The Hesse-Cassel family

[Svetabel]

Indeed. You are welcome. Don't know too much about Sybille's liife.

There doesn't seem to be much information about Friedrich and Anna's children.  The one I'd like to know more about is Marie-Polyxene, who died when she was only ten, such as, how did she die?  I believe her death, along with the deaths of Friedrich-Wilhem the husband and Friedrich-Wilhelm the eldest son, influenced Anna's converstion to Catholicism.

Daughters of Friedrich Wilhelm, including Marie Polyxene

http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection/2908919/princesses-elisabeth-marie-and-sybille-of-hesse-daughters-of-the

[Dru]

What a lovely photograph!  We had discussed Sybille awhile ago, but what do we know about Elisabeth and Marie-Polyxene?  Elisabeth married the Prince of Anhalt, who died fairly young, and they had one child.  Also, her full name was Elisabeth Alexandra Maria Charlotte Louise--presumably, the Alexandra part was a tribute to her father's first wife?  And Marie-Polyxene died only a year after the photo was taken.  I know absolutely nothing about her save for her full name:  Marie Polyxene Olga Viktoria Dagmar Anna; I'm guessing "Olga" was for the Queen of Wurttemberg?

[grandduchessella]

Marie Polyxene died of  osteomyelitis. That was about the extent I could find on her.

Olga could've also been for GDss Olga Pavlovna, her great-aunt (sister of her Grandmother Marie Pavlovna). Victoria could've been for either the Queen or for Crown Princess Victoria of Prussia.

Elisabeth's husband, Leopold of Anhalt, originally proposed to her distant cousin Victoria "Moretta" of Prussia in 1883 but was refused by either the Princess or her parents.  Queen Victoria regretted that they had not " got him en réserve for Vicky if her fond hopes cannot be realised" upon his engagement to Elisabeth. Ironically, Elisabeth and Leopold's only child, Antoinette, wound up marrying into the same family as Moretta--the Schaumburg-Lippes. Her husband, Frederick, was the widower of Princess Louise of Denmark, eldest daughter of Frederick VIII & Louise and one of the 'Swan' family. Frederick's own mother was a Princess of Anhalt.

Antoinette's siblings-in-law included Queen Charlotte of Wurttemburg, Albrecht and Max (who married the twins of GDss Vera, Olga and Elsa), Bathildis of Waldeck-Pyrmont and Adelaide of Saxe-Altenburg.

Elisabeth and Leopold. She had a very lovely profile.

http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection/2908971/hereditary-prince-and-princess-of-anhalt-album-photographs-royal

[Svetabel]

but what do we know about Elisabeth and Marie-Polyxene?  Elisabeth married the Prince of Anhalt, who died fairly young, and they had one child. 

Only info on Elisabeth I've ever came across in Russian sources is the description of her wedding by Empress Maria Fedorovna who attended the wedding festivities of Elisabeth and Leopold. The Empress wrote to her husband that the bride was quite happy to leave such a family. MF meant that the family life of her Uncle FW and his 2nd wife Anna was far from idyllic - FW was a fast-liver, and Anna was quite a character.

[Eric_Lowe]

That sounds very interesting. Anna could have been Empress of Austria had she not been engaged to FW.

[Dru]

Anna sounds like a very interesting person, and I'd love to know more about her.  There is an old German book that focuses on her conversion to the Catholic church, but I have yet to obtain a copy.  According to Hesse: A Princely German Collection (pg 136), "Hers was to be a lonely life.  As the second wife of Friedrich Wilhelm of Hesse-Kassel (after the death of Alexandra Nicolaievna in 1844), Anna was never close to her husband.  In 1866 her Prussian family turned against her when Friedrich Wilhelm chose the Austrian side in the Austro-Prussian war.  After her husband's death in 1884, she lived out her lonesome years at the summer castle of Fasanerie (one of the few Hessian castles the victorious Prussians allowed the family to keep), retreating in winters to Frankfurt.  She was an accomplished pianist who looked to artists for friendship, including Brahms, who dedicated a piano quintet to her, and Hans Christian Anderson, who dedicated an edition of his fairy tales to the lonesome landgrafin." 
The same book also states on page 268 that "Brahms said of her that if she weren't born a princess, she could have earned her living as a concert pianist."

