#grand duke ernest louis of hesse-darmstadt

[ykzzr]

Ernst Louis and his son Georg Donatus in 1907❤️.

[royalty-nobility]

The Family of the Grand Duke of Hesse

Artist: Heinrich von Angeli (Austrian, 1840-1925)

Date: 1879

Medium: Oil on canvas

Collection: Royal Collection Trust, United Kingdom

Description

Louis, the Grand Duke of Hesse is seated, surrounded by his family. He wears a General Officer's greatcoat with the badge 'Pour La Mérite' and the Iron Cross, and holds a riding crop. His wife Alice (the Grand Duchess, Queen Victoria's second daughter) stands behind him, resting her left arm on the shoulder of Prince Ernest. Princess Elizabeth stands behind her father; Princess Alix stands on the left, leaning on the arm of the chair. The couple's eldest daughter, Princess Victoria, was pronounced 'too big' to be included in the picture. The children and their mother are in day dress.

The picture was painted for Queen Victoria, who paid Von Angeli £1260 for it on 3 December 1879. It was hoped that the artist would go to Darmstadt in 1877 to begin the picture, but he was unable to escape work commitments until the following year. On 9 April 1878 Princess Alice wrote to her mother that Von Angeli had arrived and would start work at once on preparatory studies of the heads. Princess Alice died on 14 December 1878, presumably before completion of the picture, and her likeness is close to the three-quarter-length study which Von Angeli had painted earlier in the year. The picture was brought over to Osborne House on 21 January 1879, where it provided comfort for the Queen in the months following her daughter's death. To Princess Victoria of Hesse the Queen wrote: 'The dear family picture is a great delight & comfort to me & so wonderfully – splendidly painted & grouped – so very like. I think Ella's expression is just hers & Ernie's an expression he very often has.'

[loiladadiani]

Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse (1868 - 1937)

Ernst Ludwig was the elder son of Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine and Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. He grew up with his four sisters (to whom he was very close) in Darmstadt. His only brother died in 1873 at the age of 3. One of his sisters was Alexandra, Empress of Russia.

He married his cousin Victoria Melita, Princess of Saxe Coburg and Gotha; they had two children, one stillborn boy and a beautiful girl, Elizabeth (Ella), who died of typhoid fever. The couple divorced after her death, and Ernest then married Princess Eleonore of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich (nicknamed Onor by the family). The union produced two children: Louis, Prince of Hesse and By Rhine, and George Donatus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse and By Rhine. George Donatus married Princess Cecilie of Greece and Denmark, and older sister of Prince Phillip (sometimes all roads seem to lead to our dear Prince Phillip.)

Photographs: 1. Ernst Ludwig, Onor, and their two children, George Donatus and Louis; 2. An older Ernst Ludwig, with his grandson.

[princessvictoriamelita]

Grand Duke Ernest Louis of Hesse and by Rhine on his wedding day, 19 April 1894.

[empress-alexandra]

In Darmstadt, 1899. 

From the top: Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich of Russia,  Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark, Emperor Nicholas II of Russia, Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich of Russia (?), Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia, Grand Duke Ernest Louis of Hesse, Grand Duchess Victoria Melita of Hesse, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia. Two years after this picture was taken Ernest and Victoria divorced. In 1905 Victoria Melita married  Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich, thus becoming Grand Duchess Victoria Feodorovna of Russia.

Original picture.

[thehessiansisters]

Group photograph of the Hessian sisters along with Ernest Louis, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, Prince Louis of Battenberg, Princess Alice of Battenberg, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia and Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, possibly in Darmstadt, 1887.

[classical-gentry]

In Darmstadt, 1899.

From the top: Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich of Russia,  Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark, Emperor Nicholas II of Russia, Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich of Russia (?), Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia, Grand Duke Ernest Louis of Hesse, Grand Duchess Victoria Melita of Hesse, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia. Two years after this picture was taken Ernest and Victoria divorced. In 1905 Victoria Melita married  Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich, thus becoming Grand Duchess Victoria Feodorovna of Russia.

