Prince Heinrich of Hesse and by Rhine (Heinrich Ludwig Wilhelm Adalbert Waldemar Alexander; 28 November 1838 - 16 September 1900) was a member of the House of Hesse-Darmstadt and a General of the Cavalry.
| Prince Heinrich | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Heinrich von Hessen und bei Rhein, c.1865 | |||||
| Born | 28 November 1838 Bessungen, Grand Duchy of Hesse | ||||
| Died | 16 September 1900 (aged 61) Munich, German Empire | ||||
| |||||
| House | Hesse-Darmstadt | ||||
| Father | Prince Charles of Hesse and by Rhine | ||||
| Mother | Princess Elisabeth of Prussia | ||||
Biography edit
He was the second son of Prince Charles of Hesse and by Rhine and Princess Elisabeth of Prussia and a younger brother of the later Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse.
Heinrich studied in Göttingen and Giessen and joined the Hessian army as a lieutenant in 1854. In 1859 he joined the Prussian Army as a captain and fought in the First Schleswig War and the Austro-Prussian War.
On 17 September 1866 Heinrich became commander of the 2nd Guards Uhlan Regiment. He led the regiment during the Franco-Prussian War and received the Iron Cross (2nd class). In 1873, Heinrich was promoted to Generalmajor. In 1879 he became commander of the 25th (Grand Ducal Hessian) Division and shortly afterwards was promoted to Lieutenant General. On 21 August 1884 Heinrich was given the distinction of a Commanding General and two years later, on 18 September 1886, was promoted to General of the Cavalry. On 7 July 1887, Heinrich retired and received the Pour le Mérite; being the final recipient by order of William I as the latter died in the next year.
In retirement he eventually settled in Munich. From 1881 until his death he also was a member of the Hessian Landstände.
Marriage and children edit
Heinrich married morganatically on 25 February 1878, Caroline Willich von Pöllnitz (1848-1879), who was created Freifrau von Nidda for the occasion. She died after the birth of their only child Karl, Count of Nidda (1879-1920).
He married again in 1892 - also morganatically, to Emilie Hrzic de Topuska (1868-1961). She was elevated to Freifrau von Dornberg. They had also one son: Elimar, Freiherr von Dornberg (1893-1917), who died in an accident.
Honours edit
He received the following orders and decorations:[1]
Hesse-Darmstadt:[2]
- Grand Cross of the Ludwig Order, 11 April 1854
- Grand Cross of the Merit Order of Philip the Magnanimous, with Swords, 11 April 1854
- Military Merit Cross, 30 January 1871
Hesse-Kassel: Knight of the Golden Lion, 9 January 1857[3]
Anhalt: Grand Cross of the Order of Albert the Bear, 6 June 1884[4]
Baden:[5]
- Knight of the House Order of Fidelity, 1877
- Knight of the Order of Berthold the First, 1877
Bavaria: Knight of St. Hubert, 1877[6]
Brunswick: Grand Cross of the Order of Henry the Lion, 1857[7]
Mecklenburg:
- Grand Cross of the Wendish Crown, with Crown in Ore
- Military Merit Cross, 2nd Class (Schwerin)
Prussia:
- Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, with Swords, 1864; Commander's Cross and Star, with Swords, 19 October 1866[8]
- Iron Cross (1870), 2nd Classes
- Knight of the Black Eagle, 9 April 1877; with Collar, 1880[8]
- Grand Cross of the Red Eagle
- Pour le Mérite (military), 7 July 1887[9]
Romania: Grand Cross of the Star of Romania, 15 September 1880
Russia:
- Knight of St. Andrew, 19 July 1857
- Knight of St. Alexander Nevsky, 19 July 1857
- Knight of the White Eagle
- Knight of St. Anna, 1st Class
- Knight of St. George, 4th Class, 2 February 1871
United Kingdom: Honorary Grand Cross of the Bath (military), 16 May 1892[10]
References edit
- ^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogs Hessen (1894), Genealogy pp. 2-3
- ^ Staatshandbuch für das Großherzogtum Hessen und bei Rhein (1879), "Großherzogliche Orden und Ehrenzeichen ", pp. 9, 46, 130.
- ^ Hessen-Kassel (1859). Kurfürstlich Hessisches Hof- und Staatshandbuch: 1859. Waisenhaus. p. 16.
- ^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch für des Herzogtum Anhalt (1894), "Herzoglicher Haus-Orden Albrecht des Bären" p. 17
- ^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden (1888), "Großherzogliche Orden" pp. 63, 74
- ^ Hof- und - Staatshandbuch des Königreichs Bayern (1890), "Königliche Orden". p. 10
- ^ "Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Herzogthums Braunschweig für das Jahr 1899". (1899). In Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Herzogtums Braunschweig (Vol. 1899). Meyer. p. 10
- ^ a b "Königlich Preussische Ordensliste", Preussische Ordens-Liste (in German), 1, Berlin: 8, 936, 1886
- ^ Lehmann, Gustaf (1913). Die Ritter des Ordens pour le mérite 1812–1913 [The Knights of the Order of the Pour le Mérite] (in German). Vol. 2. Berlin: Ernst Siegfried Mittler & Sohn. p. 560.
- ^ Shaw, Wm. A. (1906) The Knights of England, I, London, p. 200
Sources edit
- geni.com
- Hessen und bei Rhein, Heinrich Ludwig Prinz von. Hessische Biografie. In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS). (Stand: 15 March 2020)