#hereditary grand duchess cecilie of hesse and by rhine

[ykzzr]

Grand Duchess Eleonore of Hesse and by Rhine, Prince Georg Donatus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine and his wife, Hereditary Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine and Prince Louis of Hesse and by Rhine at the Bayreuth Festival in 1932.

[jeannepompadour]

Princess Cecilie of Greece and Denmark, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine, 1936

[loiladadiani]

Princess Alice of Battenberg (Victoria Alice Elizabeth Julia Marie; 1885 – 1969) - Princess of Greece and Denmark

One of her Great-Grandmothers was Queen Victoria; her maternal grandmother was Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine; her mother was Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, sister of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia; her father was Prince Louis of Battenberg. Her son was Prince Phillip, consort of Queen Elizabeth II.

She married Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark

She had five children: Margarita, Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

Theodora, Margravine of Baden

Cecilie, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Hesse

Sophie, Princess George of Hanover

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Alice suffered incredibly through her life, but she did not let that stop her from always thinking of others; she was born with a hearing deficit and her brilliant mother Victoria, taught her to lip read not in one but several languages. She had a husband who preferred to gamble in Montecarlo to being with his wife and children or...anything else. She was diagnosed with squizophrenia (there is no evidence that this was a correct diagnosis even though it was issue by Dr. Freud himself) and her pelvic organs irradiated to produce an early menopause (this was supposed to relieve the symptoms according to the medical thinking of the times). She lost her daughter Cecilie in a plane crash.

Yet, like her grandmother Alice, helping others came to her naturally. Israel gave her the award Righteous Among the Nations, bestowed on people who risked their own lives to help Jewish people survive the Holocaust. She worked for the Swiss Red Cross.

The princess founded a nursing order of Greek Orthodox nuns, the Christian Sisterhood of Martha and Mary, modelled after the convent that her aunt, the martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, had founded in Russia in 1909. She dedicated herself to helping others but eventually the order failed because of lack of funds.

And besides all of that, she was beautiful.

She died at Buckingham Palace at the age of 84.

(I have to add something here: Alice's smile in the picture is one of the most open, sweetest, tenderest, and most beautiful smiles I have ever seen. It filled me with awe, and thinking about her life brought tears to my eyes)

[princessvictoriamelita]

Hereditary Grand Duchess Cecilie of Hesse and by Rhine, 1930s.

[thepompandcircumstance]

Her Majesty Queen Olga of the Hellenes with all her granddaughters.

[empress-alexandra]

Princess Cecilie of Greece and Denmark, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Hesse  and by Rhine. She was elder sister of Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh, 1934.

[greekroyalfamilyelvaoikogenia]

Cecilie was the third child and daughter of HRH 👑🤴👑 Prince Andreas of Hellenes 🇬🇷and Denmark 🇩🇰and HRH Princess Alice of Batenberg later HRH 👑👸👑Princess Aliki of Hellenes 🇬🇷and Denmark 🇩🇰She was born on 22 June 1911 at the summer estate of the Greek Royal Family at Tatoi fifteen kilometres north of Athens. Although her given name was Cecilie, she was known to her family as Cécile.

Cecilie was baptised at Tatoi on 2 July 1911.

Through her father, Cecilie was a grandchild of HM King Georgios I of Hellenes Prince of Denmark and his wife, HIH Grand Duchess Olga Kostandinovna of Russia (a granddaughter of Tsar Nickolas I of Russia ) through her mother, she was a great-great granddaughter of Queen Victoria Cecilie had three sisters and a brother :

a)Margarita (wife of Prince Gottfried of Hohelhohen -Langenburg b)Theodora (wife of Berthold Magrave of Baden ) and c)Sophia (wife firstly of Prince Christoph of Hesse and secondly of Prince George William of Hannover )

Her brother, was Prince Philip, late Duke of Edinburgh, and the husband of Queen Elisabeth II of GB

On 2 February 1931 at Darmstadt Cecilie married George Horatius Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine who was her maternal first cousin once removed.

They had four children.

In October 1937, Cecilie's father-in-law Grand Duke Ernest Ludwig of Hesse died. A few weeks after the funeral, her brother-in-law Prince Ludwig was due to be married to Margaret Campbell Geddes in London.

