Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse

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Louis IV
Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine
Ludwig IV, 1878
Reign	13 June 1877 – 13 March 1892
Predecessor	Louis III
Successor	Ernest Louis
Spouse	Alice of the United Kingdom Alexandrina Hutten-Czapska (annulled)
Issue
Princess Victoria Princess Elisabeth Princess Irene Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse Prince Friedrich Princess Alix, Empress of all the Russias Princess Marie
Full name
(German: Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Karl) (English: Frederick William Louis Charles)
House	House of Hesse-Darmstadt
Father	Charles of Hesse-Darmstadt
Mother	Elizabeth of Prussia
Born	12 September 1837(1837-09-12) Darmstadt, Germany
Died	13 March 1892 (aged 54)
Burial	Rosenhohe, Darmstadt

Louis IV (Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Karl) (12 September 1837 – 13 March 1892), was the fourth Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, reigning from 13 June 1877 until his death. Through his own and his children's marriages he was connected to the British Royal Family, to the Imperial house of Russia and other royal houses of Europe.

Early life

Louis was born at Darmstadt, Germany as the son of Prince Karl of Hesse and by Rhine (23 April 1809 – 20 March 1877) and Princess Elizabeth of Prussia (18 June 1815 – 21 March 1885), grandson of King Frederick William II of Prussia.

Marriage

On 1 July 1862, Louis married Princess Alice, the third child of Queen Victoria of Great Britain at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. On the day of the wedding, the Queen issued Letters Patent granting her new son-in-law the style of Royal Highness. This style was only in effect in Great Britain, not the German confederation where Prince Ludwig was only a Grand Ducal Highness. The Queen subsequently created him a Knight of the Garter.

Military career

During the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, Louis commanded the Hessian cavalry in support of the Austrian side. In the 1870-71 Franco-Prussian War, Louis led the Hessian contingent of the armies of the North German Confederation.

Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine

On 13 June 1877, he succeeded his uncle as Grand Duke of Hesse, taking the name Ludwig IV.

Second marriage

Following the death of Princess Alice in 1878, Ludwig IV contracted a morganatic marriage on 30 April 1884 with Alexandrina Hutten-Czapska (3 September 1854 – 8 May 1941), the former wife of Alexander Kolémine, the Russian chargé d'affaires in Darmstadt. His second wife received the title Countess von Romrod. The marriage, which caused great concern within his family, was annulled within a year.

Death

Grand Duke Ludwig IV died on 13 March 1892 and was succeeded by his son, Ernest Louis. His remains are buried at Rosenhöhe, the mausoleum for the Grand Ducal House of Hesse outside of Darmstadt.

Titles, Styles, Honours & Arms

Titles

• 1837-1862: His Grand Ducal Highness Prince Ludwig of Hesse
• 1862-1877: His Royal Highness Prince Ludwig of Hesse
• 1877-1892: His Royal Highness The Grand Duke of Hesse

Honours

• 1862: Knight of the Garter

Ancestry

Issue

Issue by Princess Alice

Image	Name	Birth	Death	Notes
	Princess Victoria	5 April 1863	24 September 1950	married Prince Louis of Battenberg, later Marquess of Milford-Haven; had issue
	Princess Elisabeth	1 November 1864	17 July 1918	Took the name Yelisaveta Fyodorovna on her baptism into the Russian Orthodox Church; married Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia (son of Alexander II of Russia); no issue
	Princess Irene	11 July 1866	11 November 1953	married Prince Heinrich (son of Friedrich III of Germany); had issue
	Prince Ernst Ludwig	25 November 1868	9 October 1937	Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine (13 March 1892 – 9 November 1918); married (1) HRH Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; divorced (2) HH Princess Eleonore zu Solms-Hohensolms-Lich; had issue
	Prince Friedrich	7 October 1870	29 May 1873	Suffered from haemophilia and died from internal bleeding after a fall from a window
	Princess Alix	6 June 1872	17 July 1918	Took the name Alexandra Feodorovna on her baptism into the Russian Orthodox Church; married Tsar Nicholas II of Russia; had issue
	Princess Marie	24 May 1874	16 November 1878	Died of diphtheria

Issue by Alexandrina Hutten-Czapska, Countess von Romrod

No issue. Marriage annulled.