in her role as Empress.

In 1855, Sisi gave birth to her first child, a daughter, named Sophie Friederike, after her grandmother without any input from Sisi. Sophie did not feel that the teenage mother was capable of caring for her child. She had chosen the nursery staff and set up the nursery next to her own rooms. This practice continued for Sisi’s next two children. In 1857, on a trip to Hungary which was a part of the Habsburg Empire, Franz Joseph and Sisi took their two young children along despite the misgivings of their grandmother Sophie. Two-year-old Sophie and her one-year-old sister Gisela both became ill with diarrhea and a very high fever. Gisela survived but Sophie died in her mother’s arms. The death of her oldest child would haunt Sisi for her entire life and she was held responsible for Sophie’s death by her mother-in-law.

In 1859, Mexican monarchists approached Sophie’s son Maximilian with a proposal to become Emperor of Mexico which Maximilian did not accept. After the French intervention in Mexico in 1861, Maximilian changed his mind. In 1864, Maximilian accepted the crown of Mexico. His mother Sophie considered this a hazardous move and was strongly opposed. She thought Maximilian had a duty to stay in Austria and provide additional heirs for the Austrian throne. Sophie’s fears turn out to be true. On May 14, 1867, 34-year-old Maximilian was condemned to death by a court of war, and on June 19, 1867, he was executed by a firing squad along with two of his faithful Mexican generals. Before the shooting, Maximilian assured the soldiers that they were only doing their duty, gave them gold coins, and asked them to aim precisely and spare his face, so that his mother could identify his body.

Sophie and Franz Karl in 1872; Credit – Wikipedia

Sophie never recovered after the death of Maximilian and she withdrew from public life. In May 1872, ill with pneumonia, she took to her bed and fell into a coma. Franz Joseph placed the rosary of his great-great-grandmother Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria, and Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia into his mother’s hands. Neither he nor Sisi left Sophie’s bedside for four days. On May 28, 1872, 67-year-old Sophie of Bavaria, Archduchess of Austria, died. Franz Joseph sobbed like a child and Sisi had to be carried from the room. Sophie was buried at the Imperial Crypt beneath the Capuchin Church in Vienna, Austria. From 1960 – 1962, the New Vault was added to the Imperial Crypt to relieve overcrowding. Sophie’s remains and those of her husband Franz Karl, who survived her by six years, were transferred to the West Wall of the New Vault.

The New Vault in the Imperial Crypt; Credit – Susan Flantzer

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Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. (2018). Sophie Friederike von Bayern. [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie_Friederike_von_Bayern [Accessed 3 Sep. 2018].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Princess Sophie of Bavaria. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Sophie_of_Bavaria [Accessed 3 Sep. 2018].
  • Van Der Kiste, J. (2005). Emperor Francis Joseph: Life, Death and the Fall of the Habsburg Empire. Stroud: Sutton Publishing.
  • Wheatcroft, A. (1995). The Habsburgs. London: Viking.

Prince Franz Joseph of Battenberg

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Prince Franz Joseph of Battenberg; Credit – Wikipedia

Prince Franz Joseph of Battenberg was the youngest child of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine and Countess Julia Hauke, Princess of Battenberg. He was born in Padua, Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, part of the Austrian Empire, now in Italy, on September 24, 1861, joining four older siblings:

Following his schooling, Franz Joseph received a military education in Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia, now in the German state of Brandenburg. He then served in the Bulgarian Military, while his brother Alexander was the Reigning Prince of Bulgaria from 1879-1886.

Consuelo Vanderbilt. source: Wikipedia

While in London in 1894, Franz Joseph met the American heiress Consuelo Vanderbilt. He was one of several men who proposed, but Consuelo did not like him and refused his marriage offer. She later went on to marry Charles Spencer-Churchill,9th Duke of Marlborough.