On 15 November 1937, Georg Donatus, Cecilie, their two young sons and Georg's mother Grand Duchess Eleonore left Darmstadt for London, where they planned to attend the wedding. The aircraft in which they were travelling crashed in flames after hitting a factory chimney near Ostend in Belgium killing all on board. At the time, Cecilie was eight months pregnant with her fourth child, and the remains of the baby, a boy, were found in the wreckage.

Cecilie was buried with her husband and three sons in Darmstadt at the Rosenhöhe, the traditional burial place of the Hesse family. Cecilie's daughter Johanna was adopted by Prince Ludwig and Princess Margaret, but she died two years later from meningitis and is buried with her parents and brothers. Cecilie was the first of Prince Andrew and Princess Alice's children to die. Her last surviving sibling, Prince Philip, died on 9 April 2021. He survived her by more than 83 years.

Η ΑΒΥ Πριγκίπισσα Κεκιλια της Ελλαδος 🇬🇷και Δανίας 🇩🇰ήταν το τρίτο παιδί και κόρη της ΑΒΥ 👑🤴👑 Πρίγκιπα Αντρέα της Ελλάδας 🇬🇷και της Δανιας 🇩🇰 και της ΑΒΥ πριγκίπισσας Αλίκης του Μπάτενμπεργκ αργότερα ΑΒΥ 👑👸👑 πριγκίπισσα Αλικη της Ελλάδας 🇬🇷και της Δανιας 🇩🇰.Η ΑΒΥ Πριγκίπισσα Κεκιλια γεννήθηκε στις 22 Ιουνίου 1911 στο θερινό Ανακτορο της Ελληνικής Βασιλικής Οικογένειας στο Τατόι δεκαπέντε χιλιόμετρα βόρεια της Αθήνας.

Η ΑΒΥ Πριγκίπισσα Κεκιλια βαφτίστηκε στο Τατόι στις 2 Ιουλίου 1911.

Μέσω του πατέρα της, η Κεκιλια ήταν εγγόνι της ΑΜ Βασιλέα της Ελλαδος 🇬🇷Πρίγκιπας της Δανίας 🇩🇰και της σύζυγου του, της ΑΑΥ Μεγάλης Δούκισσας Ολγας Κονσταντινοβας της Ρωσίας (εγγονή του Τσάρου Νικολάου Α’ της Ρωσίας) μέσω της μητέρας της, η Κεκιλια ήταν εγγονή της βασίλισσας Βικτώριας .

Η Πριγκίπισσα Κεκιλια είχε τρεις αδελφές και έναν αδελφό:

α) Πριγκίπισσα Μαργαρίτα (σύζυγος του πρίγκιπα Γκότφριντ του Χόχελχεν-Λάντενμπουργκ β) Η Πριγκίπισσα Θεοδώρα (σύζυγος του Μπέρτολντ Μαγκράβε του Μπάντεν) και

γ) Πριγκίπισσα Σοφία (σύζυγος πρώτα του πρίγκιπα Χριστόφου της Έσσης και δεύτερον του πρίγκιπα Τζορτζ Γουίλιαμ του Αννόβερου)

Ο αδερφός της, ήταν ο πρίγκιπας Φίλιππος, αείμνηστος Δούκας του Εδιμβούργου, και σύζυγος της Βασίλισσας Ελισάβετ Β της ΜΒ

Στις 2 Φεβρουαρίου 1931 στο Ντάρμσταντ, η Κεκιλια παντρεύτηκε τον Μεγάλο Δούκα της Έσσης και Ρήνου, ο οποίος ήταν πρώτος ξάδελφος απο την πλευρά της μητέρας της καιαπέκτησαν τέσσερα παιδιά.

Τον Οκτώβριο του 1937, πέθανε ο πεθερός της Πριγκιπισσας Κεκίλιας Μεγάλος Δούκας Eρνεστος Λουδοβίκος της Έσσης. Λίγες εβδομάδες μετά την κηδεία, ο κουνιαδος της Πρίγκιπας Λουδοβικος επρόκειτο να παντρευτεί με τη Μαργαρίτα Κάμπελ Γκάντες στο Λον��ίνο.

