Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse

Louis IV (; 12 September 1837 – 13 March 1892) was the Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine from 13 June 1877 until his death in 1892. Through his marriage to Queen Victoria's second daughter Alice, he was connected to the British royal family. Two of his daughters married into the House of Romanov.

Early life

Louis was born at the Prinz-Karl-Palais in Darmstadt, the capital of the Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine in the German Confederation, the first son and child of Prince Charles of Hesse and by Rhine and Princess Elisabeth of Prussia, granddaughter of King Frederick William II of Prussia. As his father's elder brother Louis III, the future Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, had been married to his first wife since 1833 without legitimate children and from 1868 was married morganatically, Prince Louis was from birth third-in-line to the grand ducal throne, after his uncle and father.

First marriage On 1 July 1862, Louis married Princess Alice, a daughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. Becoming parents in less than a year following their marriage, the young royal couple found themselves strapped financially to maintain the lifestyle expected of their rank. She was the former wife of Aleksander von Kolemin, the Russian chargé d'affaires in Darmstadt.

Foreign orders and decorations Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold, 9 July 1862 Civic Cross, 1st Class Grand Cross of St. Alexander Order of Bravery, 2nd Class Knight of the Elephant, 23 September 1878 Kingdom of Greece: Grand Cross of the Redeemer Grand Cross of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Commander of the Military William Order, 1 May 1882 Grand Cross of the Netherlands Lion Order of Osmanieh, 1st Class Grand Cross of the Tower and Sword Grand Cross of the Star of Romania Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III, with Collar, 8 October 1883 Grand Cross of the Cross of Takovo Grand Cross of the White Eagle Sweden-Norway: Knight of the Seraphim, 21 September 1881 Stranger Knight of the Garter, 5 July 1862 Knight of St. Andrew Knight of St. Alexander Nevsky Knight of the White Eagle Knight of St. Anna, 1st Class Knight of St. George, 3rd Class

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