Princess Anna of Montenegro. source: Wikipedia

Several years later, while visiting Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom while she was on holiday in Cimiez, France, Franz Joseph met Princess Anna of Montenegro. She was the daughter of King Nikola I of Montenegro and Milena Vukotić, and was in Cimiez visiting her sister and brother-in-law. The two quickly fell in love, and their engagement was announced. They married in Cetinje, Montenegro on May 18, 1897, in both Eastern Orthodox and Protestant ceremonies. The marriage was happy but the couple did not have any children.

In the years leading up to World War I, Franz Joseph and his wife spent much of their time living in Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, now in the German state of Hesse, but were advised to leave the country when the war broke out and settled in Switzerland. As the war progressed, they found their financial situation more and more precarious, and they sometimes struggled to make ends meet. After 1920, they began to receive some financial support from Edwina Mountbatten, the wife of Franz Joseph’s nephew Louis Mountbatten, the future 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma. Until she died in 1960, Edwina continued to send money to Princess Anna.

Prince Franz Joseph died in Territet, Switzerland on July 31, 1924, having outlived all of his siblings. He is buried in the Schaffhausen Forest Cemetery in Schaffhausen, Switzerland.

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Princess Marie of Battenberg, Princess of Erbach-Schönberg

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Princess Marie of Battenberg, Princess of Erbach-Schönberg; Credit – Wikipedia

Marie Karoline of Battenberg was born in Strasbourg, France on February 15, 1852, the eldest child and only daughter of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine and Countess Julia Hauke. Because of her parents’ morganatic marriage, her mother did not become a Princess of Hesse and by Rhine, and was instead created Countess of Battenberg in her own right. Marie and her siblings, therefore, took their titles from their mother and were not in the line of succession for the grand-ducal throne of Hesse and by Rhine. For many years, Marie said that her birth date was July 15, 1852, to hide the fact that her mother was already six months pregnant with her at the time they married.

Marie had four younger brothers:

She became Princess Marie of Battenberg in December 1858 when her mother’s title was elevated by Marie’s uncle, Grand Duke Ludwig III of Hesse and by Rhine.

Gustav Ernst, Count of Erbach-Schönberg. source: Wikipedia

In 1868, while attending the inauguration of the Luther Monument in Worms, Marie met Gustaf Ernst, Count of Erbach-Schönberg. He was the son of Ludwig III, Count of Erbach-Schönberg and Countess Caroline von Gronsfeld-Diepenbrock. They became engaged in 1870 and were married in the Darmstadt City Church in Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, now in Hesse, Germany, on April 29, 1871.

Marie and Gustav had four children:

  • Alexander, Prince of Erbach-Schönberg (1872) – married Princess Elisabeth of Waldeck and Pyrmont, had issue
  • Count Maximilian of Erbach-Schönberg (1878) – died in childhood
  • Prince Victor of Erbach-Schönberg (1880) – married Countess Elisabeth Széchényi de Sarvar et Felsö-Vidék, no issue
  • Princess Marie Elisabeth of Erbach-Schönberg (1883) – married Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Stolberg-Wernigerode, had issue

Princess Marie, Countess of Erbach-Schönberg with her parents Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine and Julia, Princess of Battenberg, at Osborne House, July 23, 1885, for the wedding of her brother Henry to Princess Beatrice of The United Kingdom. source: Royal Collection Trust RCIN 2905692

Marie’s title changed once again in August 1903, when her husband was elevated to the rank of Prince, and Marie became The Princess of Erbach-Schönberg. Five years later, in January 1908, Marie’s husband died, and their eldest son, Alexander, succeeded him as The Prince of Erbach-Schönberg.

An avid writer, Marie published translations of several prominent works and wrote My Trip to Bulgaria, a memoir of her visit to her brother, Alexander, who was Prince of Bulgaria from 1879 to 1886. In her later years, several more memoirs were published, one of which detailed the situation of her son, Maximilian, who was mentally unstable.

The Dowager Princess of Erbach-Schönberg died in Schönberg, Hesse, Germany on June 20, 1923. She is buried in the cemetery of St. Mary’s Church in Schönberg, Hesse, Germany.

