Battenberg family

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Battenberg
Arms of Battenberg-Mountbatten.svg
Battenberg arms
Arms of Bulgaria 1880-1887.svg
Arms of Alexander of Battenberg, who ruled the Principality of Bulgaria from 1879 to 1886
Parent houseHesse-Darmstadt branch
of the House of Hesse
Place of originGrand Duchy of Hesse
MembersPrincess Julia of Battenberg, Princess Marie of Battenberg, Prince Louis of Battenberg
Connected membersPrincess Alice of Battenberg, Princess Louise of Battenberg, Prince George of Battenberg
Cadet branchesMountbatten family

The Battenberg family was formerly a morganatic branch of the House of Hesse-Darmstadt, rulers of the Grand Duchy of Hesse in Germany. The first member was Julia Hauke, whose brother-in-law Grand Duke Louis III of Hesse created her in 1851 Countess of Battenberg, with the style Illustrious Highness (H. Ill.H.), at the time of her morganatic marriage to Grand Duke Louis's brother Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine. The name Battenberg refers to the town of Battenberg in Hesse. In 1858, Prince Alexander elevated the Countess's title to Princess of Battenberg, with the style of Serene Highness (HSH).

The name of Battenberg was last used by Prince Francis Joseph of Battenberg, youngest son of the Princess of Battenberg, who died childless in 1924. In 1917 most members of the family had been residing in the British Empire and had renounced their Hessian titles, due to rising anti-German sentiment among the British during the First World War. They changed the name to Mountbatten, an anglicised version of Battenberg. However, Juan, Count of Barcelona, a son of Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, Queen of Spain, bore the surname of Borbón y Battenberg until his death in 1993.

Creation[]

Prince Alexander (1823–1888) was the third son of Grand Duke Louis II of Hesse and by Rhine and of Wilhelmina of Baden, yet it was openly rumoured that his biological father was actually Baron Augustus de Senarclens, his mother's chamberlain.[1] His spouse, Julia von Hauke (1825–1895), was a mere Countess, the orphaned daughter of Count von Hauke, a Polish nobleman of German ancestry who had served as a General in the Imperial Russian Army and then as Deputy Minister of War of Congress Poland. Hauke's rank was too low for his daughter's children to qualify for the succession to the throne of the Grand Duchy of Hesse. For this reason, her new brother-in-law Louis III of Hesse created the title of Countess of Battenberg (German: Gräfin von Battenberg) for her and for the couple's descendants. In 1858, the title, which referred to the town of Battenberg, Hesse, was elevated to princely status. There was never a corresponding Principality of Battenberg; the title was a non-sovereign one in the nobility of the Grand Duchy of Hesse. A previous family of counts of Battenberg had become extinct in the 14th century.[2]

After 1858, the children of this union bore the title of Prince (German: Prinz) or Princess (German: Prinzessin) and the style Serene Highness (German: Durchlaucht).[3] Battenberg thus became the name of a morganatic cadet branch of the Grand Ducal family of Hesse, without the right of succession.[4]

Members[]

  • Julia, Princess of Battenberg (1825–1895), married Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine, third son of Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse, and Wilhelmina of Baden
    • Princess Marie of Battenberg (1852–1923), married the Prince of Erbach-Schönberg in 1871
    • Prince Louis of Battenberg (1854–1921), renounced his title in 1917 and was created Marquess of Milford Haven — he married his first cousin once removed Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, daughter of Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse, and Princess Alice of the United Kingdom
      • Princess Alice of Battenberg (1885–1969), married Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark in 1903
      • Princess Louise of Battenberg (1889–1965), renounced her title in 1917 and became Lady Louise Mountbatten, she married the future Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden in 1923
      • Prince George of Battenberg (1892–1938), renounced his title in 1917 and took on his father's junior title of Earl of Medina, later becoming second Marquess of Milford Haven
      • Prince Louis of Battenberg (1900–1979), renounced his title in 1917 and became Lord Louis Mountbatten (later created Earl Mountbatten of Burma)
    • Prince Alexander of Battenberg (1857–1893), in 1879 was elected as the ruling Prince of Bulgaria, later Count of Hartenau after his abdication.
      • Asen of Hartenau (1890–1965)
      • Tsvetana of Hartenau (1893–1935)
    • Prince Henry of Battenberg (1858–1896) — married Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom, a younger daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert
      • Prince Alexander of Battenberg (1886–1960), renounced his title in 1917 and was created Marquess of Carisbrooke
      • Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg (1887–1969), married Alfonso XIII of Spain in 1906
      • Prince Leopold of Battenberg (1889–1922), renounced his title in 1917 and became Lord Leopold Mountbatten
      • Prince Maurice of Battenberg (1891–1914)
    • Prince Francis Joseph of Battenberg (1861–1924), married Princess Anna of Montenegro