[mashkaromanova]

Alexandra Feodorovna, 1896

“My darling Ernie,

As I have just a little free time before we go off to the Christening of Militza’s little Boy, I hasten to write to you. - We shall be on the run this week to Petersburg, as there are several regimental feasts we must go to - a bore I must confess, as one would prefer remaining quiet a little. - Nicky has much to do, but still he managed to go out shooting twice last week, & he looked & felt much the better for it. - We walk twice daily to-gether. as the snow is not thick. At Gatchina they are able to sledge since 8 days, - wh. Misha enjoys greatly. We have been there several times, but yesterday, it being sweet Baby’s first Birthday, we remained quietly here. - Paul’s children come & play with her sometimes, wh. she enjoys very much. I slid down the hill with her the other day even. She goes out as long as it is not too cold & has splendid red red cheeks. -

Mossy with her four sons in three years, is charming? Mavra was expecting again, but it has gone wrong & is all over this time. - I am with anxiety awaiting the news from Irene; God grant all may go well. - The little red flanell [sic] jackets & frocks are getting on for the Alice Hosp[ital]: as my annual Xmas gift, & I love making them. Those happy weeks at Darmstadt with you darlings, seem like a dream to me; so long ago it all seems. What a joy it was being again in my old home after two long, long years, wh. I had left so suddenly & with such sad & unsure feelings. It touched me deeper than I can say that the people had not forgotten their old Ahhlise!

I wonder if you will go to the Mausoleum to-day - sweet little May’s death day; already 18 years ago since she was taken from us. Have you still got her cap under your cushion in bed? - How nice for dear Ducky that Sandra is with you. Please kiss both & sweet Baby Ella. - By the by is anything being done about the house in Venice? Has Zwilling gone there to see about it? Do let us know.

But I must dress now. Goodbye & God bless you, my own old Ernie dear. Ever yr deeply loving & devoted old Sunny.

[P.S.] Many kisses from us both.”

- Alexandra to Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse, 4th/16th November 1896

[illustrationexhilaration]

Day 436: Oscar Dröge

“Paul (Oskar) Oscar Droege, printmaker and painter, was born in Hamburg, Germany on January 10, 1898, to Franzisko and Melita Droege. In 1905, his family relocated to the town of Waren located at the northern end of Lake Muritz. Droege attended public school in Waren and it appears that he was less than an ideal student.

In fall of 1916, Droege reported for military service and was a soldier in the Germany army in World War I, serving in France and Russia. After the war, he studied with Professor Hans Kohlschein at the Darmstadt Artists’ Colony, which was founded in 1899 by Ernest Louis, the Grand Duke of Hesse. Droege also studied at the Düsseldorf Academy but it was Leopold Karl Walter Graft von Kalckreuth, painter and graphic artist, who influenced Droege to turn to color woodcut in the early 1920s. In the late 1920s, Droege befriended the artist Werner Lange and the two traveled via bicycle and paddleboats through Germany, France and Scandinavia searching for subject matter.

On June 20, 1940, Droege was recalled into the military to serve in the German army and, in 1948, after the end of World War II, he was released from Russian captivity. In the 1950s, Droege resumed his traveling, this time throughout Central Germany and later he traveled to Switzerland and Paris. In the 1960s Droege returned to painting with watercolors and, in 1962, he relocated to Hamburg having inherited a mansion there.

Paul Oscar Droege died in Hamburg on October 8, 1983.”