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Countess Julia Hauke, Princess of Battenberg

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Julia Hauke, Princess of Battenberg; Credit – Wikipedia

Julia Hauke, Princess of Battenberg was the wife of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine, and the founder of the Battenberg branch of the Grand Ducal family of Hesse and by Rhine. She was born Julia Therese Salomea Hauke on November 24, 1825, in Warsaw, Poland, the youngest daughter of Count Johann Moritz Hauke and Sophie Lafontaine. Among her ten siblings was a sister Catarina who later became the mistress of Paul Friedrich, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.

Julia’s father was a distinguished soldier, serving with Napoleon’s Polish Legions, and then with the armies of Poland and the Duchy of Warsaw. He joined the army of Congress Poland in 1814, reaching the rank of General in 1828. In 1829, Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia appointed him Deputy Minister of War of Congress Poland. The following year, he was killed during the November Uprising of 1830. While riding beside the carriage carrying his wife and younger children, Hauke encountered a group of rebel cadets who wanted him to lead them in their revolt. He rebuked them and ordered them back to their quarters. Instead, they opened fire on him, killing him almost instantly. His wife, suffering from shock, died soon afterward, and their younger children – including Julia – were made wards of the Russian Emperor.

Empress Maria Alexandrovna of Russia. source: Wikipedia

Raised at the Russian Imperial Court, Julia later became a lady-in-waiting to Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna, the wife of the future Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia. The Grand Duchess was born Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine, and was the younger sister of Julia’s future husband Alexander. He had accompanied his sister to Russia for her wedding in 1841, became close to his new brother-in-law, and decided to stay in Russia. Alexander became a prominent member of the Imperial Court and served in the Russian military. The Emperor considered Alexander as a possible husband for one of his nieces, but Alexander had already fallen in love with Julia. The Emperor refused to allow a marriage between them, but the couple was determined to marry. Eloping from St. Petersburg, they made their way to Breslau in Silesia, where they married on October 28, 1851. At the time, Julia was already six months pregnant with their first child.

Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine. source: Wikipedia

As their marriage was morganatic, Julia did not become a Princess of Hesse and by Rhine. Instead, her brother-in-law, Grand Duke Ludwig III of Hesse and by Rhine, created her Countess of Battenberg, with the style Illustrious Highness. Her children took their titles from her, becoming Counts and Countesses of Battenberg. Seven years later, the Grand Duke elevated Julia and her children to the rank of Prince/Princess, with the style Serene Highness. However, they remained ineligible for the Grand Ducal throne.

Julia and Alexander had five children:

Julia (far left) with some of her family, c1864. source: Wikipedia.  (seated L-R: Princess Elisabeth of Prussia, wife of Prince Karl of Hesse and by Rhine; Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine, Empress Maria Alexandrovna of Russia; Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, later Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine) (standing L-R: Julia, Princess of Battenberg; Prince Karl of Hesse and by Rhine; Prince Heinrich of Hesse and by Rhine; the future Grand Duke Ludwig IV of Hesse and by Rhine; Gustav, Prince of Vasa; Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine)

Julia and her husband returned to the Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, where they lived at the Alexander Palace in Darmstadt, and later at Schloss Heiligenberg in nearby Jugenheim. However, Alexander received a commission from the Austrian Army, and they spent many years in Austria and Italy, depending on where he was stationed. For this reason, each of their children was born in a different place.

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

Julia’s husband died in 1888 and was buried in the Grand Ducal Mausoleum in the Rosenhöhe in Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, now in the German state of Hesse. However, as Julia was not of equal rank, she would not be permitted to be buried beside him. Therefore, she oversaw the construction of a new mausoleum, built in the grounds of Schloss Heiligenberg. Upon the completion of the new mausoleum, Alexander’s remains were moved there in 1894. The following year, On September 19, 1895, Julia died at Schloss Heiligenberg at the age of 69. She was buried beside her husband in the mausoleum on the grounds of their beloved Heiligenberg. In 1902, the mausoleum was converted to a memorial chapel, and the remains of Julia and Alexander were moved to graves just outside the building.

