Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine (1823–1888)
| Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine | |
|---|---|
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| Born |
15 July 1823 Darmstadt, Hesse |
| Died | 15 December 1888 (aged 65) Jugenheim, Hesse |
| Burial | Rosenhohe, Darmstadt |
| Spouse | Countess Julia Hauke |
| Issue |
Marie, Princess of Erbach-Schönberg Louis Mountbatten, Marquess of Milford Haven Alexander, Prince of Bulgaria Prince Henry Prince Francis Joseph |
| House | Hesse-Darmstadt |
| Father | Grand Duke Louis II of Hesse |
| Mother | Wilhelmine of Baden |
Prince Alexander Ludwig Georg Friedrich Emil 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.
Though Alexander is best known for the scandal caused by his marriage, his parentage also was the subject of scandal, as it was openly rumoured that his and his sister Marie's father was actually August Ludwig, Freiherr von Senarclens de Grancy, their mother's chamberlain. His mother, although consort of the grand duke, lived apart from her husband, who eventually divorced her but did not repudiate paternity of any of the four children born during the marriage. Thus, when the future emperor Alexander II of Russia, as tsarevich, chose the sixteen-year-old Marie as consort, his parents consented to the match. Because of her youth, Alexander escorted his sister to Russia for her wedding, remaining at the Russian court and joining the inner circle of his brother-in-law the tsarevich after Marie's entourage returned to Hesse.
This promising career was cut short by a scandal, as Alexander fell in love with Countess Julia Hauke, lady-in-waiting to his sister (known, since her conversion to Orthodoxy, as Maria Alexandrovna, ranking only after her mother-in-law the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna). The countess was an orphaned German-Polish ward of the Russian Emperor, and daughter of the Emperor's former minister of war. At that time, the Emperor Nicholas I was considering Alexander as a possible husband for his niece and, when he heard of Alexander's romance, he forbade the couple to marry.
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