Στις 15 Νοεμβρίου 1937, ο Γεωργιος Δονατιος η Πριγκίπισσα Κεκίλια οι δύο νεαροί γιοι τους και η μητέρα του Γεωργίου Μεγάλη Δούκισσα Ελεωνόρα έφυγαν από το Νταρμσταντ για το Λονδίνο, όπου σχεδίαζαν να παρευρεθούν στους γάμους . Το αεροσκάφος στο οποίο ταξίδευαν συντρίβεται αφού χτύπησε μια καμινάδα εργοστασίου κοντά στην Οστάνδη στο Βέλγιο σκοτώνοντας όλους τους επιβάτες. Εκείνη την εποχή, η Κεκίλια ήταν οκτώ μηνών έγκυος με το τέταρτο παιδί της .

Το πτώμα του μωρού, ενός αγοριού, βρέθηκε στα συντρίμμια.

Η Κεκίλια θάφτηκε με τον σύζυγό της και τους τρεις γιους τους στο Ντάρμσταντ στο Ροσενχολε, τον παραδοσιακό τόπο ταφής της οικογένειας Χεσσης Η κόρη της Κεκιλιας που δεν ήταν μαζί στο αεροπλάνο Ιωάννα υιοθετήθηκε από τον πρίγκιπα Λουδοβίκο και την πριγκίπισσα Μαργαρίτα, αλλά πέθανε δύο χρόνια αργότερα από μηνιγγίτιδα και είναι θαμμένη με τους γονείς και τους αδελφούς της. Η Κεκίλια ήταν το πρώτο από τα παιδια του Πρίγκιπα Ανδρέα και της Πριγκίπισσας Αλίκης που πέθανε . Ο τελευταίος αδελφός της, ο πρίγκιπας Φίλιππος, πέθανε στις 9 Απριλίου 2021. Την επέζησε για περισσότερα από 83 χρόνια.

[annalaurendet70]

Group photo during the wedding of Hereditary Grand Duke Georg Donatus of Hesse and by Rhine and Princess Cecilie of Greece and Denmark in front of the Schlosskapelle Darmstadt. From left to right: Mr. Muller; Victoria Mountbatten, Marchioness of Miford Haven, Princess Margarita of Greece and Denmark, Grand Duchess Eleonore of Hesse and by Rhine, Grand Duke Ernst-Ludwig of Hesse and by Rhine, behind them; Princess Theodora of Greece and Denmark, in front; Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark; behind Mr. v. Schroder; Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark and Mr. Lauterbach.

[theroyalhistory]

Princess Andrew of Greece (Princess Alice of Battenberg; mother of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh) and Princess Cecilie of Greece (later the Hereditary Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine; sister of Prince Philip), Cowes, 1928

[venicepearl]

Princess Cecilie of Greece and Denmark (22 June 1911 – 16 November 1937) was by birth a Greek and Danish princess who became the titular Hereditary Grand Duchess consort of Hesse and by Rhine through her marriage to Prince Georg Donatus, pretender to the throne of the Grand Duchy of Hesse. She was also the third-eldest sister to Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark (later Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh) and the paternal aunt of Charles III.

The third of five children of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg, Cecilie spent a happy childhood. In her early years, however, she witnessed the Balkan Wars (1912–1913), followed by the First World War (1914–1918) and the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922). For the young princess and her relatives, these conflicts had dramatic consequences and led to their exile in Switzerland (between 1917 and 1920), and then in France (from 1922 to 1936). During their exile, Cecilie and her family depended on the generosity of their foreign relatives, in particular Marie Bonaparte (who offered them accommodation in Saint-Cloud) and Lady Edwina Mountbatten (who supported them financially).

The year 1929 was a turning point in Cecilie's life. She formed a relationship with her maternal cousin, Georg Donatus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse. Around the same time, her mother was struck by a mental health crisis which led to her confinement in a Swiss psychiatric hospital until 1933. After marrying Georg Donatus in 1931, Cecilie moved to Darmstadt. There she gave birth to their three children, Ludwig (1931–1937), Alexander (1933–1937) and Johanna (1936–1939), before becoming pregnant with her fourth child in 1937. Initially distant from the Nazi movement, she joined the Nazi Party at the same time as her husband in May 1937.

Soon after, the princess and her family embarked on a trip to the United Kingdom, where they were to attend the wedding of her brother-in-law Louis, Prince of Hesse and by Rhine to Margaret Campbell Geddes. However, the aircraft in which they were travelling crashed in flames near Ostend, instantly killing all the passengers. Repatriated to Darmstadt, their remains were buried in the Grand Ducal mausoleum of Rosenhöhe on 23 November 1937.

