House of Hesse

The House of Hesse is a European royal dynasty from the region of Hesse, originally and still formally the House of Brabant.

History
The origins of the House of Hesse begin with the marriage of Sophie of Thuringia, daughter of Louis IV, Landgrave of Thuringia and Elizabeth of Hungary with Henry II, Duke of Brabant from the House of Reginar. Sophie was the heiress of Hesse which she passed on to her son, Henry upon her retention of the territory following her partial victory in the War of the Thuringian Succession in which she was one of the belligerents.

Originally the western part of the Landgraviate of Thuringia, in the mid 13th century it was inherited by the younger son of Henry II, Duke of Brabant, and became a distinct political entity. From the late 16th century it was generally divided into several branches, the most important of which were those of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel) and Hesse-Darmstadt. In the early 19th century the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel was elevated to Elector of Hesse (1803), while the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt became the Grand Duke of Hesse (1806), later Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine. The Electorate of Hesse (Hesse-Kassel) was annexed by Prussia in 1866, while Grand Ducal Hesse (Hesse-Darmstadt) as lasted until the end of the German monarchies in 1918.

Donatus, Landgrave of Hesse is the current (2012) head of the house.

Branches of the House of Hesse
Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, died in 1567. Hesse was divided between his four sons, four new lines which arose: Hesse-Darmstadt, Hesse-Kassel, Hesse-Marburg and Hesse-Rheinfels.

The line of Hesse-Darmstadt was also part of the morganatic line of the Battenberg family when Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine married to Countess Julia Hauke. The Battenbergs who later settled in England changed that name to Mountbatten after World War I.


 * House of Brabant
 * Hesse (1264–1567)
 * Hesse-Kassel (1567–1866), became Electorate of Hesse in 1803
 * Hesse-Rotenburg (1627–1834)
 * Hesse-Wanfried (1627–1755)
 * Hesse-Rheinfels (1627–1754)
 * Hesse-Sweden (1720–1751) (extinct) line died out in 1751 because King Frederick I of Sweden has no legitimate heirs.
 * Hesse-Philippsthal (1685-1866)
 * Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld (1721–1866)
 * Hanau-Schaumburg (1831/1853, morganatic line)
 * Hesse-Marburg (1567, divided in 1604 between Hesse-Darmstadt and Hesse-Kassel)
 * Hesse-Rheinfels (1567, divided in 1583 between Hesse-Darmstadt, Hesse-Kassel and Hesse-Marburg)
 * Hesse-Darmstadt (1567–1918), became Grand Duchy of Hesse in 1806
 * Hesse-Butzbach (1609–1642)
 * Hesse-Braubach (1609–1651)
 * Hesse-Homburg (1622–1866)
 * Hesse-Itter (1661–1676)
 * Battenberg (1858, morganatic line. Mountbatten since 1917)

Hesse-Kassel and its junior lines were annexed by Prussia in 1866; Hesse-Darmstadt became the People's State of Hesse when the monarchy was abolished in 1918. Hesse-Philippsthal died out in the male line in 1925; Hesse-Darmstadt in 1968. Descendants of Hesse-Kassel and Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld are alive to this day.