The First Royal Battenbergs from Hesse
The Morganatic Marriage of Prince Alexander of Hesse and Julie Hauke
Sep 17, 2009
The German royal family of Battenberg was the result of a morganatic and controversial marriage in the Hesse royal family, but the charm and good looks of the Battenbergs helped them return to the royal courts of Europe and make good royal matches for their children. Prince Alexander of Hesse and Countess Julie Hauke, the first Battenberg, may have been a lesser royal couple, but they found their way back into royal society and their children ensured the Battenberg family an important place in European royal history.
The Morganatic Marriage of Prince Alexander of Hesse and Countess Julie Hauke
When Princess Marie of Hesse married Tsarevich Alexander of Russia in 1841, her brother Prince Alexander of Hesse was invited to come live in Russia to keep his young sister from being too homesick in her new country. Prince Alexander was soon made a captain of the Russian Chevaliers Gardes and enjoyed his life in Russia.
However, trouble struck when he fell in love with one of his sister’s ladies-in-waiting. The Countess Julie Hauke was of a recently elevated Polish family, and as such was not a suitable dynastic match for a prince of the German Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine and was certainly not good enough to be the sister-in-law of the future Tsarina of Russia.
But Prince Alexander of Hesse and Julie Hauke were determined to marry. It was said that Countess Julie Hauke had a masculine mind, probably meaning stubborn and shrewd, and these qualities served her well in the trials she would soon face. The two eloped in Breslau in 1851, and for this morganatic marriage the two were banished from Russia and ostracized from royal courts throughout Europe.
The Married Life of Prince Alexander and Princess Julie of Battenberg
Prince Alexander and his new wife Julie moved to Italy, where they raised their five children. Alexander was offered a position in the Austrian army, a command he held for ten years. This couple was gradually forgiven their dynastically inappropriate union, however, and this small royal family eventually made their way back into the company of European royalty.
Prince Alexander’s brother, Grand Duke Louis III of Hesse and by Rhine, was the first to relent. The five children from this morganatic union could not be Hesse royalty, so Louis III gave their mother the title of Countess of Battenberg in 1858, and Julie later became Princess of Battenberg and a serene highness. Thus, the children from this morganatic marriage were known as Princes of Battenberg and were lesser royalty. They were later even allowed back into Russia once Prince Alexander’s brother-in-law became Tsar Alexander II.
The Children of Prince Alexander of Hesse and Princess Julie of Battenberg
Prince Alexander and Princess Julie of Battenberg are mostly remembered today because of their five children, most of whom would make a big impact on European royalty. Although not of an important royal family, these handsome, intelligent, well-connected children made important marriages that drastically impacted European royal history. Today, the royal families of Great Britain and Spain are descended from the Battenbergs.
When Prince Alexander of Hesse married Countess Julie Hauke, they could not have known the impact their union would have on European royal families and history in general. When Julie was eventually made Princess of Battenberg, they were able to rejoin royal society, making their children eligible for respectable royal marriages. Through charm and determination, the Battenbergs were able to rise in royal circles and eventually became one of the most important royal families in Europe.
Source:
Packard, Jerrold M. Victoria’s Daughters. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 199
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