View source for Julia, Princess of Battenberg

{{short description|Russian and German noblewoman}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Julia
| title        = [[Battenberg family|Princess of Battenberg]]
| image        = Julia Hauke by Vladimir Hau.jpg
| caption      = Julia Hauke by [[Woldemar Hau]]
| spouse       = {{Marriage|[[Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine]]|28 October 1851|15 December 1888|end=d.}}
| issue        = {{Ubl
  |[[Princess Marie of Battenberg|Marie, Princess of Erbach-Schönberg]]
  |[[Prince Louis of Battenberg|Louis Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven]]
  |[[Alexander, Prince of Bulgaria]]
  |[[Prince Henry of Battenberg|Prince Henry]]
  |[[Prince Francis Joseph of Battenberg|Prince Francis Joseph]]
}}
| house        = [[Battenberg family|Battenberg]]
| father       = [[Hans Moritz Hauke]]
| mother       = Sophie LaFontaine
| birth_name   = Julia Therese Salomea Hauke
| birth_date   = {{Birth date|1825|11|24|df=y}}
| birth_place  = [[Warsaw]], [[Congress Poland]], [[Russian Empire]]
| death_date   = {{Death date and age|1895|9|19|1825|11|24|df=y}}
| death_place  = [[Schloss Heiligenberg (Jugenheim)|Schloss Heiligenberg]], [[Jugenheim]], [[Hesse-Darmstadt]]
}}
'''Julia, Princess of Battenberg''', previously '''Countess Julia von Hauke''' and '''Countess of Battenberg''' (born '''Julia Therese Salomea Hauke'''; {{OldStyleDate|24 November|1825|12 November}} – 19 September 1895), was the wife of [[Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine]], the third son of [[Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse]]. 

The daughter of a Polish general of German descent, Julia was not of royal origin. She became a [[lady-in-waiting]] to [[Maria Alexandrovna (Marie of Hesse)|Marie of Hesse]], wife of the future Russian Emperor [[Alexander II of Russia|Alexander II]] and a sister of Alexander, whom Julia married after meeting him in the course of her duties. Although the marriage of social unequals like Julia and Alexander was deemed [[Morganatic marriage|morganatic]], the Duke of Hesse made her Princess of Battenberg. Julia was the mother of [[Alexander of Battenberg|Alexander, Prince of Bulgaria]], and she is an ancestor of the current [[British royal family|British]] and [[Spanish royal family|Spanish royal families]].

==Life==
[[File:Julie von Hauke.jpg|thumb|left|Julia in middle age]]
Hauke was born in [[Warsaw]], [[Congress Poland]], then ruled in [[personal union]] by the [[Emperor of Russia|Russian emperor]]. She was the daughter of [[Hans Moritz Hauke]], a Polish general of German descent.<ref>[http://www.wargs.com/royal/hauke.html The Hauke Family from Wetzlar], at wargs.com; accessed 3 December 2018</ref><ref>Paget, Gerald (1977), The Lineage & Ancestry of HRH Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Edinburgh and London: Charles Skilton</ref> Her mother, Sophie, was the daughter of Polish military surgeon [[Franz Leopold Lafontaine]].<ref>Loringhoven, F. von (1958) ''Europäische Stammtafeln'' Vol. III (J. A. Stargardt, Marburg)</ref>

Her father fought in [[Napoleon]]'s [[Polish Legions (Napoleonic period)|Polish Legions]] in Austria, Italy, Germany, and the [[Peninsular War]]. After his service in the army of the [[Duchy of Warsaw]] from 1809 to 1814, he entered the ranks of the army of [[Congress Poland]], and was promoted to [[General officer|general]] in 1828. Recognizing his abilities, Emperor [[Nicholas I of Russia|Nicholas I]] appointed him Deputy Minister of War of Congress Poland and on 4 May 1829 made him a hereditary [[Count]] von [[Hauke-Bosak|Hauke]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.wargs.com/royal/hauke.html | title=The Hauke Family }}</ref> In the [[November Uprising|November Uprising of 1830]], led by rebelling army cadets, [[Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich of Russia|Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich]], Poland's Russian [[governor]], managed to escape, but Julia's father was shot dead by the cadets on a [[Warsaw]] street. Her mother died of shock shortly afterwards, and their children were made wards of the Emperor.{{citation needed|date=April 2014}}