Relations to royal families[]

One of the original couple's sons, Prince Alexander of Battenberg, was made Sovereign Prince of Bulgaria; he was later forced to abdicate.

Another son, Prince Henry of Battenberg, married Princess Beatrice, the youngest daughter of Queen Victoria; their daughter, Victoria Eugenia Julia Ena, became queen consort of Spain. Her uncle Edward VII elevated her style to Royal Highness, so that she would have the necessary status to marry into the Spanish royal house.

Alexander and Julia's eldest son, Prince Louis of Battenberg, became the First Sea Lord of the Royal Navy. Due to anti-German feelings prevalent in Britain during the First World War, he anglicised his name to Mountbatten, as did his children and nephews, the sons of Prince Henry and Princess Beatrice.

One of the couple's four sons and one of their grandsons renounced their Hessian titles and were granted peerages by their cousin, George V: Prince Louis became the first Marquess of Milford Haven, while Prince Alexander, Prince Henry's eldest son, was created Marquess of Carisbrooke.

Prince Louis's second daughter, Princess Louise of Battenberg, in 1923 married the future Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden and in 1950 became Queen Consort of Sweden. His younger son, Louis, became the last Viceroy of India. His elder daughter, Princess Alice of Battenberg, married Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark; their son, Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark (later styled as Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh), married the heir presumptive of the British throne, later Elizabeth II, after having renounced his Greek titles and taken his maternal grandfather's and uncle's surname, Mountbatten. The name Battenberg, in its anglicised form, is now a part of the personal surname, Mountbatten-Windsor, of some members of the British Royal Family.

In 1897, Prince Francis Joseph of Battenberg married Princess Anna of Montenegro,[5] a sister of Queen Elena of Italy and a maternal aunt of Alexander I of Yugoslavia.

Coats of arms[]

Besides those depicted above;

  • Coat of arms of Queen Louise of Sweden

  • Coat of Arms of Prince Louis, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven

  • Coat of Arms of Prince Henry of Battenberg

  • Coat of Arms of Princes Alexander, Leopold and Maurice of Battenberg (Before 1917)

  • Coat of Arms of Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg (Before 1906)

  • Coat of Arms of Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg (After 1906)

  • Coat of Arms of Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg as Queen Consort of Spain

  • Arms of Prince Louis, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven and Prince Henry of Battenberg

  • Arms of Princes Alexander, Leopold and Maurice of Battenberg (Before 1917)

  • Arms of Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg ( Before 1906)

  • Arms of Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg (1906) before marriage to King Alfonso XIII of Spain

Family tree[]

Genealogical Table of the Battenberg, Mountbatten and Mountbatten-Windsor Family


Battenberg/
Mountbatten		House of Hesse-DarmstadtHouse of Windsor(UK)House of Romanov(Russia)Greek Royal FamilySwedish Royal FamilySpanish Royal Family
T08 Grossherzog.svg Louis II
(1777–1848)
Grand Duke of Hesse and by the Rhine,1830

Arms of the Grand Duchy of Hesse 1806-1918.svg
Crown of Saint Edward (Heraldry).svg Queen Victoria

