Prince Charles of Hesse and by Rhine


Prince Charles of Hesse and by Rhine was the second surviving son of Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse and Wilhelmine of Baden.

Marriage

In 1836, Charles married Princess Elisabeth of Prussia, daughter of Prince Wilhelm of Prussia and Maria Anna of Hesse-Homburg. They were unhappy together as Charles preferred life in the military to spending time with his family.
On 19 March 1877, Queen Victoria received a telegram from her daughter Alice, wife of Charles' son Louis, saying that they "feared the worst". The following evening, news reached the Queen from Alice that Charles had "passed away quite peacefully after 6." The Queen appears to have been affected by Charles' death, referring to him in her journal upon his death as "dear excellent Prince Charles of Hesse", later repeating, "So grieved and feel deeply for poor Prince Charles."
Charles's eldest son, Louis, would become Grand Duke of Hesse and by the Rhine upon the death of Charles's childless brother, Louis III, three months later in 1877.

Issue