Duke Alexander of Württemberg

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Duke Alexander of Württemberg (9 September 1804 – 4 July 1885) was the father of His Serene Highness Prince Francis of Teck and the grandfather of Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge and Queen Mary of Great Britain, wife of King George V.

His father was Duke Louis of Württemberg, brother of King Frederick I of Württemberg and Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia. His mother was Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg, a great-granddaughter of King George II of Great Britain through his eldest daughter Anne, Princess Royal.

In 1835, he married morganatically a Hungarian countess, Claudine Rhédey von Kis-Rhéde (1812-1841), by whom he fathered three children: Claudine, Francis and Amalie. His wife was created Countess of Hohenstein and, following the rules of morganatic marriages, the children followed their mother's title as count/ess of Hohenstein from birth, and had no rights through their father to any royal status or inheritance.

In 1841, his wife was tragically killed—run over by horses—and he became mentally unstable, a condition which remained for the rest of his life.

In 1863, his three children were elevated to the rank of Prince/cess of Teck by King William I of Württemberg.

In 1871, his son Francis was created Duke of Teck by King Charles I of Württemberg five years after his marriage with Alexander's third cousin (in descent from King George II of Great Britain) Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge. Alexander's daughters were not given any new status, and remained Princesses of Teck. The Duchy of Teck was a peerage title in the former Kingdom of Württemberg.