Hauke served as [[lady-in-waiting]] to [[Maria Alexandrovna (Marie of Hesse)|Marie of Hesse]], wife of the future Emperor [[Alexander II of Russia|Alexander II]] and a sister of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine. She met Prince Alexander while performing her duties at court in [[Saint Petersburg]]. The Emperor did not approve of a courtship between her and his son's brother-in-law, so the two arranged to leave Saint Petersburg. By the time Julia and Alexander were able to marry, she was six months pregnant with their first child, Marie. They were married on 28 October 1851 in Breslau in Prussian [[Silesia]] (now called [[Wrocław]] and in [[Poland]]).{{Citation needed|date=April 2014}}

Since she was not considered equal for royal marriage purposes, her children did not qualify for succession to the throne of [[Hesse and by Rhine]]. Her marriage was declared to be [[morganatic]] after the birth of her first son.{{Citation needed|date=September 2021}} Her husband's brother, [[Louis III, Grand Duke of Hesse|Grand Duke Louis III of Hesse-Darmstadt]], made her Countess of [[Battenberg (Eder)|Battenberg]] in 1851, with the style of [[Illustrious Highness]] ({{Langx|de|Erlaucht}}). In 1858, she was elevated to Princess of Battenberg, with the style of [[Serene Highness]] ({{Langx|de|Durchlaucht}}). [[Battenberg family|Battenberg]] became the name of a morganatic branch of the Grand Ducal House of Hesse.

Hauke converted to [[Lutheranism]] on 12 May 1875.{{Citation needed|date=September 2019}} Prior to her conversion, she frequently visited [[Russian Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] and [[Greek Catholic Church|Byzantine Catholic]] churches throughout Hesse, often traveling great distances. Her religion was openly criticized by members of her husband's family until her conversion. Her children were baptized Lutheran. She died at [[Schloss Heiligenberg (Jugenheim)|Heiligenberg Castle]] on 19 September 1895.{{Citation needed|date=April 2014}}

==Children==
There were five children of the marriage, all princes and princesses of Battenberg:
* [[Princess Marie of Battenberg]] (1852–1923), married Gustav, Prince of Erbach-Schönberg (d. 1908) in 1871, and had issue.
* [[Prince Louis of Battenberg]] (1854–1921), married [[Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine]] (1863–1950) in 1884, and had issue (including [[Louise Mountbatten|Queen Louise of Sweden]] and [[Lord Mountbatten|Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma]]). In 1917, Louis and his descendants gave up their German titles and took the surname [[Mountbatten family|Mountbatten]]; Louis was later created the first [[Marquess of Milford Haven]]. Via his daughter [[Princess Alice of Battenberg|Alice]], whose only son, [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh]], married Queen [[Elizabeth II]], Louis is an ancestor of the current [[British royal family]].
* [[Alexander of Battenberg|Prince Alexander of Battenberg]] (1857–1893), known as ''Sandro'', elected [[Principality of Bulgaria|Prince of Bulgaria]] 1879 and abdicated in 1886, married morganatically [[Johanna Loisinger]] (1865–1951) in 1889, and had issue.
* [[Prince Henry of Battenberg]] (1858–1896), known as ''Liko'', married [[Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom]] (1857–1944) in 1885, and had issue (including [[Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg|Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain]], via whom he is an ancestor of the current [[Spanish royal family]]). In 1917, Henry's descendants gave up their German titles and took the surname [[Mountbatten family|Mountbatten]]; his eldest son, [[Alexander Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Carisbrooke|Alexander]], was later created the first [[Marquess of Carisbrooke]].
* [[Prince Francis Joseph of Battenberg]] (1861–1924), known as ''Franzjos'', married [[Princess Anna of Montenegro]] (1874–1971) in 1897, and had no issue.

=== Descendants change name to Mountbatten ===
Julia's eldest son, Louis, became a [[British subject]], and during [[World War I]], due to [[anti-German sentiment]] prevalent at the time, [[anglicised]] his name to ''[[Mountbatten family|Mountbatten]]'' (a literal translation of the German ''Battenberg''), as did his nephews, the surviving sons of Prince Henry and Princess Beatrice. The members of this branch of the family also renounced all German titles and were granted [[peerage]]s by their cousin King [[George V]]: Prince Louis became the 1st [[Marquess of Milford Haven]], while Prince Alexander, Prince Henry's eldest son, became the 1st [[Marquess of Carisbrooke]].

