Battenberg family
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- This article is about the family descending from Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine and Julia, Princess of Battenberg. For the town in Hesse, please see Battenberg, Hesse.
Battenberg is the surname and title given to the wife of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine, Countess Julia von Hauke. Prince Alexander (1823 - 1888) was the third son of Grand Duke Ludwig II of Hesse and by Rhine (Hesse-Darmstadt) and his wife Wilhelmina of Baden
The orphaned daughter of a Russian Minister of War, Julia von Hauke was considered to be of insufficient rank to have her children qualify for the succession on the throne of the Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine (Hesse-Darmstadt), hence the marriage was considered morganatic. Julia was given the title Countess of Battenberg by her brother-in-law, Grand Duke Ludwig III of Hesse and the Rhine, in 1851, and was elevated to 'non royal' Princess of Battenberg in 1858. As a result of this final elevation, the children of this union were also elevated to Prince or Princess, and addressed as 'Serene Highness'. Thus Battenberg became the name of a cadet branch of the Grand Ducal family of Hesse.
The couple had five children:-
- Prince Louis of Battenberg 1854 - 1921
- Princess Marie of Battenberg 1852 - 1923
- Prince Alexander of Battenberg, 1857 - 1893
- Prince Henry of Battenberg 1858 - 1896
- Prince Francis Joseph of Battenberg 1861 - 1924
One son of this marriage, Prince Henry of Battenberg, married Princess Beatrice, the youngest daughter of Queen Victoria; their daughter, Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, became Queen Consort of Spain. For this to be possible, her uncle Edward VII had to elevate her to 'Royal Highness', so that she would have the necessary status to marry into the Spanish royal house.
Another son, Alexander, was made Sovereign Prince of Bulgaria; he was later kidnapped and forced to abdicate.
Alexander and Julia's eldest son, Prince Louis of Battenberg, became a British subject, and during World War I, due to anti-German feelings prevalent at the time, anglicised his name to Mountbatten (a literal translation of the German Battenberg), as did his cousins, the sons of Prince Henry and Princess Beatrice. This branch of the family also renounced all German titles and were granted peerages by their cousin King George V: Prince Louis became First Marquess of Milford Haven, while Prince Alexander, Prince Henry's eldest son, became First Marquess of Carisbrooke