Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine
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2008-05-14T00:05:38Z
Wizardman
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Removed category "Descendants of Queen Victoria" (using [[WP:HOTCAT|HotCat]])
{{Infobox Person
| name = Princess Marie of Hesse
| image = 18720Maria.jpeg
| image_size =
| caption = Princess Marie of Hesse in 1878.
| birth_date = {{birth date|1874|5|24|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Darmstadt]], [[Hesse]], [[Germany]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|1878|11|16|1874|5|24|mf=y}}
| death_place = [[Darmstadt]], [[Hesse]], [[Germany]]
| occupation = Royalty
| parents = [[Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine]] and [[Princess Alice of the United Kingdom]]
}}
'''Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine''' (Marie Victoria Feodore Leopoldine), ([[24 May]] [[1874]] - [[16 November]] [[1878]]), was the youngest daughter of [[Princess Alice of the United Kingdom]] and [[Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine|Ludwig IV]], the Grand Duke of Hesse. Her mother was the second daughter of [[Victoria of the United Kingdom|Queen Victoria]] and [[Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha]]. She died of [[diphtheria]] at the age of four and was buried with her mother, who died a few weeks later of the same disease. She and her maternal grandmother, Queen Victoria, shared the same birthday.
==Life==
She had six older siblings, [[Princess Victoria of Hesse and the Rhine|Victoria]], [[Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fyodorovna|Elisabeth]], [[Princess Irene of Hesse and the Rhine|Irene]], [[Ernst Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine|Ernest]], [[Prince Friedrich of Hesse and by Rhine|Friedrich]] (who died a year before her birth of complications of [[haemophilia]]), and [[Alexandra Fyodorovna of Hesse|Alix]]. She was known as '''May''' in the family. Her sister Alix, two years older, was her constant companion. The two girls were dressed alike and shared the nursery. Marie was her mother's favorite child.<ref>Mager (1998), p. 56</ref>
==Death==
Tragedy struck the Grand Ducal family in 1878. As her sister Victoria described the scene later, the family had been gathered together on the evening of November 5 when she developed a stiff neck. Victoria reported her symptoms to their mother, who thought it might be [[mumps]] and said it would be "comical" if they all caught it. Victoria felt well enough to read ''[[Alice in Wonderland]]'' to her younger siblings, while her mother sat nearby chatting with her friend Katie Macbean, who was filling in for an absent lady-in-waiting. Marie leaped up and begged her mother to let her have more cake. Her siblings asked Miss Macbean to play the piano so they could dance. They danced for half an hour and went to bed in high spirits.
The next morning Victoria was diagnosed with diphtheria; at three in the morning on November 12, six-year-old Alix was diagnosed with the disease. Princess Alice ordered a steam inhaler be brought to her room to prevent the seriously ill Alix from choking to death. Hours later, Princess Marie ran into her mother's room, crawled into bed with her and kissed her. By afternoon, Marie as well was displaying the symptoms of the disease, suffering from a high fever. White spots and a white membrane covered the back of her throat. The next day her sister Irene became ill and on the day of November 14 her brother Ernest and father Ludwig also became ill with diphtheria. Alice and the doctors nursed the family round the clock. On the morning of November 16, Marie choked to death from the membrane covering her throat. Her mother, awakened by the doctors, hurried to the nursery, only to find her daughter dead. Alice sat by her daughter's body, kissing Marie's face and hands, trying to work up the strength to tell her ill husband. She watched as Marie's coffin was wheeled off to the family mausoleum.
For weeks, Alice concealed Marie's death from the other sick children, who asked about her and tried to send their little sister toys. Elizabeth, who had been sent to stay with her paternal grandmother, was the only child who escaped infection. The sick children were finally told at the beginning of December that Marie had died. Ten-year-old Ernest at first refused to believe the news and then broke down in tears. His mother hugged and kissed him, despite the risk of infection. On December 7 Alice recognized the symptoms of diphtheria in herself. She died on the morning of December 14, murmuring "From Friday to Saturday -- four weeks -- May -- dear Papa."<ref>Mager (1998), pp. 52-56</ref> Alice was interred beside her daughter. A statue was placed on the tomb of Alice holding Marie in her arms.<ref>Mager (1998), p. 58</ref>
==Ancestry==
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|1= 1. '''Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine'''
|2= 2. [[Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse]]
|3= 3. [[Princess Alice of the United Kingdom]]
|4= 4. [[Prince Karl of Hesse and by Rhine]]
|5= 5. Princess Elizabeth of Prussia
|6= 6. [[Albert, Prince Consort]]
|7= 7. [[Victoria of the United Kingdom]]
|8= 8. [[Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse]]
|9= 9. [[Princess Wilhelmine of Baden]]
|10= 10. [[Prince Wilhelm of Prussia]]
|11= 11. Landgravine Maria Anna of Hesse-Homburg
|12= 12. [[Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]]
|13= 13. [[Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg]]
|14= 14. [[Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent and Strathearn]]
|15= 15. [[Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld]]
|16= 16. [[Louis I, Grand Duke of Hesse]]
|17= 17. Landgravine Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt
|18= 18. [[Charles Louis, Hereditary Prince of Baden]]
|19= 19. [[Landgravine Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt]]
|20= 20. [[Frederick William II of Prussia]]
|21= 21. [[Frederika Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt]]
|22= 22. Frederick V, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg
|23= 23. Landgravine Caroline of Hesse-Darmstadt
|24= 24. [[Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld]]
|25= 25. [[Augusta Reuss-Ebersdorf|Princess Augusta Reuss of Ebersdorf]]
|26= 26. [[Augustus, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg]]
|27= 27. [[Duchess Louise Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Schwerin]]
|28= 28. [[George III of the United Kingdom]]
|29= 29. [[Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|30= 30. [[Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld]] (= 24)
|31= 31. [[Augusta Reuss-Ebersdorf|Princess Augusta Reuss of Ebersdorf]] (= 25)
}}</center>
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==See also==
* [[Maria Alexandrovna (Marie of Hesse)]]
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
==References==
*Mager, Hugo (1998). ''Elizabeth: Grand Duchess of Russia''. Carroll and Graf Publishers, Inc. ISBN 0-7867-0678-3
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marie of Hesse and By Rhine}}
[[Category:1874 births]]
[[Category:1878 deaths]]
[[Category:German nobility]]
[[Category:House of Hesse-Darmstadt]]
[[Category:Grandchildren of Victoria and Albert]]
[[Category:Deaths by infectious disease]]
[[ru:Мария, Принцесса Гессенская.]]