| House of Hesse | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Parent family | House of Brabant |
| Country | Germany,Netherlands,Sweden,Finland |
| Founded | 1264; 761 years ago (1264) |
| Founder | Henry I, Landgrave of Hesse |
| Current head | Donatus, Landgrave of Hesse |
| Final ruler | Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse |
| Titles | Landgrave of Hesse(Lower Hesse line,Upper Hesse line,Kassel,Rotenburg,Wanfried,Rheinfels,Philippsthal,Philippsthal-Barchfeld,Marburg,Rheinfels,Darmstadt,Butzbach Homburg,Braubach,Itter) Elector of Hesse Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine King of Sweden King of Finland Prince of Bulgaria Grand Duke of Finland |
| Estate(s) | Hesse |
| Cadet branches | Extinct branches
|
TheHouse of Hesse is a Europeandynasty, directly descended from theHouse of Brabant. They ruled the region ofHesse, one branch asprince-electors until 1866, and another branch asgrand dukes until 1918.[1]
The origins of the House of Hesse begin with the marriage in 1241 ofSophie of Thuringia (daughter ofLouis IV, Landgrave of Thuringia, andElizabeth of Hungary) withHenry II, Duke of Brabant, from theHouse of Reginar. Sophie was the heiress of Hesse, which she passed on to her son,Henry, upon her retention of the territory following her partial victory in theWar of the Thuringian Succession, in which she was one of the belligerents.
Originally the western part of theLandgraviate ofThuringia, in the mid 13th century, it was inherited by the younger son of Henry II,Duke of Brabant, and became a distinct political entity. From the late 16th century, it was generally divided into several branches, the most important of which were those ofHesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel) andHesse-Darmstadt.
In the early 19th century, the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel was elevated toElector of Hesse (1803), while the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt became theGrand Duke of Hesse (1806), later the Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine. The Electorate of Hesse (Hesse-Kassel) was annexed byPrussia in 1866, while the Grand Duchy of Hesse (Hesse-Darmstadt) remained a sovereign realm until the end of the German monarchies in 1918.
Since 23 May 2013, the head of the house has beenDonatus, Landgrave of Hesse. He descends from the Hesse-Kassel branch of the family, which has been the genealogically senior male line since the house's major partition in 1567. He is married to Countess Floria-Franziska of Faber-Castell.[2] They have three children together.
Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, died in 1567. Hesse was then divided between his four sons, thus four main branches arose:Hesse-Kassel,Hesse-Marburg,Hesse-Rheinfels andHesse-Darmstadt.
TheBattenberg family aremorganatic descendants in the male-line of the House of Hesse, issuing from the marriage ofPrince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine withCountess Julia Hauke who, along with her children andagnatic descendants, were made princes and princesses of Battenberg andSerene Highnesses.[1] The Battenbergs who later settled inEngland changed that name toMountbatten after World War I at the behest ofGeorge V, who substitutedBritish peerages for their former German princely title.[1] Those descended from the marriage ofAlexander of Battenberg, Prince of Bulgaria, contracted with a commoner after the loss of his throne, were granted the titleCount von Hartenau.[1]
Hesse-Kassel and its junior lines were annexed byPrussia in 1866. Hesse-Darmstadt became thePeople's State of Hesse when the monarchy was abolished in 1918. Hesse-Philippsthal died out in the male line in 1925, and Hesse-Darmstadt in 1968. Themale-line heirs of Hesse-Kassel and Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld continue to exist to the present day.[1]
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