[ykzzr]

Georg Donatus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse, Cecilie, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine, Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark, Prince Ludwig of Hesse Early 1930s.

[jeannepompadour]

Princess Cecilie of Greece and Denmark, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Hesse and by the Rhine, c. 1930s

[princessvictoriamelita]

Cecilie, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine, 1930s.

[germanaustriannoblesandroyals]

Master Post - Members who married into a royal or noble house

Disclaimer: If a person married someone from the same house as they were born into, I have not listed them in this list. Please look at the list sorted by birth for them. Houses that rule(d)/reside(d) in other countries but originally came from German and/or Austrian territories and/or are generally regarded as belonging to this cultural room are listed among the German & Austrian Houses.

German & Austrian Houses

House of Babenberg

Princess Eudokia Laskarina of Nicaea, The Hereditary Duchess of Austria

Princess Theodora Angelina of Byzantium, The Duchess of Austria & Styria

Princess Theodora Komnene of Byzantium, The Duchess of Bavaria & Austria

House of Castell

Baroness Ottilie of Faber, Countess of Faber-Castell

House of Coburg (Cadet branch of the House of Wettin)

Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, The Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (1st marriage)

Princess Mary of Teck, The Queen of the United Kingdom & British Dominions, The Empress of India

Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom (wife of Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha)

House of Faber

Ottilie Richter, Baroness of Faber

House of Habsburg (incl. Habsburg-Lorraine)

Anna Plochl, Countess of Meran

Princess Charlotte of Belgium, The Empress of Mexico, Archduchess of Austria

Infanta Eleanor of Portugal, Holy Roman Empress, The Archduchess of Austria

Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg, Holy Roman Empress

Elisabeth in Bavaria, The Empress of Austria

Princess Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Holy Roman Empress

Queen Joanna of Castile, León and Aragon (Consort of Philip the Handsome, Archduke of Austria and The Duke of Burgundy)

Princess Maria Anna of Bavaria, The Archduchess of Inner Austria-Styria

Maria Beatrice d’Este, The Duchess of Massa & Carrara, Archduchess of Austria

Mary, The Duchess of Burgundy

Princess Sophie of Bavaria, Archduchess of Austria

Countess Sophie Chotek of Chotkowa and Wognin, The Duchess of Hohenberg

Princess Stéphanie of Belgium, The Crown Princess of Austria, Hungary and Bohemia

House of Hanover (Cadet branch of the House of Welf)

Princess Adelaide (Adelheid) of Saxe-Meiningen, The Queen of the United Kingdom and Hanover

Princess Caroline of Ansbach, The Queen of Great Britain

Princess Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, The Queen of the United Kingdom and Hanover

Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, The Queen of Great Britain, Ireland and Hanover

Frederica (Friederike) of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, The Queen of Hanover, The Duchess of Cumberland and Teviotdale (3rd marriage)

Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, The Duchess of Kent (2nd marriage)

House of Hesse

Princess Alice of Great Britain and Ireland, The Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine

Princess Cecilie of Greece and Denmark, The Hereditary Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine

Princess Christina of Saxony, The Landgravine of Hesse

House of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

Princess Feodora of Leininigen, The Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

House of Hohenstaufen

Irene of Byzantium, The Queen of the Germans, The Duchess of Swabia

House of Hohenzollern

Princess Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, The German Empress

Princess Augusta Victoria (Auguste Viktoria) of Schleswig-Holstein, The German Empress

Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern, The Queen of Prussia

Princess Elisabeth of Wied, The Queen & Princess of Romania

Princess Elisabeth Ludovika of Bavaria, The Queen of Prussia

Frederica (Friederike) of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Princess Louis Charles of Prussia (1st marriage)

Princess Hermine Reuß, “German Empress”

Jadwiga Jagiellon, Electress of Brandenburg

Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, The Queen of Prussia

Princess Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, The Queen in Prussia

Princess Victoria of Great Britain and Ireland, Princess Royal, The German Empress

House of La Marck

Jeanne d’Albret, The Duchess of Jülich-Cleves-Berg

House of Limburg-Luxemburg

Elizabeth of Pomerania, Holy Roman Empress

House of Nassau

Princess Sophie of Württemberg, The Queen of the Netherlands

House of Oldenburg

Princess Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, The Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein

