Alexander, Prince of Erbach-Schönberg (; 12 September 1872 –18 October 1944) was the 2nd Prince of Erbach-Schönberg, eldest son of Gustav, 1st Prince of Erbach-Schönberg.

Early life

Alexander was the eldest child of Gustav, Prince of Erbach-Schönberg (August 17, 1840 – January 29, 1908), and his wife, Princess Marie of Battenberg (1852–1923), daughter of

Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine (Alexander Ludwig Georg Friedrich Emil; 15 July 1823 – 15 December 1888), was the third son and fourth child of Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse, and Wilhelmine of Baden. He was a brother of Tsarina Mar ...

and his morganatic wife Countess Julia Hauke. As a result of a

morganatic marriage Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spou ...

, his mother and her siblings were excluded from the succession of the

Grand Duchy of Hesse The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine () was a grand duchy in western Germany that existed from 1806 to 1918. The grand duchy originally formed from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806 as the Grand Duchy of Hesse (). It assumed the name ...

, and bore the title Princes of Battenberg. Among others, he was a first cousin of: * Alice, Princess Andrew of Greece and Denmark (1885–1969), mother of

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from h ...

and grandmother of

Charles III of the United Kingdom Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

. * Queen Victoria Eugenie of Spain (1887–1969), who married

Alfonso XIII of Spain Alfonso XIII ( Spanish: ''Alfonso León Fernando María Jaime Isidro Pascual Antonio de Borbón y Habsburgo-Lorena''; French: ''Alphonse Léon Ferdinand Marie Jacques Isidore Pascal Antoine de Bourbon''; 17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also ...

; great-grandmother of

Felipe VI of Spain Felipe VI (; Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Grecia; born 30 January 1968) is King of Spain. In accordance with the Spanish Constitution, as monarch, he is head of state and commander-in-chief of the Spanish Armed For ...

. * Queen Louise of Sweden (1889–1965), who married

Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden Gustaf VI Adolf (Oscar Fredrik Wilhelm Olaf Gustaf Adolf; 11 November 1882 – 15 September 1973) was King of Sweden from 29 October 1950 until his death in 1973. He was the eldest son of Gustaf V and his wife, Victoria of Baden. Before Gustaf A ...

; stepgrandmother of

Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden Carl XVI Gustaf (Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus; born 30 April 1946) is King of Sweden. Having reigned since 1973, he is the longest-reigning monarch in Swedish history. Carl Gustaf was born during the reign of his paternal great-grandfather, K ...

. *

Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy), Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (born Prince Louis of Battenberg; 25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979), commonly known as Lord Mountbatten, was ...

(1900–1979), last

Viceroy of India The governor-general of India (1833 to 1950, from 1858 to 1947 the viceroy and governor-general of India, commonly shortened to viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom in their capacity as the Emperor of ...

Marriage and family

Alexander married on 3 May 1900 in Arolsen, Princess Elisabeth of Waldeck and Pyrmont (1873–1961), seventh child and youngest daughter of

George Victor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont George Victor (14 January 1831 – 12 May 1893) was the 3rd sovereign Prince of the German state of Waldeck and Pyrmont. George Victor was born in Bad Arolsen the son of George II, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont and his wife Princess Emma of ...

and Princess Helena of Nassau. They had four children, nine grandchildren, seventeen great-grandchildren and nineteen great-great-grandchildren: *Princess Imma Gustava Marie Louise Pauline Edda Adolphine Hermine of Erbach-Schönberg (11 May 1901 – 14 March 1947) she married Hans Karl Baron von Dornberg on 31 May 1923. She remarried Captain Neil Boyd Watson McEacharn on 1 July 1940 and they were divorced in 1947. * George Louis, Prince of Erbach-Schönberg (1 January 1903 – 27 January 1971) he married Marie-Marguerite von Deringer on 2 July 1925. They had three children, eleven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. *Prince William Ernst Heinrich Alfred of Erbach-Schönberg (4 June 1904 – 27 September 1946) he married Countess Alexandra von Gortz on 4 October 1938. They had one daughter Marianne who died at birth. *Princess Helena Sophie Louise Hedwig Emilie Martha of Erbach-Schönberg (8 April 1907 – 16 April 1979), unmarried and without issue.

Orders and decorations

* : ** Wedding Medal of Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig and Grand Duchess Victoria Melita, ''1894'' ** Grand Cross of the Merit Order of Philip the Magnanimous, ''25 November 1901'' * : Grand Cross of the

Order of the Zähringer Lion The Order of the Zähringer Lion was instituted on 26 December 1812 by Karl, Grand Duke of Baden, in memory of the Dukes of Zähringen from whom he was descended. Classes It had five classes: *Grand Cross *Commander, First Class *Commander, ...

* : Kaiser Wilhelm I Memorial Medal, ''22 March 1897'' * : Grand Cross of the

Friedrich Order The Friedrich Order ( or ''Friedrichsorden'') was an order of merit of the German Kingdom of Württemberg. It was instituted on 1 January 1830 by the second king of Württemberg, Wilhelm I in remembrance of his father, King Friedrich I. In 1918, ...

, ''1900'' * : Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Alexander * : Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Danilo I * : ** Wedding Medal of Queen Wilhelmina and Duke Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, ''1901'' ** Grand Cross of the

Order of the Netherlands Lion The Order of the Netherlands Lion, also known as the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands (, ) is a Dutch honours system, Dutch order of chivalry founded by William I of the Netherlands on 29 September 1815. The Order of the Netherlands Lion wa ...

* : Knight of the Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir, 4th Class

Ancestry

Notes and sources

*Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser, Reference: 1956 *The Royal House of Stuart, London, 1969, 1971, 1976, Addington, A. C., Reference: II 351

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander Of Erbach-Schonberg, Prince 1872 births 1944 deaths People from the Grand Duchy of Hesse House of Erbach-Schönberg Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th class