Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse

This article is about the titular landgrave of Hesse. For the sovereign landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, see Maurice, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel.

Moritz
Landgrave of Hesse
Landgrave Moritz at Kronberg Castle in November 2010
Head of the House of Hesse
Tenure	25 October 1980 – 23 May 2013
Predecessor	Philipp
Successor	Donatus
Born	(1926-08-06)6 August 1926 Castle of Racconigi, Cuneo, Italy
Died	23 May 2013(2013-05-23) (aged 86) Frankfurt-am-Main, Hesse, Germany
Spouse	Princess Tatiana of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg ​ ​ (m. 1964; div. 1974)​
Issue	Princess Mafalda Donatus, Landgrave of Hesse Princess Elena Prince Philipp
House	Hesse
Father	Philipp, Landgrave of Hesse
Mother	Princess Mafalda of Savoy

Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse (legally Moritz Friedrich Karl Emanuel Humbert[1] Prinz und Landgraf von Hessen; 6 August 1926 – 23 May 2013)[2] was the son of Prince Philip, Landgrave of Hesse, and the head of the House of Brabant[3] and the German House of Hesse.

Life

Princess Mafalda with her two sons, Moritz and Heinrich in the 1930s.

With Swedish visitors at Kronberg in 2010

Landgrave Moritz was born at Racconigi Castle, in Italy. During the Second World War, Moritz's mother, Princess Mafalda of Savoy, was arrested by the Nazis for alleged subversive activities and died in the Buchenwald concentration camp in 1944 as a result of a U.S. bombing raid on the camp. Moritz and his siblings (Moritz, Otto and Elisabeth) were given sanctuary in the Vatican under the care of their Aunt and Uncle Louis, Prince of Hesse and by Rhine and Margaret Campbell Geddes who adopted them.[4]

After the War they were reunited with their father in Germany. Together with his younger brothers, he took part in the ship tour organized by Queen Frederica and her husband King Paul of Greece in 1954, which became known as the “Cruise of the Kings” and was attended by over 100 royals from all over Europe.

Prince Louis of Hesse and by Rhine, the last head of the Hesse-Darmstadt line, died in 1968, at which time Moritz's father succeeded him as head of the entire house. Moritz had been the head of the House of Hesse since the death of his father Philip on 25 October 1980.

Moritz was a world-famous art collector.[5][6] He presided over the Foundation of the House of Hesse which is the proprietor of the Kronberg Palace Hotel and several manor estates and palaces. He lived at Schloß Wolfsgarten south of Frankfurt am Main and Panker estate in Schleswig-Holstein

He died of lung illness in a hospital in Frankfurt, Germany at age 86.

Marriage and children

Moritz married Princess Tatiana of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, daughter of Prince Gustav Albrecht. Their marriage took place in the summer of 1964 in Giessen and ended in divorce in 1974. They had four children.

• Mafalda Margarethe (born 6 July 1965). Married 1st Enrico dei Conti Marone Cinzano (born 5 April 1963, Turin) on 8 July 1989 (div. 1990) with no issue. Married 2nd Carlo Galdo (born 26 March 1954, Naples) on 19 December 1991 (div. 1999) and had two daughters. Married 3rd Ferdinando dei Conti Brachetti Peretti (born 13 January 1960, Rome) on 28 September 2000 (div. 2014) and had two sons.
• Heinrich Donatus Philipp Umberto (born 17 October 1966). Married Countess Floria Franziska von Faber-Castell (born 14 October 1974, Düsseldorf, Germany) on 25 April 2003 (civilly) and on 17 May 2003 (religiously) and has a daughter and two sons.
• Elena Elisabeth Madeleine (born 8 November 1967) has a daughter with Massimo Caiazzo (born 1976).
• Philip Robin (born 17 September 1970). Married Laetitia Bechtolf (born 5 May 1978, Wedel, Pinneberg, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany) on 5 May 2006 (civilly) and on 10 June 2006 (religiously) and has three daughters and a son.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse

8. Prince Frederick William of Hesse-Kassel 4. Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse 9. Princess Anna of Prussia 2. Philipp, Landgrave of Hesse 10. Frederick III, German Emperor 5. Princess Margaret of Prussia 11. Victoria, Princess Royal 1. Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse 12. Umberto I of Italy 6. Victor Emmanuel III of Italy 13. Princess Margherita of Savoy-Genoa 3. Princess Mafalda of Savoy 14. Nicholas I of Montenegro 7. Princess Elena of Montenegro 15. Milena Vukotić

References

1. Burke's Royal Families of the World I; ISBN 0-85011-023-8, p. 208.
2. "Notice of death, in German". Archived from the original on 2021-05-06. Retrieved 2013-05-24.
3. Burke's Royal Families of the World ISBN 0-85011-023-8, p. 202.
4. Jenni (2015-03-04). "The Princess in the Concentration Camp: Mafalda of Savoy". Jenni Wiltz. Archived from the original on 2022-08-08. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
5. Dobrzynski, Judith (2005-11-02). "German Princely Treasures Land on These Shores Archived 2014-11-07 at the Wayback Machine", The New York Times.
6. Petty, Terrence (2005-12-23). "An adoration of art" Archived 2012-10-18 at the Wayback Machine, St. Petersburg Times.

Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse House of Hesse Born: 6 August 1926 Died: 23 May 2013
Regnal titles
Preceded by Prince Philipp of Hesse	Head of the House of Hesse 25 October 1980 – 23 May 2013	Succeeded by Donatus, Landgrave of Hesse
Titles in pretence
Preceded by Philipp	— TITULAR — Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine Elector of Hesse 25 October 1980 – 23 May 2013 Reason for succession failure: Grand Duchy abolished in 1918 Electorate annexed by Prussia in 1866	Succeeded by Donatus