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Ernst-Louis or Ernst-Ludwig in German was the son of was Grand Duke Louis IV von Hessen-Darmstadt (1837- ). His mother was Princess Alice Maud Mary Wettin (18??- ), the youngest daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Grand Duke Ernst-Ludwig of Hesse and by Rhine acceded to the throne in 1892. He married twice and had four children. His first wife was Grand Duchess Victoria Melita of Edinburg, a grand daughter of Queen Victoria and Tsar Alexander II. The children wore tunics and sailor suits. He, like the other German royals, was forced to abdicate on November 9, 1918 in the aftermath of World War I. He died 2 weeks before his younger son was due to marry. His widow and elder son were tragically killed in an air crash on their way to the postponed wedding.
Hesse by the early 20th century was a small part of the German Empire, but the royal family was closely related to the British, German, and Russian royal families.
Ernst-Louis or Ernst-Ludwig in German was the son of was Grand Duke Louis IV von Hessen-Darmstadt (1837- ). His father was Prince Charles von Hessen (1809- ). His mother was Princess Elizabeth of Prussia (1815- ).
His mother was Princess Alice Maud Mary Wettin (18??- ), the second daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Princess Alice was especially close to her older sister Vicky who married Crown Prince Frederich of Germany. Their son Wilhelm was a constant visitor to his Hessian relatives as a young man.
Grand Duke Erndst Louis was one of seven children raised in the New Palace in Darmstadt. The children were all baptized into the Lutheran Church. Ernst-Louis was the oldest boy. The sisters included Victoria, Irene, Alexandra, and May. Alexandra (1872-1918) while a younger sister, is the best known to history. May died of dipltheria when she was only 4 years old. While caring for the children, Grand Duchess of Hesse contracted the disease and died (1878). Alexandra was only 6 years old. Princess Alix became very close to her maternal grandmother. Thus Alex more than the other children spent a great deal of time in Britain with Queen Victoris. She was often at Balmoral Castle in Scotland and at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. She was called Sunny becuse of her bright personality. The death of her sister May and then mother seems to have affected her personality.
Ernst-Ludwig acceded to the throne of Hesse on the Rhine as Grand Duke (1892). He married twice and had four children.
GrandDuke Ernst-Ludwig's first wife was Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha who was related to both the Britishh and Russian royal family. Queen Victoria actively promoted the match. It did not, however, prove a happy union. The couple had two children, neither of which survived childhood. They divorced (1901). It was not an amicable separation.
GrandDuke Ernst-Ludwig married Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Edinburg), a fitst cousin (1894). Victoria Melita was a grand daughter of Queen Victoria and Tsar Alexander II--quite an impressive lineage. She was called "Ducky" within the family. Queen Victoria played an important role in promoting the marriage. [Vickers, p. 33.] The two were married at Schloss Ehrenburg, Coburg in 1894. She was very young at the time of the marriahge, only 17 years of age. The marriage did not, however, go well and the two divorced in 1901. It was not an amicable separation. The grounds were "invincible mutual antipathy". The divorce had to be approved by a special verdict of the Hesse Supreme Court. Victoria Melita subsequently told intimates that she was offended by the Grand Duke's homosexual flings.
Ernst Louis and Victoria had two children. Elizabeth Mary Alice Victoria von Hessen (1895-1903) was by all accounts a sweet child. She tragically died of typhoid at age 8 years (1903). Alice was named after her aunt, the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna of Russia. She was nicknamed Ella after her. There were rumors that she was poisoned. The poison bdeing meant for her uncle, Tsar Nicholas II. This has never been substantiated. The official cause of death reported by the court physician was virulent typhoid. Ernst Louis and Victoria also had a stillborn son (1900). This appears to have been the breaking pointb in their marriage.
Ernst Louis' remarried (1905). His second wife was Princess Eleonore of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich, Darmstadt. Her father was Prince Hermann V of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich. Her mother was Agnes von Stolberg-Wernigerode. We know little about Grand Duchess Eleonore. Ernst Louis and Elenore had two sons, George Donatus and Louis. We have no informaion on family life at this time. The family appears to have been on close terms with the Russian royal family which they visited. Prince George Donatus was old enough to play with the Tsarevitch Alexis. George Donatus and Louis were fairly close in age. Only 2 years separated them. Thus they were commonly dressed in coordinated or identical outfits. The children wore tunics and sailor suits. The family was sandened by the Grand Duke's death, just a few days before his youngest son's marriage. The family was then devestated by a tragic air accident (1937).
Grand Duke Ernst Louis was especially known as a great patron of the arts. He founded the Darmstadt Artists' Colony. He himself wrote poems, plays, and essays. He also composed piano compositions.
Grand Duke Ernest Louis served in the German Army during World War I. We do not have details on his military service.
The Grand Duke like the other German royals, lost his throne in the aftermath of World War I. Many of the other royals, including the Kaiser abdicated. Grand Duke Ernst Louis refused to do so. The throne was abolished by the republican officials who seized power in Hesse (November 9, 1918).
The Grand Duke died at Schloß Wolfsgarten, near Darmstadt2 weeks before his younger son was due to marry (October 1937). His widow and elder son, George Donatus, were tragically killed in an air crash on their way to the postponed wedding. The people of Hesse wee shocked. The Grand Duke's reign had ended at the end of World war I. Many in Hesse still remained fond of him. He was given a high profile funeral (November 16, 1937). I'm not sure how the NAZIs viewed this. He was buried in the Rosenhohe, the traditional burial place of the Hesse family.
Vickers, Hugo. Alice: Princess Andrew of Greece (St. Martin's Press: New York, 2000), 477p.
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