Princess Juliane of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern, The Queen of Denmark and Norway

House of Supplinburg

Richenza of Northeim, Holy Roman Empress

House of Thurn and Taxis

Helene in Bavaria, The Hereditary Princess of Thurn and Taxis

House of Welf (without the British Hanover branch)

Princess Elisabeth of Brandenburg, The Duchess of Brunswick-Calenberg-Göttingen

Elisabeth of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Princess of Brunswick-Lüneburg aka Grand Duchess Anna Leopoldovna of Russia

House of Wettin (without the Coburg branch)

Princess Amalie Auguste of Bavaria, The Queen of Saxony

Princess Feodora of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, The Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen

Princess Maria Anna of Bavaria, The Queen of Saxony

Sibylle of Cleves, The Electress of Saxony

House of Wittelsbach

Elizabeth Stuart, The Queen of Bohemia & Electress Palatine

Kunigunde of Austria, The Duchess of Bavaria-Munich

Princess Louise d’Orléans, Princess of Bavaria

Archduchess Maria Antonia of Austria, The Electress of Bavaria

Princess Marie of Prussia, The Queen of Bavaria

The House of Württemberg

Princess Antoinette of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Duchess of Württemberg

Princess Marie Auguste of Thurn and Taxis, The Duchess of Württemberg

The Ottonians

Adelaide of Burgundy, Holy Roman Empress, Queen of Italy

Theophanu, Holy Roman Empress

Foreign Houses

House of Bourbon

Jeanne d’Albret, The Queen of Navarre and The Duchess of Vendôme

Archduchess Maria Antonia “Marie Antoinette” of Austria, The Queen of France

House of Braganza

Archduchess Maria Leopoldina, The Empress of Brazil, The Queen of Portugal and the Algarves 

Byzantine Imperial Family

Konstanze “Anna” of Hohenstaufen, The Empress of Nicaea

House of Ivrea

Elisabeth “Beatrix” of Swabia, The Queen of Castile, León & Galicia

House of Lorraine

Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria, Princess of Lorraine and Bar

The Archduchess Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia) of Austria, Holy Roman Empress (marriage formed new House of Habsburg-Lorraine)

House of Medici

Archduchess Johanna of Austria, The Grand Duchess of Tuscany

House of Radziwiłł

Princess Luise of Prussia, Princess Radziwiłł

House of Romanov (incl. Romanov-Holstein-Gottrop)

Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine aka Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia

Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna of Russia

Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst, The Empress Regnant of Russia aka Catherine the Great

House of Tudor

Anne of Cleves, The Queen of England

House of Valois

Elisabeth (Isabeau) of Bavaria, The Queen of France

House of Vasa

Princess Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg, The Queen of Sweden

Minor Nobles

Anna Constantia of Brockdorff, The Imperial Countess of Cosel

Helene Baltazzi, The Baroness of Vetsera

Maria Anna Mozart, The Imperial Countess Berchthold

Marie Karoline of Mollard, The Imperial Countess of Fuchs to Bimbach

Sophia Botta, The Dark Countess of Hildburghausen

Sophie of Pannwitz, Countess of Voß

[thepompandcircumstance]

Paternal cousins Princess Cecilie of Greece, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Hesse with Princess Marina of Greece, Duchess of Kent. 

[greekroyalfamilyelvaoikogenia]

84 years since the TRAGIC death of HRH Princess Cecillie of Greece and Denmark Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine in 16–11-1937

Her Royal Highness Princess Cecilie of Greece and Denmark was the third-eldest sister to Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. Her father was HRH Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and her mother, HRH Princess Alice of Battenberg.

On 22nd June 1911, she was born at the summer estate of the Greek Royal Family at Tatoi. Princess Cecilie of Greece and Denmark’s siblings included Margarita, Theodora and Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark. Her brother was Philip who later became the Duke of Edinburgh after having married Queen Elizabeth II.

The legendary marriage of the Princess Cecilie of Greece and Denmark took place on 2nd February 1931 at Darmstadt. The Princess married Georg Donatus, the Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse.

(3rd collage)

They had three children, two boys and one baby daughter.

( 4th Collage)

The fate of the family would turn out to be exceptionally tragic with some people even believing that the family was cursed.

