Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt

Prince George Louis of Hessen-Darmstadt
Source: Stadtarchiv Darmstadt)
Born	1669 Darmstadt, Hesse, Holy Roman Empire
Died	13 September 1705(1705-09-13) (aged 36) Barcelona, Spain
Allegiance	Austria, England

Prince George Louis of Hessen-Darmstadt (1669 – 13 September 1705) was a Field Marshal in the Austrian army. He is known for his career in Habsburg Spain, as Viceroy of Catalonia (1698–1701), head of the Austrian army in the War of Spanish Succession (1701–1705) and governor of Gibraltar in 1704. He was known in Spanish as Jorge de Darmstadt and in Catalan as Jordi Darmstadt.

Born in Darmstadt, Hessen, Germany in 1669, George Louis of Hesse-Darmstadt was the third son of Louis VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt. After the early death of his father, he was raised by his mother Elisabeth Dorothea of Sachsen-Gotha. In 1686 he undertook a "Grand Tour" through France and Switzerland.

As youngest son, he had little chance of becoming Landgrave, and therefore he was destined for a military career.

First he fought against the Turks under Prince Eugene of Savoy. He was present at the Battle of Mohacs. Then he joined William III of Orange in the Irish campaign. After his return he converted to Catholicism and became Generalfeldwachtmeister (equivalent to major-general) in the Austrian Army in 1692, at the age of 23.

Then he fought against the French in the Nine Years' War. In 1695 he was sent by the Emperor to Spain at the head of an army-unit of 2,000 German soldiers to help defend Catalonia against superior French army and navy forces.