Arms of the United Kingdom.svg		Albert, Prince Consort

Arms of Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.svg		 Prince Charles of Hesse and by the Rhine
(1809–1877)		T08 Grossherzog.svg Louis III
(1806–1877)
Grand Duke of Hesse and by the Rhine,1848		 Prince Alexander of Hesse and by the Rhine
(1823–1888)		Julia v. Hauke Mainz Arms.svg[a]
(1825–1895)
Countess, later Princess of Battenberg

BattenbergArms.svg		Marie
(1824–1880)
Empress Maria Alexandrovna		Heraldic Imperial Crown of Russia.svg Emperor Alexander II of Russia
(1818–1881)
Crown of Saint Edward (Heraldry).svg Edward VII

Arms of the United Kingdom.svg		Princess Alice
(1843–1878)
Arms of Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse.svg		T08 Grossherzog.svg Louis IV
(1837–1892)
Grand Duke of Hesse and by the Rhine,1877		Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom
(1857–1944)

Arms of Beatrice, Princess Henry of Battenberg.svg		Prince Henry of Battenberg
(1858–1896)

Arms of Battenberg-Mountbatten.svg		T08 Grossherzog.svg Prince Alexander of Battenberg
(1857–1893)
Prince of Bulgaria
(1879–1886)
Arms of Bulgaria 1880-1887.svg		Prince Francis Joseph of Battenberg
(1861–1924)		Heraldic Imperial Crown of Russia.svg Emperor Alexander III of Russia
(1845–1894)		Crown of the Kingdom of Greece.svg King George I of Greece,1863
(1845–1913)
Royal Arms of Greece (1863-1936).svg
Crown of Saint Edward (Heraldry).svg George V

Arms of the United Kingdom.svg		T08 Grossherzog.svg Ernest Louis
(1868–1937)
Grand Duke of Hesse and by the Rhine,1892 – abd 1918		Alix
(1872–1918)
Empress Alexandra of Russia		Heraldic Imperial Crown of Russia.svg Emperor Nicholas II of Russia
(1868–1918)		Victoria
(1863–1950)		Prince Louis of Battenberg[b]

Arms of Battenberg-Mountbatten.svg
(1854–1921)
from 1917 Louis Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven		Alexander
(1886–1960)
Arms of Alexander Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Carisbrooke.svg
from 1917 Alexander Mountbatten, Marquess of Carisbrooke		Leopold
(1889–1922)
from 1917 Lord Leopold Mountbatten		Prince Maurice of Battenberg
(1891–1914)		Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg
(1887–1969)

Arms of Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg (1906).svg

Queen of Spain,1906 –1931		Heraldic Royal Crown of Spain.svg King Alfonso XIII of Spain
(1886–1941)
dep 1931		Crown of the Kingdom of Greece.svg King Constantine I of Greece,1913-17 & 1920-22
(1868–1923)
Crown of Saint Edward (Heraldry).svg George VI

Arms of the United Kingdom.svg		Georg Donatus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse
(1906–1937)		Louis, Prince of Hesse and by Rhine
(1908–1968)		Princess Alice of Battenberg
(1885–1969)
Coat of Arms of Princess Alice of Battenberg (Order of Queen Maria Luisa).svg		Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark
(1882–1944)
Arms of a Prince of Greece.svg		Royal crown of the King of Sweden.svg Louise Mountbatten
(1889–1965)
Queen of Sweden
Greater coat of arms of Queen Louise (Sweden).svg		Royal crown of the King of Sweden.svg King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden
(1882–1973)
King, 1950
Great coat of arms of Sweden (shield and chain).svg		George
(1892–1938)
Earl Mountbatten of Burma-CoA-Shield.svg
2nd Marquess of Milford Haven		Lord Louis Mountbatten[c]
(1900–1979)
Earl Mountbatten of Burma-CoA-Shield.svg
1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma		Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona
(1913–1993)		Crown of the Kingdom of Greece.svg King Paul of Greece,1947
(1901– 1964)
Crown of Saint Edward (Heraldry).svg Elizabeth II

