Alexander Frederick, Landgrave of Hesse

Prussian prince

Head of the House of Hesse

Tenure

14 October 1888 – 16 March 1925

Predecessor

Frederick William III

Successor

Frederick Charles

Born

(1863-01-25)25 January 1863
Copenhagen, Denmark

Died

26 March 1945(1945-03-26) (aged 82)
Fronhausen-an-der-Lahn, Nazi Germany

Spouse

Gisela Stockhorner von Starein

Names
Alexander Friedrich Wilhelm Albrecht Georg

House

Hesse

Father

Frederick William, Landgrave of Hesse

Mother

Princess Anna of Prussia

Alexander Frederick, Landgrave of Hesse (German: Alexander Friedrich Wilhelm Albrecht Georg Landgraf von Hessen, 25 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was a German prince of the House of Hesse.

Biography

He was the son of Prince Frederick William of Hesse-Kassel and Princess Anna of Prussia. From 1888 to 1925 he was Head of the electoral line of the House of Hesse, but abdicated his position to his brother Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse, on 16 March 1925. He was born with a visual impairment, and this disability, in addition to his morganatic marriage, played a part in his decision to abdicate.

On 25 March 1925, he married morganatically Baroness Gisela Stockhorner von Starheim (b. 17 January 1884, d. 22 June 1965), daughter of Otto, Baron Stockhorner von Starheim and Baroness Emilie Susanne Hildegard von Wolzogen-Neuhaus.^[1]^[2] She was court lady of Grand Duchess Hilda of Baden.^[1]

Honours

He received the following orders and decorations:^[3]

Grand Duchy of Hesse:^[4]
- Knight of the Golden Lion, 3 August 1880
- Grand Cross of the Ludwig Order, 6 January 1882
Baden:^[5]
- Knight of the House Order of Fidelity, 1890
- Knight of the Order of Berthold the First, 1890
Kingdom of Bavaria: Knight of St. Hubert, 1892^[6]
Ernestine duchies: Grand Cross of the Saxe-Ernestine House Order
Oldenburg: Grand Cross of the Order of Duke Peter Friedrich Ludwig, with Golden Crown
Kingdom of Prussia:
- Knight of the Black Eagle, 24 December 1892; with Collar, 17 January 1893^[7]
- Grand Cross of the Red Eagle
- Knight of Honour of the Johanniter Order
Württemberg: Grand Cross of the Württemberg Crown, 1891^[8]
Duchy of Anhalt: Grand Cross of the Order of Albert the Bear, 1884^[9]
Denmark:^[10]
- Knight of the Elephant, 29 October 1884
- Cross of Honour of the Order of the Dannebrog, 24 October 1909
Kingdom of Greece: Grand Cross of the Redeemer
Ottoman Empire: Order of Osmanieh, 1st Class
United Kingdom: Honorary Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, 10 June 1907^[11]
Mecklenburg: Grand Cross of the Wendish Crown, with Crown in Ore, 10 August 1912^[12]

Ancestors

Ancestors of Alexander Frederick, Landgrave of Hesse

16. Frederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel

8. Prince Frederick of Hesse-Kassel

17. Princess Mary of Great Britain

4. Prince William of Hesse-Kassel

18. Charles William, Prince of Nassau-Usingen

9. Princess Caroline of Nassau-Usingen

19. Countess Caroline Felizitas of Leiningen-Dagsburg

2. Prince Frederick William of Hesse-Kassel

20. Frederick V of Denmark

10. Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Denmark and Norway

21. Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel

5. Princess Louise Charlotte of Denmark

22. Duke Louis of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

11. Duchess Sophia Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

23. Princess Charlotte Sophie of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld

1. Alexander Frederick, Landgrave of Hesse

24. Frederick William II of Prussia

12. Frederick William III of Prussia

25. Frederika Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt

6. Prince Charles of Prussia

26. Charles II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

13. Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

27. Princess Friederike of Hesse-Darmstadt

3. Princess Anna of Prussia

28. Charles Augustus, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

14. Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

29. Princess Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt

7. Princess Marie of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

30. Paul I of Russia

15. Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia

31. Sophie Dorothea of Württemburg

References

^ ^a ^b Gisela Anna Caroline Amalia Ida Pauline Freiin Stockhorner von Starein (genealogy), #108918, thepeerage.com, 9 October 2009.
^ Princess Gisela was (through her maternal grandmother) the great-great-granddaughter of London-based Huguenot financier François Jacques Houssemayne Du Boulay.
^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Hessen (1894), Genealogy p. 5
^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Hessen (1883), "Großherzogliche Orden und Ehrenzeichen" pp. 14, 44
^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden (1896), "Großherzogliche Orden" pp. 63, 77
^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreichs Bayern (1906), "Königliche-Orden" p. 8
^ "Schwarzer Adler-orden", Königlich Preussische Ordensliste (supp.) (in German), vol. 1, Berlin, 1886, p. 5 – via hathitrust.org{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg (1907), "Königliche Orden" p. 29
^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Herzogtum Anhalt (1894), "Herzogliche Orden" p. 17
^ Bille-Hansen, A. C.; Holck, Harald, eds. (1944) [1st pub.:1801]. Statshaandbog for Kongeriget Danmark for Aaret 1944 [State Manual of the Kingdom of Denmark for the Year 1944] (PDF). Kongelig Dansk Hof- og Statskalender (in Danish). Copenhagen: J.H. Schultz A.-S. Universitetsbogtrykkeri. p. 16. Retrieved 2 September 2020 – via da:DIS Danmark.
^ The London Gazette, issue 28030, p. 4083
^ "Großherzogliche Orden und Ehrenzeichen". Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Großherzogtums Mecklenburg-Strelitz: 1915 (in German). Neustrelitz: Druck und Debit der Buchdruckerei von G. F. Spalding und Sohn. 1915. p. 15.

Regnal titles
Alexander Frederick, Landgrave of Hesse House of Hesse Born: 1 May 1868 Died: 26 March 1945
Preceded by Frederick William III	Head of the House of Hesse	Succeeded by Frederick Charles
Titles in pretence
Preceded by Frederick William III	— TITULAR — Elector of Hesse	Succeeded by Frederick Charles