Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine

Prince Alexander of Hesse GCB (15 July 1823 - 15 December 1888), was the third son and fourth child of Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse and Wilhelmina of Baden. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Badge of a Companion of the Order of the Bath (Military Division) The Most Honourable Order of the Bath (formerly The Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath)[1] is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. ... July 15 is the 196th day (197th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 169 days remaining. ... 1823 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... December 15 is the 349th day of the year (350th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1888 (MDCCCLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Louis II (26 December 1777, Darmstadt – 16 June 1848, Darmstadt) was Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine from 1830 until his death. ... Wilhelmine of Baden (September 10, 1788--January 27, 1836) was Grand Duchess of Hesse and the Rhine. ...

Questioned parentage

Though Alexander is best known for the scandal caused by his marriage, also his parentage was subject of scandal, as it was openly rumoured that his and his sister Marie's father was actually Baron Augustus de Senarclens, their mother's chamberlain. Marie of Hesse Princess Maximilienne Wilhelmine Marie of Hesse and the Rhine (8 August 1824-8 June 1880) was a princess of Grand Ducal Hesse and, as Marie Alexandrovna, Empress consort of Alexander II of Russia. ... Baron August Ludwig von Senarclens de Grancy (19 August 1794 - 3 October 1871) was born at Schloss Etoy, the son of Baron Cesar August von Senarclens. ...

Career

As a younger son of the Grand Duke, Prince Alexander followed the martial tradition of his family, and served in the Russian Army, where he became a distinguished soldier with a glittering career ahead of him. He had a regiment of lancers named after him and was awarded the Cross of St. George. The fact that his sister Marie was the Tsarevna (Crown Princess) of Russia was not a disadvantage to his prospects. This article is about the decoration. ...

Alexander's marriage

This promising career however was cut short by a scandal, as Alexander fell in love with Countess Julia von Hauke, a lady-in-waiting to his sister Maria Alexandrovna. The Countess was an orphaned German-Polish ward of the Tsar, and daughter of the Tsar's former Minister of War. At that time, Tsar Nicholas I was considering Alexander as a possible husband for his niece and as he heard of the romance, the Tsar forbade the couple to marry; it was unthinkable at that time that a person belonging to any ruling house could marry a mere countess. The Almanach de Gotha, lexicon and guide of Europe's titled classes, was very clear on the subject of who could marry whom. Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine with his wife, Julia von Hauke Julia von Hauke (November 12, 1825 (O.S.)/November 24, 1825 (N.S.) - September 19, 1895) was the wife of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine (1823-1888), the mother of Alexander of Bulgaria, and ancestress to... Princess Maximilienne Wilhelmine Marie of Hesse and the Rhine (8 August 1824 - 8 June 1880) was a princess of Grand Ducal Hesse and, as Marie Alexandrovna, Empress consort of Alexander II of Russia. ... Nicholas I (Russian: Николай I Павлович, Nikolai I Pavlovich), July 6 (June 25, Old Style), 1796–March 2 (18 February Old Style), 1855), was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855. ... The Almanach de Gotha was a directory of Europes nobility first published in 1763 at the ducal court of Friedrich III of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (which included the city of Gotha). ...

Alexander left for England to contemplate his future, but then returned to Russia and eloped with Julia from St. Petersburg. The two were married in Breslau (Silesia) in 1851. Wrocław. ... Silesia (Czech: ; German: ; Latin: ; Polish: ; Silesian: Åšlónsk) is a historical region in central Europe. ... 1851 (MDCCCLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

They returned to Hesse where his older brother Grand Duke Louis III was displeased by the lowly dynastic status of his brother's wife. Julia was created Countess of Battenberg (named after a small town in the north of Hesse where they first lived in seclusion), but their children would remain excluded from the line of succession. The Countess was later elevated to the rank of a Princess (Fürstin), and the couple eventually returned to Darmstadt. Louis III (9 June 1806, Darmstadt - 13 June 1877, Seeheim) was Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine from 1848 until his death. ... Battenberg (Eder) is a town of 5000 inhabitants in Northern Hesse, Germany. ... Fürst (plural Fürsten) is a German title of nobility, usually translated into English as Prince. The female form is Fürstin (plural Fürstinnen). ... Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland (federal state) of Hessen in Germany. ...

