Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse
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Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine |
Louis IV (Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Karl) (
12 September 1837 -
13 March 1892), was the fourth
Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, reigning from
13 June 1877 until his death. Through his own and his children's marriages he was connected to the British Royal Family, to the Imperial house of Russia and other royal houses of Europe.
Louis was born at
Darmstadt,
Germany as the son of
Prince Charles of Hesse-Darmstadt (
23 April 1809-
20 March 1877) and
Princess Elizabeth of Prussia (
18 June 1815-
21 March 1855), granddaughter of
King Frederick William II of Prussia.
On
1 July 1862, Louis married
Princess Alice, the third child of
Queen Victoria of Great Britain at Osborne House on the
Isle of Wight. On the day of the wedding, the Queen issued Letters Patent granting her new son-in-law the style of
. This style was only in effect in Great Britain, not the German confederation where Prince Ludwig was only a
Grand Ducal Highness. The Queen subsequently created him a
Knight of the Garter.
During the
Austro-Prussian War of 1866, Louis commanded the Hessian cavalry in support of the Austrian side. In the 1870-71
Franco-Prussian War, Louis led the Hessian contingent of the armies of the
North German Confederation.
On
13 June 1877, he succeeded his uncle as Grand Duke of Hesse taking the name Luois IV.
Following the death of Princess Alice in
1878, Ludwig IV contracted a
morganatic marriage on
30 April 1884 with Alexandrina Hutten-Czapska (
3 September 1854-
8 May 1941), the former wife of Alexander Kolémine, the Russian chargé d'affaires in Darmstadt. His second wife received the title Countess von Romrod. The marriage, which caused great concern within his family, was annulled within a year.
Grand Duke Ludwig IV died on
13 March 1892 and was succeeded by his son, Ernest Louis. His remains are buried at Rosenhöhe, the mausoleum for the Grand Ducal House of Hesse outside of Darmstadt.
Titles
*
1837-1862: Prince Ludwig of Hesse
*
1862-1877:
His Royal Highness Prince Ludwig of Hesse
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1877-1892:
His Royal Highness The Grand Duke of Hesse
Honours
*
1862:
Knight of the Garter
