[CECILIE (Hereditary Grand Duchess, 1911-1937, wife, 1931, of Georg Donatus, 1906-1937, Head of the house of Hesse & By Rhine, daughter of Prince Andrew of Greece & Princess Alice of Battenberg, and sister of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh)]

Unsigned Portrait Postcard Photograph, showing her head and shoulders, three quarter face, eyes to the camera, sitting up in bed with her hand by her infant's head, 5½" x 3½", Darmstadt, no date but circa

From the appearance of the Grand Duchess it is likely that the infant is Prince Ludwig who was born on October 25th 1931, but it could be Prince Alexander in which case it dates from 1933.
On 16 November 1937, Georg Donatus, Cecilie, their two young sons and Georg's mother Grand Duchess Eleonore left Darmstadt for London. The aeroplane hit a factory chimney near Ostend and crashed in flames, killing all those on board. Cecilie was eight months pregnant with her fourth child at the time of the crash, and the remains of her baby were found in the wreckage, indicating that Cecilie had gone into labour or suffered sufficient bodily trauma to result in birth.
Cecilie was buried with her husband, two sons and the stillborn child in Darmstadt at the Rosenhöhe, the traditional burial place of the Hesse family. Cecilie's daughter Johanna was adopted by Prince Ludwig (V) and Princess Margaret; she died two years later from meningitis and is buried with her parents and siblings.

Item Date:  1931

Stock No:  54455      £175

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