August von Senarclens de Grancy
August Ludwig Freiherr von Senarclens de Grancy (French: Auguste Louis de Senarclens de Grancy; 19 August 1794 – 3 October 1871) was the firstborn son of three sons and four daughters of César Auguste, Baron von Senarclens de Grancy, (born in 1763) and his wife Élizabeth Claudine Marie-Rose de Loriol (born in 1773).[1] He is reputed to have been the long-time lover of Wilhelmine of Baden, the Grand Duchess consort of Hesse, and the actual father by her of the Empress consort Maria Alexandrovna of Russia and Prince Alexander of Hesse, ancestors of modern royalty in Bulgaria, Germany, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom and Russia.
August von Senarclens de Grancy | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 19 August 1794 Vaud, Old Swiss Confederacy |
| Died | 3 October 1871 (aged 77) Jugenheim, Kingdom of Prussia |
| Spouse(s) | Luise von Otting und Fünfstetten
(m. 1836) |
| Occupation | Stable Master |
Life
He became the stable master of Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse, a major general and a knight in the Order of Malta. It is also alleged that he was the biological father of four of the children of his employer's wife and, therefore, a likely ancestor of Felipe VI of Spain and Charles, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the throne of the United Kingdom. He may also be a direct-line ancestor of several royal pretenders: Alexander, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia, King Michael of Romania and Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia, heir to the throne of the German Empire which collapsed at the end of World War I.
Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse, bought the property of Heiligenberg near Jugenheim in 1820, installing his chamberlain, Senarclens de Grancy, there. From the year of that acquisition Grand Duchess Wilhelmine no longer lived with her husband, with whom she had not had any children since 1809, and proceeded to give birth four times between 1821 and 1824. Senarclens's identity as the father of the later children of Wilhelmine was strongly suspected: correspondence asserting or repeating the allegation was recorded by several government ministers, ambassadors and sovereigns, including Tsar Nicholas I and Queen Victoria.
- Princess Amalia Elisabeth Luise Karoline Friederike Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt (20 May 1821 – 27 May 1826).
- Stillborn daughter (7 June 1822).
- Prince Alexander Ludwig Georg Friedrich Emil of Hesse and by Rhine (15 July 1823 – 15 December 1888), morganatically married to Countess Julie Hauke, she and their children being elevated to the title of princess/prince of Battenberg.
- Princess Maximiliane Wilhelmine Auguste Sophie Marie of Hesse and by Rhine (8 August 1824 – 3 June 1880); the future Empress consort of Tsar Alexander II of Russia.
Alexander and Marie were the only children to survive to adulthood. Louis II neither denied paternity nor sought to disinherit any of the children born after 1820, even after the death of the Grand Duchess.
Senarclens de Grancy died in Jugenheim on 3 October 1871.
Marriage
On 15 November 1836, Senarclens de Grancy married Luise Wilhelmine Camille von Otting und Fünfstetten (born von Schönfeld; 24 May 1810 – 18 May 1876), said to be a morganatic descendant of the Counts Palatine of Zweïbrucken and the Margraves of Baden-Durlach, by whom he had three sons and three daughters:[2][3][4][5]
- Baroness Wilhelmine Marie von Senarclens-Grancy (11 August 1837 – 22 November 1912), unmarried.
- Baron Ludwig von Senarclens-Grancy (9 June 1839 – 2 February 1910), married Amalie Barbara, Baroness Löw von und zu Steinfurth.
- Baroness Marie Wilhelmine von Senarclens-Grancy (9 June 1840 – 5 July 1908), married Ludwig Heinrich von Hesse.
- Baron Heinrich Adolph Maximilian Ludwig von Senarclens-Grancy (31 July 1845 – 17 January 1908).
- Baron Albert Ludwig Friedrich von Senarclens-Grancy (9 February 1847 – 20 January 1901), married his cousin Antoinette de Senarclens de Grancy.
- Baroness Constance Marie Wilhelmine von Senarclens-Grancy (11 September 1852 – 9 March 1933), married Karl von Oertzen.
Ancestry
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Notes
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-03-08. Retrieved 2011-04-30.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - http://geneall.net/en/name/2091755/auguste-louis-de-senarclens-de-grancy/
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-09-26. Retrieved 2011-04-30.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - "Auguste Louis von Senarclens-Grancy b. 19 Aug 1794 Schloss Etoy d. 8 Oct 1871 Jugenheim: Geneagraphie - Families all over the world".
- "Family tree of August Ludwig von Senarclens-Grancy".
References
- de Senarclens, Jean (2004) 800 ans d'histoire de la famille de Senarclens et de sa branche de Grancy, Genève : Slatkine, ISBN 2-8321-0178-X
- Lambton, Antony (1989) The Mountbattens : the Battenburgs and young Mountbatten, London : Constable, ISBN 0-09-472250-1
- Shelton, Darren (1998) "Royal Quarterings: The ahnenreihe of the grandchildren of the last Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine", European Royal History Journal, I (VI:August), p. 19-22