[ykzzr]

Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig of Hesse and by Rhine with his two sons, Hereditary Grand Duke Georg Donatus (left) and Prince Ludwig (right), in Rosenhöhe Park, summer 1916

[wgabry]

Principessa Eleonora di Solms-Hohensolms-Lich married Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse in Darmstadt

[theinvinciblearmy]

Ernest Louis Charles Albert William (German: Ernst Ludwig Karl Albrecht Wilhelm; 25 November 1868 – 9 October 1937) was the last Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, reigning from 1892 until 1918.[1] His nickname was "Ernie".Ernest Louis was the elder son of Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine and his wife Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. He was named Louis after his father. One of seven siblings, two of who died in childhood, Ernest grew up with his four surviving sisters in Darmstadt. One of his younger sisters, Alexandra, would marry Tsar Nicholas II, the last Emperor of Russia, while another sister, Victoria Mountbatten, would be the mother of Queen Louise of Sweden and grandmother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

[princessvictoriamelita]

A group photograph taken at Coburg at the family gathering for the wedding of Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and Prince Ernest Hohenlohe-Langenburg (not in this photograph). It is probably Schloss Ehrenburg. The names of 26 people in the photograph are written underneath.

Seated: Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (1853-1920) ; Princess Charlotte, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen (1860-1919); Leopoldine, Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (1937-1903).

First row: Prince Heinrich XXVII of Reuss (1858-1928); Empress Augusta Victoria of Germany (1858-1921); Hermann, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (1832-1913); Grand Duchess Vladimir of Russia (1854-1920); Princess Elise Reuss (1864-1929); Princess Mary, Duchess of York (1867-1953); Victoria Melita, Grand Duchess of Hesse (1876-1936); Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (1884-1966).

Second row: Princess Feodore of Saxe-Meiningen (1866-1932); Princess Louise of Belgium, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (1858-1924); Maria, Princess Ferdinand of Roumania (1875-1938); Prince Maximilian of Baden (1867-1929); Princess Feodore of Leiningen (1866-1932); Prince George, Duke of York (1865-1936); Ernest Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse (1868-1937).

Back row: Count Albert Mensdorff (1861-1945); Emich Prince of Leiningen (1866-19932); Prince Philip of Saxe-Coburg;-Gotha (18440-1921) Prince Ferdinand of Roumania (1865-1927); Emperor William II of Germany(1859-1941) ; Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (1846-1900); Grand Duke Paul of Russia (1860-1919).

Source: Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2021.

[empress-alexandra]

Emperor Nicholas II of Russia, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia, Princess Victoria, Marchioness of Milford Haven, Grand Duke Ernest Louis of Hesse, Princess Irene of Prussia, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna of Russia, Princess Victoria Melita, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia, Darmstadt 1894.

Original picture

[thehessiansisters]

A group photograph depicting Princess Irene; Ernest Louis, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse; Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna of Russia; Prince Louis of Battenberg; Princess Louis of Battenberg, holding Princess Alice of Battenberg; Princess Alix; Grand Duke Louis IV and Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia, possibly in Darmstadt by Carl Backofen, 1887.

[princessvictoriamelita]

Royal group photograph taken at Coburg, 20 April 1896.

A group photograph taken after the wedding of Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and Prince Ernest Hohenlohe-Langenburg (not in the photograph), with guests arranged outside the entrance of Schloss Ehrenburg, Coburg.

Left to right: Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse (1868-1937); Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1876-1937), later married to Grand Duke Kyrill; Princess Ferdinand of Roumania (1875-1938); Prince Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (1844-1900); Emperor William II of Germany (1859-1941); Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna (1854-1920); Maria Alexandrovna, Grand Duchess of Saxe-Coburg (1853-1920); Princess Victoria,Duches of York (1867-1953); Empress Augusta Victoria of Germany (1858-1921); Princess Elise of Reuss (1864-1929); Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (1844-1966); Princess Louise of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (1858-1924); Princess Charlotte of Prussia, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen,(1860-1919); Prince George, Duke of York (1865-1936); Prince Ferdinand of Roumaria (1865-1927); Prince Heinrich XXVII Reuss (1858-1928); Prince Alfred of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (1874-99); Prince Maximilian of Baden (1867-1929); Count Alfred Mensdorff (1861-1945); Prince Philip of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (1844-1921).