Prince Henry Of Battenberg

Prince Henry of Battenberg (Henry Maurice; 5 October 1858 – 20 January 1896) was born in Milan, Lombardy–Venetia. He was the son of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine and Countess Julia von Hauke. His father was the third son of Grand Duke Ludwig II of Hesse and Wilhelmina of Baden. His parents’ marriage was morganatic, which prevented him from inheriting his father’s title or the throne of Hesse at birth. Consequently, he was styled His Illustrious Highness Count Henry of Battenberg.

Henry's early life included a military education, leading to a commission as a lieutenant in the 1st Regiment of the Rhenish Hussars in the Prussian Army. He served in the Prussian Garde du Corps and was appointed Honorary Colonel of the 1st Infantry Regiment of Bulgaria, where his brother, Alexander, was reigning as Prince.

In April 1884, Henry’s elder brother, Prince Louis of Battenberg, married Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Shortly thereafter, Henry was engaged to Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom, the youngest daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Queen Victoria consented to the marriage on the condition that the couple reside with her. The marriage took place on 23 July 1885 at St Mildred’s Church, Whippingham. On the same day, Henry was made a Knight Companion of the Garter and granted the style Royal Highness in the United Kingdom, although not within the German Empire.

Henry and Beatrice had four children. By royal warrant in 1886, their children were granted the style Highness, which was recognized in the UK and elsewhere, but in the German Empire, they remained titled as Princes and Princesses of Battenberg with the style Serene Highness.

Henry held several positions in the UK. In 1889, he was appointed Governor of Carisbrooke Castle and Captain-General and Governor of the Isle of Wight. He was made Lieutenant-Colonel in the Army in June 1887, Colonel in February 1893, and was appointed to the Privy Council in November 1894.

In late 1895, Henry received permission from Queen Victoria to serve in West Africa during the Ashanti War, acting as the military secretary to Colonel Sir Francis Scott, the commander-in-chief of British forces. He contracted malaria during the campaign near Prahsu, approximately 30 miles from Kumasi, and died aboard the cruiser HMS Blonde off the coast of Sierra Leone.

His body was repatriated by HMS Blenheim from the Canary Islands, and his funeral was held at St. Mildred’s Church on 5 February 1896. He was interred in the Battenberg Chapel. His wife, Beatrice, was later buried there in August 1945, and their eldest son, the Marquess of Carisbrooke, in July 1961.

A memorial to Prince Henry was erected in 1896 near Balmoral Castle, inscribed with a dedication to his memory.

Throughout his life, his titles changed from His Illustrious Highness Count Henry of Battenberg (1858) to His Serene Highness Prince Henry of Battenberg (1858–1896), and in the UK, he was known as His Royal Highness Prince Henry of Battenberg from 1885 until his death.

Henry’s ancestry includes notable European royal and noble lineages through his parents, and his descendants continue to be part of European royal families, notably through his daughter Victoria Eugenie, who became queen consort of Spain.