Arms of the United Kingdom.svg		Philip[d]
(1921–2021)
Duke of Edinburgh
Arms of Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.svg		Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten
(1906–1947)		David Mountbatten
(1919–1970)
3rd Marquess of Milford Haven		Lady Pamela Hicks
(1929		Patricia Knatchbull
(1924–2017)
2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma
m. John Knatchbull, 7th Baron Brabourne		Heraldic Royal Crown of Spain.svg King Juan Carlos I of Spain
(1938–)
King of Spain,1975-2014		Crown of the Kingdom of Greece.svg Queen Sophia
(1938)		Crown of the Kingdom of Greece.svg King Constantine II of Greece,1964–73 & 1920-22
(1940)
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales
(1948–)

Arms of Charles, Prince of Wales.svg		Anne, Princess Royal
(1950–)

Arms of Anne, the Princess Royal.svg		Prince Andrew, Duke of York
(1960–)

Arms of Andrew, Duke of York.svg		Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex
(1964–)

Arms of Edward, Earl of Wessex.svg		Royal crown of the King of Sweden.svg King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden
(1946–)
King, 1973		George Mountbatten
(1961–)
4th Marquess of Milford Haven		Lord Ivar Mountbatten
(1963–)		Norton Knatchbull
(1947–)
3rd Earl Mountbatten of Burma
Lord Mountbatten of Burma-CoA-Knatchbull-Shield.svg		6 othersHeraldic Royal Crown of Spain.svg Felipe VI
(1968–)
King of Spain,2014		Crown Prince Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece
(1967)

Notes[]

  1. ^ This coat of arms is reported in the "Heraldry of the Royal Families of Europe", by Jiri Louda and Michael Maclagan, Clarkson N. Potter, Inc. Publishers, New York, 1981, p216, table 109. While these arms are virtually the same as the city of Mainz, it is a common heraldic law that identical arms are allowed when the bearers are of different nations, but within a nation they are not (see for England, Warbelton v Gorges and Scrope v Grosvenor). However, Wikipedia reports a different set of arms for the family at the article on Hauke-Bosak (Hauke Counts.jpg. However, these arms are for the family in Russia, and the reference given is an expired page in the Polish Wikipedia. There is no reference for the family seen in the Rietstap Armorial General.
  2. ^ Admiral of the Fleet, RN
    GCB, GCVO, KCMG, PC
    First Sea Lord, RN (1912–14)
  3. ^ Admiral of the Fleet, RN
    KG GCB OM GCSI GCIE GCVO DSO PC FRS
    Chief of Combined Operations, Chiefs of Staff Committee (UK) and Combined Chiefs of Staff (US & UK) (1941–1943)
    Supreme Allied Commander,  South East Asia Command(1943–1946)
    Viceroy and Governor-General of India(1947)
    Governor-General of India(1947-48)
    Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet, RN (1952–1954)
    Fourth Sea Lord, RN (1950–1952)
    First Sea Lord, RN (1955-59)
    Chief of the Defence Staff (United Kingdom) (1959–1965)
  4. ^ Prince Philip was born a member of the Danish and Greek Royal House of Glucksborg and was known as Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark.
    On his marriage he became a naturalized British subject, disclaimed his Greek and Danish titles, and adopted his mother's maiden name of Mountbatten as his surname. As documented in the Mountbatten family and Mountbatten-Windsor articles, the dynastic name of the British Royal Family remains Windsor. However, the personal surname of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip's descendants is Mountbatten-Windsor (e.g. Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, James Mountbatten-Windsor, Viscount Severn and Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor).
    Philip was created Duke of Edinburgh on his marriage. In 1957, Queen Elizabeth created him a British Prince.

References[]

  1. ^ Hugo Vickers, Alice: Princess Andrew of Greece (2000), p. 8
  2. ^ Norman Davies, Europe: A History (1997), p. 809
  3. ^ Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd, Burke's Royal Families of the World, Vol. 1 (1977), p. 213
  4. ^ Hugo Young, Political Lives (2001), p. 531
  5. ^ The Annual Register (1898), p. 27

External links[]

Battenberg family
House of Battenberg
Cadet branch of the House of Hesse-Darmstadt
Preceded by
House of Shishman 		Ruling House of Bulgaria
1879–1886 		Succeeded by
House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Retrieved from ""