Prince Henry of Battenberg
Encyclopedia
British Royal Family
The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...
, through his marriage to Princess Beatrice
Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom
The Princess Beatrice was a member of the British Royal Family. She was the fifth daughter and youngest child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Juan Carlos, King of Spain, is her great-grandson...
.
Early life
Henry was born on 5 October 1858 in MilanMilan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, Lombardy–Venetia
Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia
The Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia was created at the Congress of Vienna, which recognised the House of Habsburg's rights to Lombardy and Venetia after the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed by Napoleon in 1805, had collapsed...
. His father was Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine
Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine
Prince Alexander Ludwig Georg Friedrich Emil of Hesse, GCB was the third son and fourth child of Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse and Wilhelmina of Baden.-Questioned parentage:...
, the third son and fourth child of Grand Duke Ludwig II of Hesse and Wilhelmina of Baden. His mother was Julia Therese née Countess of Hauke
Julia von Hauke
Princess Julia of Battenberg was the wife of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine, the mother of Alexander, Prince of Bulgaria, and ancestress to the current generations of the British and the Spanish royal families.-Life:Julie Therese Salomea Hauke was born in Warsaw, in Congress Poland, then...
.
His parents' marriage was a morganatic marriage
Morganatic marriage
In the context of European royalty, a morganatic marriage is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which prevents the passage of the husband's titles and privileges to the wife and any children born of the marriage...
, as Julia was not considered a proper wife for a Prince, being only a Countess. As such, at the time of his birth, Henry could not take his title from his father, and was styled His Illustrious Highness Count Henry (Heinrich) Maurice of Battenberg. On 21 December 1858, Henry's mother was created Princess of Battenberg with the style Her Serene Highness. Henry inherited this style and became His Serene Highness Prince Henry of Battenberg.
Prince Henry received a military education and took up a commission as a lieutenant in the 1st Regiment of the Rhenish Hussars in the Prussian Army
Prussian Army
The Royal Prussian Army was the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power.The Prussian Army had its roots in the meager mercenary forces of Brandenburg during the Thirty Years' War...
. He served in the Prussian Garde du Corps
Garde du Corps (Prussia)
The Gardes du Corps was the personal bodyguard of the king of Prussia and, after 1871, of the German emperor . The unit was founded in 1740 by Frederick the Great...
and was also Honorary Colonel of the 1st Infantry Regiment of Bulgaria, where his brother Alxander was Prince.
Marriage
Because of their close relationship to the Grand Ducal House of Hesse, the Battenbergs came into close contact with various Royal and Princely families of Europe, including the British Royal House. Henry's elder brother, Prince Louis of Battenberg, had married Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, his first cousin once-removed and a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. In 1884, Prince Henry became engaged to Princess BeatricePrincess Beatrice of the United Kingdom
The Princess Beatrice was a member of the British Royal Family. She was the fifth daughter and youngest child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Juan Carlos, King of Spain, is her great-grandson...
, the fifth daughter and the youngest child of Queen Victoria and Albert, Prince Consort. Queen Victoria agreed to the marriage on the condition that the couple should make their home with her. The Queen formally gave her consent to the marriage at a meeting of the Privy Council on 27 January 1885.
On 22 July 1885, the Queen made Prince Henry a Knight of the Garter
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
, and granted him the style Royal Highness to give him equal rank with his wife. This style took effect in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, but not in Hesse and by Rhine (where the Prince was still considered a Serene Highness).
Beatrice and Henry were married at St. Mildred's Church at Whippingham
Whippingham
Whippingham is a village and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. It is located two kilometres south of East Cowes in the north of the Island.Whippingham is best known for its connections with Queen Victoria, especially its church, redesigned by Prince Albert. The church has a tower reminiscent of a...
, near Osborne
Osborne House
Osborne House is a former royal residence in East Cowes, Isle of Wight, UK. The house was built between 1845 and 1851 for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as a summer home and rural retreat....
, on 23 July 1885.
On the same day, a bill to naturalize Prince Henry a British subject passed the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
. The couple adopted the style, Their Royal Highnesses Prince and Princess Henry of Battenberg.
On 22 August 1885 he was made Honorary Colonel of the 5th (Isle of Wight, Princess Beatrice's) Volunteer Battalion, the Hampshire Regiment, In early 1886 it was announced in The Times that he would be made a Captain in the 1st Life Guards, but the Secretary of State for War
Henry Campbell-Bannerman
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman GCB was a British Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1905 to 1908 and Leader of the Liberal Party from 1899 to 1908. He also served as Secretary of State for War twice, in the Cabinets of Gladstone and Rosebery...
denied knowledge of this in the House of Commons and the appointment did not take place.