== Legacy ==
Her daughter-in-law, Princess Victoria, described her in her memoirs:<blockquote>My father-in-law and she always spoke French together and she always spoke French to all her children and to me. She was the kindest and most discreet of mothers-in-law, which became very noticeable after the death of Uncle Alexander, when she spent the summer with us at the [[Schloss Heiligenberg (Heiligenberg)|Heiligenberg]], when she was no more the mistress of the place. She was a very affectionate grandmother especially to [[Princess Alice of Battenberg|Alice]], who adored her.<ref>{{Cite book |last=of Hesse and by Rhine |first=Princess Victoria |title=My Recollections |publication-date=1916}}</ref></blockquote>

== Honours ==
[[File:BattenbergArms.svg|thumb|Arms of Battenberg: ''Argent, two pallets sable'', as granted to Countess Julia Hauke, created "Princess of Battenberg", by the Grand Duke of Hesse]]
* {{Flag|Grand Duchy of Hesse}}:<ref name="Handbuch">''Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogs Hessen'' (1879), "Genealogie" p. [[iarchive:hofundstaatshan00gergoog/page/n28/mode/2up|4]]</ref>
** Military Medical Cross, ''26 March 1871''<ref>''Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogs Hessen'' (1879), "Großherzogliche Orden und Ehrenzeichen" p. [[iarchive:hofundstaatshan00gergoog/page/n170/mode/2up|146]]</ref>
** Commemorative Medal for the French Campaign in 1870/71 (for non-combatants)
** Dame of the [[House Order of the Golden Lion (Hesse)|Grand Ducal Hessian Order of the Golden Lion]], ''1 January 1883''<ref name="hesse">{{citation|title=Großherzoglich Hessische Ordensliste|page=2|year=1894|chapter=Goldener Löwen-orden|location=Darmstadt|publisher=Staatsverlag|lang=German|via=hathitrust.org}}</ref>
* {{flag|Kingdom of Bavaria}}:<ref name="Handbuch"/>
** Dame of Honour of the [[Order of Theresa]]
** Cross of Merit, 1st Class for 1870/71
* {{flag|Russian Empire}}:<ref name="Handbuch"/>
** Dame Grand Cross of the [[Order of Saint Catherine|Imperial Order of Saint Catherine]]
** Red Cross Medal, 1st Class

== Ancestry ==
{{Ahnentafel|collapsed=yes|align=center
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|1= 1. '''Julia, Princess of Battenberg'''
|2= 2. [[Hans Moritz Hauke]]
|3= 3. Sophie Lafontaine
|4= 4. [[Friedrich Carl Emanuel Hauke]]
|5= 5. [[Maria Salomé Schweppenhäuser]]
|6= 6. [[Franz Leopold Lafontaine]]<ref name=Kornely/>
|7= 7. [[Franz Leopold Lafontaine#Marriage and descendants|Maria Theresia Kornély]]<ref name=Kornely/>
|8= 8. Ignatz Marianus Hauck
|9= 9. Maria Franziska [[Riedesel]] zu Eisenbach
|10= 10. Heinrich Wilhelm Schweppenhäuser
|11= 11. Charlotte Philippine Juliane Westermann
|12= 12. Benno Leopold Ignatius Lafontaine
|13= 13. Maria Katharina Franziska Leonhardt
|14= 14. Joseph Kornély<ref name=Kornely>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DjxcAAAAMAAJ|title=Quartiers de M.T. de Kornely|work=[[L'Intermédiaire des chercheurs et curieux]] (Issues 519-529)|language=fr|page=11|date=1995|access-date=12 March 2024}}</ref>
}}

==See also==
* [[Hauke-Bosak]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Other sources==
{{Commonscat|Julia Hauke|Julia, Princess of Battenberg}}
* ''Almanach de Gotha'', [[Gotha]], 1931.
* Eckhart G. Franz, ''Das Haus Hessen: Eine europäische Familie'', [[Kohlhammer Verlag]], Stuttgart 2005 (S. 164–170), {{ISBN|3-17-018919-0}}

{{Battenberg family}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Julia, Battenberg, Princess of}}
[[Category:1825 births]]
[[Category:1895 deaths]]
[[Category:Nobility from Warsaw]]
[[Category:Morganatic spouses of German royalty]]
[[Category:Battenberg family]]
[[Category:Hauke family|Julia]]
[[Category:House of Hesse-Darmstadt]]
[[Category:Ladies-in-waiting from the Russian Empire]]
[[Category:Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Germany]]
[[Category:Princesses in the German Empire]]
[[Category:Converts to Lutheranism from Roman Catholicism]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of Saint Catherine]]
[[Category:Mothers of Bulgarian monarchs]]