Prince Francis Joseph of Battenberg
| Prince Francis Joseph of Battenberg | |
|---|---|
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| Born |
24 September 1861 Padua, Kingdom of Italy |
| Died | 31 July 1924 (aged 62) (near Montreux), Switzerland |
| Spouse | Princess Anna of Montenegro (m. 1897) |
| House | Battenberg |
| Father | Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine |
| Mother | Countess Julia Hauke |
Prince Francis Joseph of Battenberg, also known as Prince Franz Joseph of Battenberg, GCVO, KCB, (24 September 1861 – 31 July 1924), was the youngest son of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine and Countess Julia von Hauke.
At one time, he was considered for the throne of Bulgaria, which eventually went to his brother Alexander. Francis Joseph nevertheless followed his brother to Bulgaria, where he served as a colonel in the Bulgarian cavalry. In 1891 he published an academic study on Bulgarian economic history, which he dedicated to his brother.
At a family reunion in London in 1894 Franz Joseph met Consuelo Vanderbilt, the daughter of an extremely wealthy American railway tycoon William Kissam Vanderbilt. He made a marriage proposal to Consuelo, but she disliked him and turned him down.
In 1897 he married Princess Ana Petrović-Njegoš of Montenegro (1874–1971), daughter of Nicholas I of Montenegro. They had no children.
He was made an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (Civil Division) by Queen Victoria on 6 February 1896 and a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order on 26 April 1897.
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Wikipedia