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Prince Ludwig of Hesse and by Rhine

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Prince Ludwig of Hesse and by Rhine; Credit – Wikipedia

Prince Ludwig Hermann Alexander Chlodwig of Hesse and by Rhine (known as Lu) was the younger son of Ernst Ludwig, the last Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine and his second wife Princess Eleonore of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich. He was born in Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, now in the German state of Hesse, on November 20, 1908. Ludwig was Head of the House of Hesse from 1937 – 1968.

Ludwig had one older brother:

Lu also had a half-sister, Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine (1895-1903), from his father’s first marriage to Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Elisabeth had died from typhoid fever several years before Lu’s birth.

Lu was educated privately at home, along with his brother, before attending and graduating from the Realgymnasium in 1926. He then studied archeology and art history at universities in Darmstadt, Lausanne, and Munich. After graduating, Lu served as an attaché at the German Embassy in London. During this time, he met his future wife, The Honorable Margaret Geddes, daughter of British diplomat Auckland Campbell Geddes,1st Baron Geddes and Isabella Gamble Ross, while she was on holiday in Bavaria.

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Lu and Peg became engaged while attending the 1936 Winter Olympic Games in Bavaria. The wedding was planned for Saturday, November 20, 1937 – Lu’s 29th birthday. However, a great tragedy would strike the House of Hesse and by Rhine just days before.

On November 16, 1937, Lu’s family boarded a plane bound for London to attend his wedding. The passengers included Lu’s mother, his brother Hereditary Grand Duke Georg Donatus of Hesse and by Rhine and wife, born Princess Cecilie of Greece and Denmark, and their two sons, as well as the children’s nurse and Baron Joachin Riedesel zu Eisenbach, who was to be Lu’s best man. The plane was scheduled to stop in Brussels, but bad weather forced the pilot to continue on to Ostend instead. While attempting to land, the plane clipped a chimney on a factory near the airport, causing the plane to break apart and crash. All aboard the plane, including the pilot and three crew members, were killed.

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After being notified of the tragedy, Lu and Peg, along with their families, decided that the wedding should take place immediately. They married quietly the following morning, November 17, 1937, at St. Peter’s Church, Eaton Square, London. Both wore black, and were joined by a small group of family and close friends. Guests included The Duke and Duchess of Kent; The Countess of Toerring-Jettenbach; The Dowager Marchioness of Milford Haven (Lu’s paternal aunt); and the German Ambassador Joachim von Ribbentrop.

Lu, Peg and Johanna c1938; Credit – Wikipedia

Lu and his new wife traveled to Ostend to identify and accompany the bodies – by train – back to Darmstadt. Waiting for them was the only other surviving member of the Grand Ducal family, Don and Cecilie’s 14-month-old daughter Johanna who had not accompanied her parents on the trip to London. Lu and Peg adopted Johanna, but sadly she contracted meningitis and died shortly before reaching her third birthday.

At just 29 years old, Lu became the Head of the House of Hesse. He inherited Wolfsgarten, which would become his principal residence for the rest of his life. He was drafted for military service during World War II, but along with other members of former ruling houses, he was released due to the belief that they would be “politically unreliable”. He returned to Wolfsgarten where he was carefully watched due to his wife’s English background. Following the war, Lu and Peg devoted themselves to rebuilding Darmstadt. They worked to restore the museums, hospitals, and charitable institutions, and Lu co-founded the Institute for New Technical Form, the Council for Shaping, and the Bauhaus Archive. He also designed the German Pavilion for the 1958 World Expo in Brussels. An avid lover of classical music, he promoted the arts and music, including the Ansbach Festival and Aldeburgh Festival.

Because Lu and Peg never had children, in 1960 Lu adopted his distant cousin Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse. Moritz’s father became Head of the House of Hesse upon Lu’s death and was succeeded by Moritz in 1980, bringing the two branches of the Hesse line together again.

