Prince Francis Joseph of Battenberg

Prince Francis Joseph of Battenberg

Prince Francis Joseph of Battenberg
Born 24 September 1861(1861-09-24)
Padua, Kingdom of Italy
Died 31 July 1924(1924-07-31) (aged 62)
Territet (near Montreux), Switzerland
Spouse Ana, Princess Petrovich-Niegosh of Montenegro
Parents Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine and Countess Julia Hauke

Prince Francis Joseph of Battenberg, also known as Prince Franz Joseph of Battenberg, (24 September 1861 – 31 July 1924), was the youngest son of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine and Countess Julia von Hauke.

Biography

At one time, he was considered for the throne of Bulgaria, which eventually went to his brother Alexander.[1] Francis Joseph nevertheless followed his brother to Bulgaria, where he served as a colonel in the Bulgarian cavalry.[2] He made a proposal of marriage to Consuelo Vanderbilt in 1894, but she hated him on sight and refused.[3] On 18 May 1897 he married Princess Ana Petrovic-Njegoš of Montenegro, (Cetinje 18 August 1874 – 22 April 1971 Territet), daughter of Nicholas I of Montenegro. There was no issue of the marriage.[4]

He was made an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (civil division) by Queen Victoria on 6 February 1896.[5]

Ancestry

Notes

  1. ^ Stuart, Amanda Mackenzie, Consuelo and Alva Vanderbilt: The Story of a Daughter and Mother in the Gilded Age, Harper Perennial, 2005, p. 101
  2. ^ "Royal Wedding At Cettinje; Francis Joseph of Battenberg United to Princess Anna of Montenegro", The New York Times (Cettinje), 19 May 1897, http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=FA0911FF3D5911738DDDA00994DD405B8785F0D3 
  3. ^ Stuart, p. 101
  4. ^ Paul Theroff (2007). ""Hesse"". An Online Gotha. Archived from the original on 9 May 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070509061101/http://pages.prodigy.net/ptheroff/gotha/hesse.html. Retrieved 11 March 2007. 
  5. ^ http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/26707/pages/718