#Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine

[royal-confessions]

“The Hesse sisters were all so awesome! Victoria's intelligence was just amazing. Ella's kind and innocent nature was word-less. Irene's shyness and Alix's courage and dedication...Rest in peace, we love you forever.” - Submitted by romanovfairies

[princessvictoriamelita]

Hessian Princesses, c. 1868.

Victoria, Elisabeth and Irene, granddaughters of Queen Victoria.

[royallookbook]

Listen, I know that a lot of Queen Victoria’s Grandchildren married each other, however the fact that her Granddaughters look so much alike and then married their cousins is unnerving.

Top to Bottom: Princesses Margaret, Sophia, Victoria, and Charlotte of Prussia

Left to Right: Princesses Irene, Victoria, Elisabeth, and Alix of Hesse

Above are the Daughters of Victoria, Princess Royal

Below are the Daughters of Princess Alice of the United Kingdom

[februaryfrost]

Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine (1863-1950) was the daughter of Princess Alice of the United Kingdom and Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine. She was married to her cousin Prince Louis of Battenberg and through her eldest daughter, Alice, she was the grandmother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

Photograph by Alexander Bassano circa 1878.

Colorized in Procreate.

[the-perdita]

Princess Charlotte of Wales and Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine (later Victoria Mountbatten, Marchioness of Milford Haven). Charlotte was the cousin of Queen Victoria, Princess Victoria's grandmother, therefore making the two first cousins, twice removed.

[empress-alexandra]

Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, later Princess Louis of Battenberg, Marchioness of Milford Haven, 1882.

[theimperialcourt]

The children of Prince Louis of Battenberg (later Louis Alexander Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven) and Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine.

L-R: Lord Louis Mountbatten (later Earl Mountbatten of Burma), Lord George Mountbatten (2nd Marquess of Milford Haven), Queen Louise of Sweden and Princess Alice of Greece & Denmark (Prince Philip’s mother).

[a-doll-like-you]

Victoria of Hesse : mother to Alice, Louise, George and Louis, grandmother to Prince Philip 

[thehessiansisters]

Portrait of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia, 1894.

[thepompandcircumstance]

Hesse family, 1876.

[europesroyalsweddings]

✵ April 19, 1894 ✵

Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg & Gotha & Prince Ernest, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine

[royal-confessions]

“Prince Louis of Battenberg telling the talkative Victoria "My dear child, will you kindly SHUT UP?" is hilarious. The fact that he calls her a child before saying that melts my heart.” - Submitted by Anonymous

[princessvictoriamelita]

Tsarevich Nicholas and his fiancée, Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine with Alix's siblings and sister-in-law. (22 April 1894).

Tsarevich Nicholas wrote in his diary:

"...All russian gentlemen brought flower bouquets to my bride. It is cold. I said goodbye to the Queen and Uncle Bertie. At 4 1/2 o'clock Victoria Melita, Ernest Louis, Aunt Ella and Uncle Sergei, Irene, Alix and I drove to Darmstadt. There, we were given a solemn reception. We drove in the special train for exactly 5 hours."

After visiting the Rosenhöhe, the burial place of Alix's parents and siblings, the engaged couple drove back to Darmstadt via the old Kranichstein hunting lodge and then traveled to Coburg.

Source: Coburg- eine Weltminute by Gertraude Bachmann.

[thefreelancehistorywriter]

Book Review: "An Unbroken Unity: A Memoir of Grand-Duchess Serge of Russia - 1864-1918" by E.M. Almedingen

Book Review: “An Unbroken Unity: A Memoir of Grand-Duchess Serge of Russia – 1864-1918” by E.M. Almedingen

Every now and then, it’s possible to find a book that inspires and moves you and this book did that for me. While reading a biography of Princess Alice, mother of HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the author mentions her aunt, Grand-Duchess Elizabeth as having a profound influence on Alice with her foundation of a convent and nursing and feeding the poor. The author highly recommended Ms.…

[februaryfrost]

Princess Alice of the United Kingdom on the day of her wedding, 1 July 1862. She would marry Prince Louis of Hesse and by Rhine. As her father had died less then a year prior, before and after the wedding ceremony Alice was required the traditional black clothes of mourning. In a letter to her oldest daughter, Victoria, Queen Victoria wrote that the ceremony was "more of a funeral than a wedding".

