Alexander Frederick, Landgrave of Hesse

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.

Alexander Frederick, Landgrave of Hesse
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

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 (17 January 1884 – 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

1. Gisela Anna Caroline Amalia Ida Pauline Freiin Stockhorner von Starein (genealogy), #108918, thepeerage.com, 9 October 2009.
2. Princess Gisela was (through her maternal grandmother) the great-great-granddaughter of London-based Huguenot financier François Jacques Houssemayne Du Boulay.
3. Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Hessen (1894), Genealogy p. 5
4. Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Hessen (1883), "Großherzogliche Orden und Ehrenzeichen" pp. 14, 44
5. Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden (1896), "Großherzogliche Orden" pp. 63, 77
6. Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreichs Bayern (1906), "Königliche-Orden" p. 8
7. "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)
8. Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg (1907), "Königliche Orden" p. 29
9. Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Herzogtum Anhalt (1894), "Herzogliche Orden" p. 17
10. 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.
11. The London Gazette, issue 28030, p. 4083
12. "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.

Alexander Frederick, Landgrave of Hesse House of Hesse Born: 1 May 1868 Died: 26 March 1945
Regnal titles
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