by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2015
photo: Wikipedia
Prince Friedrich of Hesse and by Rhine
Born on October 7, 1870, at the Neues Palais in Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, now in the German state of Hesse, Prince Friedrich Wilhelm August Viktor Leopold Ludwig of Hesse (known as ‘Frittie’) was the fifth child, and youngest son of Princess Alice of the United Kingdom and Grand Duke Ludwig IV of Hesse and by Rhine. One of his given names was Leopold, in honor of his uncle, Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany.
Frittie had six siblings:
- Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, Marchioness of Milford Haven (1863-1950), married Prince Louis of Battenberg, had two daughters and two sons
- Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna of Russia (1864-1919), married Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia, no children
- Irene of Hesse and by Rhine, Princess of Prussia (1866-1953), married her first cousin Prince Heinrich of Prussia, had three sons
- Ernst Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse (1868-1937), married (1) his first cousin Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, had one daughter, divorced (2) Princess Eleonore of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich, had two sons
- Alix of Hesse and by Rhine, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia (1872-1918), married Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia, had four daughters and one son
- Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine (1874-1878), died from diphtheria
Hesse and by Rhine family in 1876; Photo Credit – Wikipedia
Following a cut to his ear in February 1873, it was discovered that Frittie suffered from hemophilia when the wound took days to stop bleeding. Ironically, it was the same disease suffered by his uncle and godfather, Prince Leopold. Frittie’s sisters Irene and Alix had sons who also suffered from hemophilia.
In May 1873, Frittie and his brother Ernst Ludwig were playing in their mother’s bedroom at the Neues Palais. Ernst went into another room to look through the window (which was at an angle to the window in Alice’s bedroom). While Alice was out of the room to get Ernst, Frittie climbed up to the window in the bedroom to try and see Ernst. From all accounts, the chair he had climbed on tipped over and Frittie fell from the window to the ground below.
Due to his hemophilia, Prince Friedrich died from a brain hemorrhage on May 29, 1873, at the Neues Palais in Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, now in Hesse, Germany. He is buried in the Neues Mausoleum at Rosenhöhe Park in Darmstadt where his parents and younger sister Marie were buried.
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