Prince and Princess Henry of Battenberg had four children. By Royal Warrant of 13 December 1886, the Queen granted their children the style Highness. This style took immediate effect in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
though not in Hesse and by Rhine, where, as Princes and Princesses of Battenberg, they were only entitled to the style Serene Highness.
Later life & death
In 1889 Prince Henry was made Governor of Carisbrooke CastleCarisbrooke Castle
Carisbrooke Castle is a historic motte-and-bailey castle located in the village of Carisbrooke, near Newport, Isle of Wight, England. Charles I was imprisoned at the castle in the months prior to his trial.-Early history:...
and Captain-General and Governor of the Isle of Wight. He was made Lieutenant-Colonel in the Army on 21 June 1887, Colonel on 22 February 1893 and appointed to the Privy Council
Privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
on 20 November 1894.
In November 1895, Prince Henry persuaded Queen Victoria to allow him to go to West Africa to fight in the Ashanti War. He served as the military secretary to the commander-in-chief of British forces, General Sir Francis Scott. He contracted malaria when the expedition reached Prahsu, about 30 miles from Kumasi, and subsequently died aboard the cruiser HMS Blonde stationed off the coast of Sierra Leone. His body was repatriated by the cruiser HMS Blenheim
HMS Blenheim (1890)
HMS Blenheim was a Blake class first class protected cruiser that served in the Royal Navy from 1890–1926.Launched 5 July 1890, she displaced 9,150 tons and her steel hull measured 375 feet and 65 feet with turning 2 propellers giving a top speed of...
from the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
and his funeral service took place on 5 February 1896, at the same St. Mildred's Church, Whippingham
St. Mildred's Church, Whippingham
St. Mildred's Church, Whippingham is a parish church in the Church of England located in Whippingham, Isle of Wight.-History:The chancel of the church was built in 1854 and 1855 by the architect Albert Jenkins Humbert although Prince Albert is thought to have had a guiding hand.The remainder of the...
on the Isle of Wight where he had been married. Interment followed in what became known as the Battenberg Chapel. The remains of his wife, Princess Beatrice, were placed there in August 1945 and those of his eldest son, the Marquess of Carisbrooke, in July 1961.
Titles and styles
- 5 October–21 December 1858: His Illustrious Highness Count Henry of Battenberg
- 21 December 1858 – 23 July 1885: His Serene Highness Prince Henry of Battenberg
- 23 July 1885 – 20 January 1896: His Royal Highness Prince Henry of Battenberg
Honours
- KG: Knight of the GarterOrder of the GarterThe Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
, 1885 - PC: Privy CounsellorPrivy Council of the United KingdomHer Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
, 1894
Issue
| Image | Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Alexander Mountbatten, Marquess of Carisbrooke Alexander Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Carisbrooke Alexander Albert Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Carisbrooke, GCB, GCVO, GJStJ was a member of the Hessian princely Battenberg family and the extended British Royal Family, a grandson of Queen Victoria... |
3 November 1886 | 23 February 1960 | Married, 1917 Irene Denison (4 July 1890 – 16 July 1956); had issue. |
 |
Victoria Eugénie, Queen of Spain |
24 October 1887 | 15 April 1969 | Married, 1906, King Alfonso XIII of Spain Alfonso XIII of Spain Alfonso XIII was King of Spain from 1886 until 1931. His mother, Maria Christina of Austria, was appointed regent during his minority... (17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941); had issue. |
| Lord Leopold Mountbatten Lord Leopold Mountbatten Lord Leopold Mountbatten, GCVO was a descendant of the Hessian princely Battenberg family and the British Royal Family, a grandson of Queen Victoria... |
21 May 1889 | 23 April 1922 | Suffered from haemophilia Haemophilia in European royalty Haemophilia figured prominently in the history of European royalty in the 19th and 20th centuries. Britain's Queen Victoria, through two of her five daughters , passed the mutation to various royal houses across the continent, including the royal families of Spain, Germany and Russia. Victoria's... ; died unmarried and without issue during a knee operation. |
|
 |
Prince Maurice of Battenberg Prince Maurice of Battenberg Prince Maurice of Battenberg, KCVO, was a member of the Hessian princely Battenberg family and the extended British Royal Family, the youngest grandchild of Queen Victoria... |
3 October 1891 | 27 October 1914 | Killed in action during World War I. |