Through her eldest daughter Victoria, Alice is the great grandmother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Colorized using iPad Pro and Procreate. My first completed art that I colorized using an iPad.

[germanaustriannoblesandroyals]

House of Coburg & of Hesse: Princess Alice of Great Britain & Ireland

Alice was born as the third child and second daughter to Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert. Nearly all of her siblings either married into German houses or married women from German houses, the only exceptions were King Edward VII and Princess Louise. During her childhood, she bonded closely with her older siblings Victoria and Albert (Edward VII) and was not pleased when Vicky married and left the British court.

From an early age Alice displayed a caring nature. At only eleven years old, she visited the wounded soldiers of the Crimean War along side her mother and older sister. Later she would go on to take care of her maternal grandmother and then father when they were dying. She was also the one who informed her brother Edward of their father’s death because the queen refused to do so since she blamed Edward for Albert’s death. In the following months, the monarchy basically rested on Alice’ shoulders. Her mother secluded herself and Alice became her personally secretary and physical embodiment of the monarchy.

When it became time to marry, Alice’ mother told Victoria to look for a suitable husband for her sister. She only found two: The Prince of Orange and Prince Albrecht (Albert) of Prussia. The first was not interested in Alice and the second did not deem himself worthy of Alice. Victoria’s last suggestion for a future brother-in-law was Louis of Hesse, The Grand Duke of Hesse’s nephew. Louis and his brother visited Windsor and at the end of their visit it was clear that Alice and Louis had found a connection.

The couple became engaged on April 30th, 1861. Their wedding however was a small ceremony since Prince Albert had died less than half a year earlier and the court was still in mourning. On July 12th, 1862, Louis and Alice arrived in Bingen and were received by a cheering crowd despite the pouring rain. The couple lived rather modestly in Darmstadt’s old quarter since the Grand Duke was unwilling and/or uncapable to built a new residence befitting his niece-in-law’s status from the low Hessian funds. But Alice did not seem to mind and spent as much of her time as possible in Hesse and even took art lessons from the court painter.

Louise and Alice would welcome seven children in the following twelve years; two sons and five daughters. Their daughters Alix and Elisabeth married into the Russian royal family, with Alix becoming Empress of All the Russias as Alexandra Feodorovna. The oldest daughter Victoria married Louis of Battenberg and was later created Marchioness of Milford Haven. Irene married her first cousin Prince Henry of Prussia, a son of Alice’ sister Victoria, and Ernest, the Hessian heir, married his first cousin Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a daughter of Alice’ younger brother Alfred. Unfortunately the youngest son died after falling out of a windows when due to being a haemophiliac his internal bleedings would not stop.

Later in life, her caring nature would lead her to reform the social conditions in Darmstadt during her time as Grand Duchess. She championed public health reforms and introduced more hygenic practices for women who had just given birth. However, she felt overwhelmed and exhausted by her new duties as first lady. She tried to distract herself as often as possible with art and painting.

But Alice’ life would not be a long one. In November 1878, the Hessian children began suffering from diphtheria, except for Elisabeth who was visiting her paternal grandmother at the time. Alice’ caring nature would be her death sentence. She nursed her children back to health with the exception of her youngest daughter Marie who did not survive diphtheria. Unfortunately Alice got infected as well, probably from a kiss she gave her son to comfort him when she told him about Marie’s death.

Alice died on December 14th, 1878, at only 35 years old and she was buried only four days later in Darmstadt with a Union Jack draped over her coffin. She was the first of Queen Victoria’s children to die and was remembered fondly by her family. Her brother Albert, better known as Edward VII, even described her as his favourite sister. Alice is the great-grandmother of the current Duke of Edinburgh

// Katharina Rivilis in Vom Reich zur Republik - Episodes 01 & 02