Philip of Hesse-Darmstadt


Philip of Hesse-Darmstadt was a Prince of Hesse-Darmstadt, Imperial Field marshal and Governor of Mantua.

Life

Philip was a younger son of Louis VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt and his second wife Princess Elisabeth Dorothea of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, daughter of Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha and Princess Elisabeth Sophie of Saxe-Altenburg.
Philip fought for the Habsburgs in the Spanish War of Succession and became in 1708 Field Marshal and Supreme Commander of the Imperial troops in newly conquered Naples. After the war in 1714, under influence of Prince Eugene of Savoy, he became governor of the former Duchy of Mantua until his death.
Philip was a great lover of music. When he commanded the Austrian Army in Naples, he was patron of Nicola Porpora, and when he was governor of Mantua, he made Antonio Vivaldi Maestro di Cappella of his court. Vivaldi wrote the opera Tito Manlio in Philip's honor.

Marriage and Children

Philip married on March 24, 1693, in Brussels with Princess Marie Therese of Croÿ, daughter of Duke Ferdinand François Joseph of Croy-Havré and Marie Anne Cesarine Lante Montefeltro della Rovere dei Duchi di Bomarzo. For this marriage, he converted to Catholicism, despite heavy protest of his mother.
They had 5 children :
*