Ernst Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine
| Ernest Louis | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine | |
| Reign | 13 March 1892 – 9 November 1918 |
| Predecessor | Louis IV |
| Born |
25 November 1868 , Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse |
| Died | 9 October 1937 (aged 68) Schloss Wolfsgarten, Langen, Hesse, Germany |
| Burial | Rosenhohe, Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany |
| Spouse |
Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (m. 1894–1901; divorced) Princess Eleonore of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich (m. 1905–1937; his death) |
| Issue |
Princess Elisabeth Georg Donatus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine Louis, Prince of Hesse and by Rhine |
| House | Hesse-Darmstadt |
| Father | Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine |
| Mother | Princess Alice of the United Kingdom |
Ernest Louis Charles Albert William (German: Ernst Ludwig Karl Albrecht Wilhelm; 25 November 1868 – 9 October 1937) was the last Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine from 1892 until 1918. His nickname was "Ernie".
Ernest Louis was the elder son of Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine and his wife Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. He was named Louis after his father. One of seven siblings, two of who died in childhood, Ernest grew up with his four surviving sisters in Darmstadt. One of his younger sisters, Alexandra, would marry Tsar Nicholas II, the last Emperor of Russia, while another sister, Victoria Mountbatten, would be the mother of Queen Louise of Sweden and grandmother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
Ernest Louis grew up in a loving household, with parents who demonstrated their affection for their children, something not typical for that social strata in those days. He grew much attached to his parents and siblings, and it was his misfortune that he was fated to witness several deaths among them during his childhood. When he was five, his only brother Prince Friedrich died. The two boys had been playing a game when the younger boy, who suffered from haemophilia, fell through a window onto the balcony twenty feet below. Ernest Louis was inconsolable. "When I die, you must die too, and all the others. Why can't we all die together? I don't want to die alone, like Frittie," he told his nurse. To his mother he said, "I dreamt that I was dead and was gone up to Heaven, and there I asked God to let me have Frittie again and he came to me and took my hand."
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