It was just one year before World War II broke out when Princess Cecilie was eight months pregnant and expecting her fourth child. On October 1937 Georg Donatus’ father, the Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig of Hesse died.

shortly after, the family arranged a match between Prince Ludwig (Georg Donatus’ brother) and the Hon. Margaret Campbell-Geddes. Soon, the wedding plans were in full swing with the ceremony being planned to take place in London. On 16th November Princess Cecilie of Greece and Denmark along with her entire family boarded a flight for London.

On that flight, travelling with Princess Cecilie, was her husband, mother-in-law, her young sons and Lina Henar the children’s nurse. Princess Johanna was left at Darmstadt because she was considered too young to accompany the family and the Princess Cecilie of Greece and Denmark was uncomfortable taking her on the flight. This could perhaps be due to the fact that the Princess was mortally terrified of flying.

The weather was absolutely clear and sunny when they took off, but it later became extremely foggy after flying for some time. No one knows the exact reason why but the pilot decided to make a quick landing near Brussels. However, he could not do so because of the dense fog and decided to land at Ostende, the next adjoining airport.

But it would turn out that Ostende Airport also had dense fog. The pilot was not able to spot a tall factory chimney in the bad weather and as a result, the aircraft’s wings hit. Within minutes the plane burst into flames and crashed to the ground. There were a total of eleven people on board including the Princess Cecilie of Greece and Denmark.

Unfortunately, nobody survived the crash. When the rescue team arrived, they found the dead body of a newly born baby within the wreckage. It is therefore believed that the Princess gave birth to her fourth child during the flight. This might also explain why the pilot tried to make an emergency and unscheduled landing.

The funeral took place in Nazi Germany in Darmstadt at the Rosenhöhe in the traditional burial place of the Hesse family.

The only survivor of their young family was Princess Johanna who was left at home. She was later adopted by her uncle Prince Ludwig but died from meningitis just two years later on 14th June 1939. Following her untimely death, the young Princess was buried with her family in Darmstadt.

(5th Collage)

84 χρόνια από τον ΤΡΑΓΙΚΟ θάνατο της ABY Πριγκίπισσας Κεκιλια της Ελλάδας και της Δανίας Δουκισσα του Hesse und bei Rhine στις 16–11–1937

Η ΑΒΥ Η Πριγκίπισσα Κεκιλια της Ελλάδας και της Δανίας ήταν η τρίτη μεγαλύτερη αδερφή του πρίγκιπα Φιλίππου, του Δούκα του Εδιμβούργου. Ο πατέρας της ήταν ο ΑΒΥ Πρίγκιπας Aντρεας της Ελλάδας και της Δανίας και η μητέρα της, ΑΒΥ Πριγκίπισσα Αλίκης του Battenberg.

Στις 22 Ιουνίου 1911 γεννήθηκε στο θερινό κτήμα της Ελληνικής Βασιλικής Οικογένειας στο Τατόι. Η πριγκίπισσα Cecilie της Ελλάδας και τα αδέρφια της Δανίας ήταν η Μαργαρίτα, η Θεοδώρα και η Πριγκίπισσα Σοφία της Ελλάδας και της Δανίας. Ο αδερφός της ήταν ο Φίλιππος που αργότερα έγινε δούκας του Εδιμβούργου αφού παντρεύτηκε τη βασίλισσα Ελισάβετ Β'.

Ο θρυλικός γάμος της πριγκίπισσας Cecilie της Ελλάδας και της Δανίας πραγματοποιήθηκε στις 2 Φεβρουαρίου 1931 στο Darmstadt. Η πριγκίπισσα παντρεύτηκε τον Georg Donatus, τον Κληρονομικό Μέγα Δούκα της Έσσης. Απέκτησαν τρία παιδιά, δύο αγόρια και ένα κοριτσάκι.

Η μοίρα της οικογένειας θα αποδεικνυόταν εξαιρετικά τραγική με κάποιους να πιστεύουν ακόμη και ότι η οικογένεια ήταν καταραμένη.

Ήταν μόλις ένα χρόνο πριν ξεσπάσει ο Β' Παγκόσμιος Πόλεμος, όταν η πριγκίπισσα Σεσίλι ήταν οκτώ μηνών έγκυος και περίμενε το τέταρτο παιδί της. Τον Οκτώβριο του 1937 ο πατέρας του Γκέοργκ Ντονάτους, ο Μέγας Δούκας Ερνστ Λούντβιχ της Έσσης πέθανε.