Children

Having forgone his dynastic claims, Prince Alexander and his morganatic wife lived a quiet life. Their family lived primarily at Heiligenberg Castle, near Jugenheim, in southern Hesse. A morganatic marriage is a type of marriage which can be contracted in certain countries, usually between persons of unequal social rank (unebenbürtig in German), which prevents the passage of the husbands titles and privileges to the wife and any children born of the marriage. ...

Alexander of Hesse and Julia of Battenberg had five children, and they inherited their mother's title and surname. The children were:

• Princess Marie of Battenberg 1852 - 1923
• Prince Louis of Battenberg 1854 - 1921
• Prince Alexander of Battenberg, 1857 - 1893
• Prince Henry of Battenberg 1858 - 1896
• Prince Francis Joseph of Battenberg 1861 - 1924

Prince Alexander of Hesse died in 1888, Princess Julia of Battenberg died at Schloss Heiligenberg in 1895 at the age of 70. 1852 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... Prince Louis of Battenberg Louis Alexander Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven, (24 May 1854 – 11 September 1921), formerly Prince Louis Alexander of Battenberg, was a minor German prince who married into the British Royal Family and pursued a distinguished career in the Royal Navy, eventually serving as First Sea... 1854 (MDCCCLIV) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Year 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for full calendar). ... Alexander Joseph of Battenberg (April 5, 1857 - November 17, 1893), the first prince of modern Bulgaria, reigned from April 29, 1879 to September 7, 1886). ... 1857 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Year 1893 (MDCCCXCIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Prince Henry of Battenberg Prince Henry of Battenberg (Colonel Henry Maurice Battenberg, KG, PC) (5 October 1858 – 20 January 1896) was a descendant of the Grand Ducal House of Hesse, and later became a member of the British Royal Family through his marriage to Princess Beatrice, the youngest daughter of... 1858 (MDCCCLVIII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Year 1896 (MDCCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display calendar). ... Prince Francis Joseph of Battenberg, also known as Prince Franz Joseph of Battenberg, (September 24, 1861- July 31, 1924), was the youngest son of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine and Countess Julia von Hauke. ... 1861 (MDCCCLXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link with display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar) // January 1 - Benito Juárez captures Mexico City January 2 - Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia dies and is succeeded by... 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar). ... Year 1888 (MDCCCLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... 1895 (MDCCCXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

Descendants

Despite these scandalous origins, the family of Battenberg quickly was accepted into Europe's nobility, forming marital ties with the British royal family. Alexander's second son Alexander became the first prince of modern Bulgaria.

In the 20th century, the descendants of Prince Alexander have been the consorts of three European sovereigns: (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999...

• Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg - Queen of Spain, consort of Alfonso XIII of Spain
• Princess Louise of Battenberg - Queen of Sweden, consort of Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden
• Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh - Husband of Elizabeth II, through his mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg

Prince Alexander's descendants currently occupy the Spanish throne and descendants of Elizabeth II by her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, will, in time, sit on the thrones of the United Kingdom. Princess Victoria Eugénie of Battenberg later Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain (24 October 1887-15 April 1969), a granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, was the consort of the exiled King Alfonso XIII of Spain and the paternal grandmother of the current King of Spain, Juan Carlos. ... Alfonso XIII of Spain (May 17, 1886 – February 28, 1941), King of Spain, posthumous son of Alfonso XII of Spain, was proclaimed King at his birth. ... Queen Louise Alexandra Marie Irene of Sweden (13 July 1889 - 7 March 1965) was the second wife of King Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden. ... Gustaf VI Adolf (Oskar Fredrik Wilhelm Olaf Gustaf Adolf) (November 11, 1882 – September 15, 1973) was King of Sweden from 1950 until his death. ... The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, (Philip Mountbatten; born Prince Philippos of Greece and Denmark, 10 June 1921) is the husband and consort of Queen Elizabeth II. Originally a Prince of Greece and Denmark, Prince Philip abandoned those titles to serve in the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, but... Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor; born 21 April 1926) is Queen of sixteen sovereign states, holding each crown and title equally. ... Princess Alice of Battenberg Princess Alice of Battenberg, later Princess Andrew of Greece and Denmark (25 February 1885 - 5 December 1969) was a great-granddaughter of the British Queen Victoria who married into the royal house of Greece. ... Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor; born 21 April 1926) is Queen of sixteen sovereign states, holding each crown and title equally. ... The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, (Philip Mountbatten; born Prince Philippos of Greece and Denmark, 10 June 1921) is the husband and consort of Queen Elizabeth II. Originally a Prince of Greece and Denmark, Prince Philip abandoned those titles to serve in the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, but...