[Eric_Lowe]

Indeed. When I visited Schloss Fasenerie. The archivist told me that she was a close friend of Clara Schumann...

[grandduchessella]

Just to keep it all straight:

Frederick Wilhelm and Anna
Children:
 
FRIEDRICH WILHELM Nikolaus Karl (Copenhagen 1854-d.at sea en route from Batavia to Singapore 1888)
 
Elisabeth Alexandra Maria Charlotte Luise (Copenhagen 1861-1955); m.1884 Leopold of Anhalt-Dessau (1855-1886)

ALEXANDER FRIEDRICH Wilhelm Albrecht Georg (Copenhagen 1863-1945); m 1925 Gisela  Stockhorner von Starein
 
FRIEDRICH KARL Ludwig Konstantin, Landgrave of Hesse (1868-1940); m.1893 Margarethe  of Prussia (1872-1954)

Marie Polyxene Olga Viktoria Dagmar Anna  (1872- 1882)
 
Sibylle Margaretha Christa Thyra Hedwig Catharina (1877- 1953);  m.1898 (div 1923) Friedrich von Vincke

Grandchildren:

Friedrich Wilhelm Hesse
Maximilian Hesse
Philip Hesse
Christop Hesse
Richard Hesse
Wolfgang Hesse

Antoinette Anhalt

Baron Itel-Jobst von Vinke
Baron Alfram-Dietrich von Vinke
 

[Svetabel]

Anna sounds like a very interesting person, and I'd love to know more about her.  There is an old German book that focuses on her conversion to the Catholic church, but I have yet to obtain a copy.  According to Hesse: A Princely German Collection (pg 136), "Hers was to be a lonely life.  As the second wife of Friedrich Wilhelm of Hesse-Kassel (after the death of Alexandra Nicolaievna in 1844), Anna was never close to her husband.  In 1866 her Prussian family turned against her when Friedrich Wilhelm chose the Austrian side in the Austro-Prussian war.  After her husband's death in 1884, she lived out her lonesome years at the summer castle of Fasanerie (one of the few Hessian castles the victorious Prussians allowed the family to keep), retreating in winters to Frankfurt.  She was an accomplished pianist who looked to artists for friendship, including Brahms, who dedicated a piano quintet to her, and Hans Christian Anderson, who dedicated an edition of his fairy tales to the lonesome landgrafin." 
The same book also states on page 268 that "Brahms said of her that if she weren't born a princess, she could have earned her living as a concert pianist."

That's really interesting, another angle of her life. Her loneliness can be understood, as well as her disagreeable nature -  she was seen as a difficult person by her relatives. Maria Fedorovna didn't like Anna, it's an obvious fact due to the Empress remarks about Landgrafin.

[Eric_Lowe]

I think she deserves a book written about her. I read read from the archives of Schloss Fasenerie that she and her husband was quite friendly with Christian IX and Queen Louise. I saw a photo of the elderly Danish king stopping by and greeted by the couple at their house.

[Dru]

Friedrich-Wilhelm and Anna's third son, Friedrich-Karl.

[Eric_Lowe]

Yes. That is the one who married Mossy. Love to know more about their story. They just got glossed over by historians & biographers.

[Kalafrana]

An interesting fact about Friedrich Karl and Margaret is that they produced two sets of twins - all boys. They had two other sons, both of whom were killed in the First world War. One of the younger twins was Christoph of Hesse, who married the duke of edinburgh's sister Sophie and was killed flying in World War 2.

Ann

[Eric_Lowe]

Thanks Ann,

These are facts not biographical information. For example did she get along with her daughters-in-law (Malfelda, Sophie & Alexandra) ? Did Frederick & Mossy ever visited Irene & Heinrich at Hemmelmark ?

[Dru]

Here is a sketch of Friedrich-Karl and "Mossy."  As you can see, the sketch of him is based on the photograph I posted earlier.