Prince Francis Joseph of Battenberg GCVO, KCB (German: Franz Joseph; 24 September 1861 – 31 July 1924) was the fourth and youngest son and child of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine and his morganatic wife Julia, Princess of Battenberg.
| Prince Francis Joseph | |
|---|---|
Francis Joseph c. 1889 | |
| Born | 24 September 1861 Padua, Austrian Empire |
| Died | 31 July 1924 (aged 62) Territet (near Montreux), Switzerland |
| Spouse | Princess Anna of Montenegro (m. 1897) |
| House | Battenberg |
| Father | Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine |
| Mother | Julia, Princess of Battenberg |
Biography
Named after the Emperor of Austria, he was known as Franzjos to his parents and siblings. At one time, he was considered for the throne of Bulgaria, which eventually went to his brother Alexander; nonetheless, as Alexander was unmarried and without legitimate heirs at the time, Francis Joseph was considered heir presumptive to the throne. He followed his brother to Bulgaria, where he served as a colonel in the Bulgarian cavalry, seeing action during the Serbo-Bulgarian War. During the coup of 1886, he was arrested and expelled from Bulgaria, along with his brother. His cousin, and later sister-in-law, Victoria described him in her memoirs:
He was a delicate boy and was brought up on strictly ladylike lines by the governess of his sister, Adele Bassing. Our tomboy ways rather distressed him. He was very fond of reading and to prevent us from disturbing him too much, he suggested we should play Robinson Crusoe, he filling the part of Crusoe, Ella and I being two men Fridays, whom he incessantly sent away on important duties, while he remained in the improvised hut, reading in peace. He was good-natured, however, and I remember his helping us to search in the hay for a lost hair ribbon - a fruitless quest on his part, as he was very short sighted.
From an early age Francis Joseph showed great interest in science, and unlike his brothers – who pursued careers in the military – he pursued a career in academics; in 1891 he published an academic study on Bulgarian economic history, which he dedicated to his brother.
Personal life
At a family reunion in London in 1894 Franz Joseph met Consuelo Vanderbilt, the daughter of an extremely wealthy American railway tycoon William Kissam Vanderbilt. He made a marriage proposal to Consuelo, but she disliked him and turned him down.
In 1897 he married Princess Ana Petrović-Njegoš of Montenegro (1874–1971), the sixth daughter of King Nicholas I of Montenegro and his wife, Queen Milena. The couple met at Cimiez, France, where the he was a guest of the visiting Queen Victoria and Anna was visiting her sister Princess Milica of Montenegro and brother-in-law Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich of Russia. In La Turbie, a small party composed of Queen Victoria, Princess Alice of Battenberg, Prince Francis Joseph, Princess Anna, and others went on an afternoon drive together. While most of the party went to a booth to view a camera obscura, Anna and Francis Joseph broke away; soon afterwards, Francis Joseph's brother Prince Louis of Battenberg announced his engagement to Princess Anna.
There were no children out of this marriage.
Balkan wars and World War I
He served as a colonel in the Montenegrin Army during the Balkan Wars.
They lived in Prinz Emil Palais in Darmstadt, but once the WWI began, they were advised by Francis' cousin Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse to stay out of Germany. When Italy joined the war, the couple found themselves to be permanent exiles, and consequently settled in Switzerland, where Francis pursued his academic studies. The couple had never been rich, but now their financial state was worse than ever; by August 1916, Prince Francis Joseph was described as "awfully bad off".
Throughout her life, Princess Anna anonymously wrote and published a large number of musical compositions that obtained a certain degree of commercial success. The royalties from these compositions provided a much-needed source of income for the couple. While working on an opera in 1899, Anna gained an interview of considerable length with the famous Italian composer Pietro Mascagni in the royal palace of Naples, as she wanted to consult him for musical advice. Anna's sister Crown Princess Elena of Italy helped her procure the meeting. Francis Joseph was a close friend of his brother-in-law King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, whom he visited often. Though she had never met him, his niece-in-law Edwina Mountbatten had continuously sent him an allowance during his lifetime, and continued to do so with his widow, sending Anna money until Edwina's own death in 1960.
Death
Prince Francis Joseph died on 31 July 1924, in Territet (near Montreux), Switzerland, aged 62. His body was buried, alongside his wife Anna, in the Waldfriedhof, Schaffhausen, Switzerland.
Honours
He received the following orders and decorations:
- Grand Duchy of Hesse:
- Grand Cross of the Merit Order of Philip the Magnanimous, with Swords, 18 August 1878
- Military Merit Cross, 27 November 1885
- Grand Cross of the Ludwig Order, 17 November 1886
- Kingdom of Italy:
- Knight of the Annunciation, 29 November 1904
- Grand Cross of Saints Maurice and Lazarus
- Ottoman Empire: Order of Osmanieh, 1st Class in Diamonds
- Principality of Bulgaria:
- Grand Cross of St. Alexander, with Swords and Collar
- Order of Bravery, 4th Class
- Officer of the Military Merit Order
- Commemorative Medal for the Liberation of Bulgaria
- Commemorative Medal for the Serbo-Bulgarian War, 1885
- Distinguished Service Cross (10 years)
- Principality of Montenegro:
- Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Danilo I
- Knight of St. Peter of Cetinje
- Medal for Bravery
- United Kingdom:
- Queen Victoria Golden Jubilee Medal, 1887
- Honorary Knight Commander of the Bath (civil), 6 February 1896
- Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, 26 April 1897
Ancestry
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