Prince Friedrich Of Hesse-Kassel

Prince Frederick of Hesse-Kassel was born on 11 September 1747 and died on 20 May 1837. He was a member of the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel, a German princely state, and served as a Danish general. His parents were Hereditary Prince Frederick of Hesse-Kassel, later Landgrave Frederick II, and Princess Mary of Great Britain.

He was the youngest son among his siblings and the last surviving legitimate grandchild of King George II of Great Britain. His death occurred approximately one month before Queen Victoria ascended to the throne, making him a notable genealogical link in European royal lineage.

During his youth, his family experienced significant upheaval. His father, the hereditary prince, left the family in 1747 and converted to Catholicism. In 1755, he formally ended his marriage. As a result, Prince Frederick and his two elder brothers were raised by their mother, Landgravine Mary, and were fostered by Protestant relatives beginning in 1747.

In 1751, after their upbringing, the family moved to Denmark to stay with her sister, Louise of Great Britain. His two older brothers married Danish princesses in 1763 and 1766 and remained in Denmark, where they held positions of importance within the Danish royal court. Only his eldest brother returned to Kassel in 1785 upon ascending the landgraviate.

By 1815, Prince Frederick was serving as a commander of the Royal Danish Auxiliary Corps, which was mobilized during the Seventh Coalition's efforts against Napoleonic France, reflecting his military involvement.

On 2 December 1786, he married Princess Caroline of Nassau-Usingen, born on 4 April 1762 in Biebrich. She was an heiress from a family that eventually became extinct in the male line. In 1781, Frederick purchased Rumpenheim Castle in Offenbach from his brother Carl, establishing it as the family’s seat.

His descendants formed the Hesse-Kassel-Rumpenheim branch of the House of Hesse, one of only two branches that remain extant.

Their children included:

- William (24 December 1787 – 5 September 1867), who married Louise Charlotte of Denmark (1789–1864) and was the father of Louise of Hesse-Kassel, consort of King Christian IX of Denmark.

- Karl Friedrich (9 March 1789 – 10 September 1802).

- Friedrich Wilhelm (24 April 1790 – 25 October 1876).

- Ludwig Karl (12 November 1791 – 12 May 1800).

- Georg Karl (14 January 1793 – 4 March 1881).

- Luise Karoline Marie Friederike (9 April 1794 – 16 March 1881), married Graf Georg von der Decken.

- Marie Wilhelmine Friederike (21 January 1796 – 30 December 1880), married George, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

- Augusta Wilhelmine Luise (25 July 1797 – 6 April 1889), married Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, and was the maternal grandmother of Mary of Teck.

Prince Frederick’s ancestry traces back through the House of Hesse and the British royal family, connecting him to notable European royal lineages.