Creation
Prince Alexander (1823–1888) was the third son of Grand Duke Louis II of Hesse and by Rhine and of Wilhelmina of Baden yet it was openly rumoured his biological father was actually Baron Augustus de Senarclens, his mother's chamberlain. His spouse, Julia Hauke (1825–1895), was a mere countess – the orphaned daughter of John Maurice von Hauke who had been a general in the Russian army and then Deputy Minister of War of Congress Poland – and therefore of insufficient rank for her children to qualify for the succession to the throne of Hesse. For this reason, her brother-in-law Grand Duke Louis III created the title Countess of Battenberg (German: Gräfin von Battenberg) for her and for the couple's future descendants. (A previous family of counts of Battenberg had become extinct in the 14th century.) In 1858 the title, which referred to the town of Battenberg, Hesse, was elevated to princely status. There was never a corresponding Principality of Battenberg; the title was a non-sovereign one in the nobility of the Grand Duchy of Hesse.
The children of this union bore the title of Prince (German: Prinz) or Princess (German: Prinzessin) and the style Serene Highness (German: Durchlaucht). Battenberg thus became the name of a morganatic cadet branch of the Grand Ducal family of Hesse, without right of succession.
Read more about this topic: Battenberg Family
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