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  • Princess of Greece and Denmark (birth)
  • Grand Duchess of Hessen (marriage)
  • Death in 1937 place crash

Biography

Princess Cecilie of Greece and Denmark was born 22 June 1911 in Athens, Attica, Greece to Andrew of Greece and Denmark (1882-1944) and Alice Mountbatten (1885-1969) and died 16 November 1937 Oostende, Oostende, West Flanders, Belgium of unspecified causes. He married Georg Donatus von Hesse-Darmstadt (1906-1937) 2 February 1931 in Darmstaadt, Hesse, Germany.

Princess Cecilie of Greece and Denmark (Template:Langx; 22 June 1911 – 16 November 1937) was by birth a Greek and Danish princess who became titular Hereditary Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine through her marriage to Prince Georg Donatus, pretender to the throne of the Grand Duchy of Hesse. She was also the third-eldest sister to Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark (later Duke of Edinburgh).

The third of five children, she had a happy childhood in pre-war Greece, but then the tragedy of the Balkan Wars forced her family into a long exile in Switzerland.

The year 1929 was a turning point in Cecilie's life. She formed a relationship with her maternal cousin, Georg Donatus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse. Around the same time, her mother was struck by a mental health crisis which led to her confinement in a Swiss psychiatric hospital until 1933. After marrying Georg Donatus in 1931, Cecilie moved to Darmstadt. There she gave birth to their three children, Ludwig (1931–1937), Alexander (1933–1937) and Johanna (1936–1939), before becoming pregnant with her fourth child in 1937. Initially distant from the Nazi movement, she joined the Nazi Party at the same time as her husband in May 1937.

Death

In October 1937, Georg Donatus' father, Grand Duke Ernest Louis of Hesse, died. A few weeks after the funeral, his younger brother, Prince Louis, was due to be married to the Hon. Margaret Geddes, daughter of Lord Geddes. On 16 November 1937, Georg Donatus, Cecilie, their two young sons, Georg's mother Grand Duchess Eleonore, the children's nurse, a family friend, a pilot and two crewmen, flew from Darmstadt bound for the United Kingdom, where Prince Louis was due to be married. The Junkers Ju 52 aeroplane hit a factory chimney near Ostend and crashed into flames, killing all those on board. Cecilie was heavily pregnant with her fourth child at the time of the crash, and the remains of the newborn baby were found in the wreckage, indicating that Cecilie had gone into labour during the flight; the Belgian inquiry into the crash suggested that the pilot was attempting to land in Ostend despite the poor weather conditions because of the birth.[1]





Children


Offspring of Georg Donatus von Hesse-Darmstadt (1906-1937) and Princess Cecilie
Name Birth Death Joined with
Ludwig Ernst Andreas of Hesse and by Rhine (1931-1937)
Alexander Georg Karl Heinrich of Hesse and by Rhine (1933-1937)
Johanna Marina Eleonore of Hesse and by Rhine
Unnamed Son of Hesse and by Rhine (1937-1937)



Siblings


Offspring of Andrew of Greece and Denmark (1882-1944) and Alice Mountbatten (1885-1969)
Name Birth Death Joined with
Margarita of Greece and Denmark (1905-1981) 18 April 1905 Royal Palace, Athens, Greece 24 April 1981 Bad Wiessee, Miesbach, Bavaria, Germany Gottfried Hermann Alfred zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg (1897-1960)
Theodora of Greece and Denmark (1906-1969) 30 May 1906 Old Royal Palace, Athens, Attica, Greece 16 October 1969 Konstanz, Konstanz, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany Berthold Friedrich von Baden (1906-1963)
Cecilie of Greece and Denmark (1911-1937) 22 June 1911 Athens, Attica, Greece 16 November 1937 Oostende, Oostende, West Flanders, Belgium Georg Donatus von Hesse-Darmstadt (1906-1937)
Sophie of Greece and Denmark (1914-2001) 26 June 1914 Villa Mon-Repos, Corfu, Kerkira, Ionian Islands, Greece 24 November 2001 Schilersee, Miesbach, Bavaria, Germany Christopher Ernst August von Hessen (1901-1943)
George WIlhelm of Hanover (1915-2006)
Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (1921-2021) 10 June 1921 Corfu, Greece 9 April 2021 Windsor Castle, Windsor, Berkshire, England, United Kingdom Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom (1926-2022)

Residences

Notable Ancestors

  • Descendants of Christian IX of Denmark


See Also


References


Footnotes (including sources)

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