In 1964, he served as godfather for Prince Edward of the United Kingdom, the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh. The Duke’s sister had been married to Lu’s brother and Peg had become a close friend of The Queen.

Prince Ludwig of Hesse and by Rhine died in Frankfurt, Germany on May 30, 1968. Following his funeral on June 6, 1968, in the Darmstadt Stadtkirche in Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany, he was buried near his parents and family in the Park Rosenhöhe (link in German) in Darmstadt where many members of the Hesse family are buried. He was survived by his wife Peg, who passed away in 1997 and is buried beside him.

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Georg Donatus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine

by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Georg Donatus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine; Credit – Wikipedia

Georg Donatus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine was the elder son of the last reigning Grand Duke, Ernst Ludwig, and his second wife, Princess Eleonore of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich. He was born in Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, now in the German state of Hesse, on November 8, 1906, and had one younger brother:

Georg Donatus also had a half-sister, Elisabeth, from his father’s first marriage to Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Princess Elisabeth was born in 1895 and died of typhoid fever in 1903, three years before Georg Donatus was born.

At his christening on December 4, 1906, he was given the names Wilhelm Nikolaus Eduard Heinrich Karl in honor of his godparents – Wilhelm II, German Emperor, Nicholas II, Emperor of All of Russia, King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, Prince Heinrich of Prussia and Prince Karl of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich. Within the family, he was known by the name ‘Don’.

Georg Donatus and his brother Ludwig, c1911. source: Wikipedia

Don and his brother – known as ‘Lu’ – were raised at the family’s various homes in Hesse – the Neue Palais in Darmstadt (link in German), Schloss Wolfsgarten and Schloss Romrod (link in German). They were raised by English nannies, until the outbreak of World War I. By that time, Don was receiving private lessons in German and literature from Anna Textor, who ran a private school for English girls in Darmstadt, and had been the teacher of the future Empress Alexandra of Russia. After the fall of the German Empire, Don’s father was deposed in 1918. The family continued to live at the Neues Palais in Darmstadt, where Don continued his studies privately, before attending the Realgymnasium, graduating in 1926. He then studied economics at the University of Giessen, the University of Lausanne, and the University of Munich, earning his Ph.D. from Giissen in 1933.

Cecilie and Georg Donatus on their wedding day; Credit – Wikipedia

On February 2, 1931, Don married Princess Cecilie of Greece and Denmark. She was the daughter of Prince Andreas of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg. Through her mother, Cecilie and Don were first cousins once removed. They married in a Greek Orthodox ceremony at the Neues Palais Palace and in a Lutheran ceremony at the castle church. Following their honeymoon, they took up residence in a newly purchased home in Darmstadt, and had three children:

  • Prince Ludwig of Hesse and by Rhine (1931-1937) – died in a plane crash with his parents
  • Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine (1933-1937) – died in a plane crash with his parents
  • Princess Johanna of Hesse and by Rhine (1936-1939) – died from meningitis

Don became head of the family upon his father’s death on October 9, 1937. However, as the throne no longer existed, he did not assume the title of Grand Duke. Despite the formal mourning, it was decided that  Don’s brother Lu would marry The Honorable Margaret Geddes in England as scheduled for the following month. On November 16, 1937, Don, his wife Cecilie, their two sons Ludwig and Alexander, and his mother, Grand Duchess Eleonore, boarded a flight for London to attend Lu’s wedding. Tragically, the plane crashed in Belgium, and all aboard were killed.

Lu’s wedding took place immediately, and then he and his new wife flew to Belgium to accompany the remains of the family back to Darmstadt. Following their funeral which was held a few days later, Hereditary Grand Duke Georg Donatus and his family were buried in the Rosenhöhe in Darmstadt, Hesse Germany. Don’s daughter Johanna, who had not been on the plane, was adopted by his brother Lu. Sadly, she died in June 1939 after contracting meningitis.

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