Battenberg family

The Battenberg family was a cadet branch of the House of Hesse-Darmstadt, rulers of the Grand Duchy of Hesse in Germany. The first member was Julia von Hauke whose brother-in-law, Grand Duke Louis III of Hesse, created her Countess of Battenberg at her morganatic marriage to his brother, Prince Alexander of Hesse, in 1851 and Princess of Battenberg in 1858. The name Battenberg was last used by her youngest son, Prince Francis Joseph of Battenberg, who died childless in 1924. Most members of the family, residing in the United Kingdom, had renounced their German titles in 1917, due to rising anti-German sentiment among the British public during World War I, and changed their name to Mountbatten, an anglicised version of Battenberg.

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 his biological father was actually Baron Augustus de Senarclens, his mother's chamberlain. His spouse, Julia von Hauke (1825–1895), was a mere countess – the orphaned daughter of John Maurice von Hauke who had been a general in the Russian army and then Deputy Minister of War of Congress Poland – and therefore of insufficient rank for her children to qualify for the succession to the throne of Hesse. For this reason, her brother-in-law Grand Duke Louis III created the title Countess of Battenberg ( _de. Gräfin von Battenberg) for her and for the couple's future descendants. (A previous family of counts of Battenberg had become extinct in the 14th century.) 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.

The children of this union bore the title of Prince ( _de. Prinz) or Princess ( _de. Prinzessin) and the style Serene Highness ( _de. Durchlaucht). Battenberg thus became the name of a morganatic cadet branch of the Grand Ducal family of Hesse, without right of succession.

Members

* Julia, Princess of Battenberg (1825–1895)
** 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 to become Marquess of Milford Haven — married Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, daughter of Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and 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 to become Lady Louise Mountbatten (later Queen of Sweden)
*** Prince George of Battenberg (1892–1938), renounced his title in 1917 to become Earl of Medina (later Marquess of Milford Haven)
*** Prince Louis of Battenberg (1900–1979), renounced his title in 1917 to become Lord Louis Mountbatten (later Earl Mountbatten of Burma)
** Prince Alexander of Battenberg (1857–1893), became Prince of Bulgaria in 1879 (later Count Hartenau)
*** Asen of Hartenau (1890–1965)
*** Tsvetana of Hartenau (1893–1935)
** Prince Henry of Battenberg (1858–1896) — married Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom, daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert
*** Prince Alexander of Battenberg (1886–1960), renounced his title in 1917 to become Marquess of Carisbrooke
*** Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg (1887–1969), married the King of Spain in 1906
*** Prince Leopold of Battenberg (1889–1922), renounced his title in 1917 to become Lord Leopold Mountbatten
*** Prince Maurice of Battenberg (1891–1914)
** Prince Francis Joseph of Battenberg (1861–1924)

Relations to royal families

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

Another son, Prince Henry of Battenberg, married The 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 World War I, he anglicised his name to Mountbatten, as did his children and nephews, the sons of Prince Henry and Princess Beatrice. They renounced all German titles and were granted peerages by their cousin, King George V: Prince Louis became the 1st Marquess of Milford Haven, while Prince Alexander, Prince Henry's eldest son, became the 1st Marquess of Carisbrooke.

Prince Louis's youngest son Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma served as the last Viceroy of India and his nephew Prince Philippos of Greece and Denmark married the heiress presumptive of the British throne, later Elizabeth II, after having renounced his Greek titles and taken his grandfather's and uncle's surname, Mountbatten, which his mother had never borne. 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.