λίγο μετά, η οικογένεια κανόνισε έναν αγώνα μεταξύ του πρίγκιπα Λούντβιχ (αδερφός του Γεώργιου Ντονάτους) και του τιμ. Margaret Campbell-Geddes. Σύντομα, τα σχέδια του γάμου ήταν σε πλήρη εξέλιξη με την τελετή να προγραμματίζεται να γίνει στο Λονδίνο. Στις 16 Νοεμβρίου η πριγκίπισσα Cecilie της Ελλάδας και της Δανίας μαζί με ολόκληρη την οικογένειά της επιβιβάστηκαν σε μια πτήση για το Λονδίνο.

Σε εκείνη την πτήση, που ταξίδευε με την πριγκίπισσα Σεσίλι, ήταν ο σύζυγός της, η πεθερά της, οι μικροί γιοι της και η Λίνα Χενάρ, η νοσοκόμα των παιδιών. Η πριγκίπισσα Johanna έμεινε στο Darmstadt επειδή θεωρήθηκε πολύ μικρή για να συνοδεύσει την οικογένεια και η πριγκίπισσα Cecilie της Ελλάδας και της Δανίας ένιωθε άβολα να την πάρει στην πτήση. Αυτό θα μπορούσε ίσως να οφείλεται στο γεγονός ότι η Πριγκίπισσα φοβόταν θανάσιμα να πετάξει.

Ο καιρός ήταν απολύτως καθαρ��ς και ηλιόλουστος όταν απογειώθηκαν, αλλά αργότερα έγινε εξαιρετικά ομιχλώδης αφού πέταξαν για αρκετή ώρα. Κανείς δεν γνωρίζει τον ακριβή λόγο, αλλά ο πιλότος αποφάσισε να κάνει μια γρήγορη προσγείωση κοντά στις Βρυξέλλες. Ωστόσο, δεν μπόρεσε να το κάνει λόγω της πυκνής ομίχλης και αποφάσισε να προσγειωθεί στην Οστάνδη, το επόμενο διπλανό αεροδρόμιο.

Αλλά θα αποδειχτεί ότι το αεροδρόμιο της Οστάνδης είχε επίσης πυκνή ομίχλη. Ο πιλότος δεν μπόρεσε να εντοπίσει μια ψηλή καμινάδα εργοστασίου στην κακοκαιρία με αποτέλεσμα να χτυπήσουν τα φτερά του αεροσκάφους. Μέσα σε λίγα λεπτά το αεροπλάνο τυλίχτηκε στις φλόγες και έπεσε στο έδαφος. Στο πλοίο επέβαιναν συνολικά έντεκα άτομα, συμπεριλαμβανομένης της πριγκίπισσας Cecilie της Ελλάδας και της Δανίας.

Δυστυχώς, κανείς δεν επέζησε από τη συντριβή. Όταν έφτασε η ομάδα διάσωσης, βρήκε το νεκρό σώμα ενός νεογέννητου μωρού μέσα στα συντρίμμια. Ως εκ τούτου, πιστεύεται ότι η πριγκίπισσα γέννησε το τέταρτο παιδί της κατά τη διάρκεια της πτήσης. Αυτό μπορεί επίσης να εξηγήσει γιατί ο πιλότος προσπάθησε να κάνει έκτακτη και απρογραμμάτιστη προσγείωση.

Η κηδεία έγινε στη ναζιστική Γερμανία στο Darmstadt στο Rosenhöhe στον παραδοσιακό χώρο ταφής της οικογένειας της Έσσης.

Η μόνη επιζήσασα από τη νεαρή οικογένειά τους ήταν η πριγκίπισσα Johanna που έμεινε στο σπίτι. Αργότερα υιοθετήθηκε από τον θείο της Πρίγκιπα Λούντβιχ αλλά πέθανε από μηνιγγίτιδα μόλις δύο χρόνια αργότερα, στις 14 Ιουνίου 1939. Μετά τον πρόωρο θάνατό της, η νεαρή Πριγκίπισσα θάφτηκε με την οικογένειά της στο Ντάρμσταντ.