Georg Donatus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse

On 2 February 1931, in Darmstadt, Georg Donatus, a great-grandson of Queen Victoria, married his first cousin once removed, Princess Cecilie of Greece and Denmark, daughter of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg, sister of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and great-great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. The couple had four children: • Prince Ludwig Ernst Andreas of Hesse and by Rhine (25 October 1931 – 16 November 1937), killed in the air accident. • Prince Alexander Georg Karl Heinrich of Hesse and by Rhine (14 April 1933 – 16 November 1937), killed in the air accident. • Princess Johanna Marina Eleonore of Hesse and by Rhine (20 September 1936 – 14 June 1939), died from meningitis. • Unnamed son (16 November 1937), apparently born just before the air accident. On 1 May 1937, Georg Donatus and Cecilie both joined the Nazi Party. ==Death==

In October 1937, Georg Donatus's father, Grand Duke Ernest Louis of Hesse, died. A few weeks after the funeral, his younger brother, Prince Louis, was due to marry the Hon. Margaret Geddes, daughter of Lord Geddes. On 16 November 1937, Georg Donatus, Cecilie, their two young sons, Georg Donatus's mother, Grand Duchess Eleonore, the children's nurse, a family friend, a pilot, and two crewmen took off in a Sabena Junkers Ju 52 aeroplane from Darmstadt, bound for the United Kingdom, where Louis's marriage ceremony was to take place. The aeroplane struck a factory chimney near Ostend, in Belgium, and crashed, bursting into flames and killing everyone on board. Cecilie was in an advanced state of pregnancy with their fourth child at the time of the crash. The remains of the newborn baby were found in the wreckage, indicating that Cecilie had gone into labour during the flight. The inquiry by the Belgian authorities suggested that, because of the birth, the pilot had attempted to land at the Stene aerodrome in Ostend despite poor weather conditions. ==Aftermath==

Louis's wedding had been scheduled for the 20 November but, following discussions with his future father-in-law Lord Geddes, was brought forward to the day after the accident (17 November) as a small and quiet ceremony, with the guests dressed in mourning. Immediately afterwards, he set off with his new wife Margaret, to Belgium to visit the crash site. The funeral and burial of Georg Donatus and his family took place at the Rosenhöhe, Darmstadt, Hesse, a few days later. Among those attending were Prince Philip, Prince Christoph of Hesse, Gottfried, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Prince Philipp of Hesse, Berthold, Margrave of Baden, Prince August Wilhelm of Prussia, and Lord Louis Mountbatten. A photograph of the funeral procession, showing Prince Louis as chief mourner, depicts crowds saluting the mourners with the Hitler salute. World War II began less than two years later. Georg Donatus and Cecilie's 14‑month‑old daughter, Johanna, was the only member of the immediate family who was not on board the aircraft. She was adopted by her uncle Louis and aunt Margaret in early 1938. Johanna died of meningitis in 1939. With the death of the childless Louis in 1968, the male line of the Hesse and by Rhine became extinct. ==Titles==

• 8 November 1906 – 16 November 1937: His Royal Highness The Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine Georg Donatus never acceded to the grand‑ducal throne, as it had been abolished at the end of the First World War. After that point, former titles were often adopted as surnames, and it became uncommon for the head of a royal, grand‑ducal, or ducal family to change his title upon succeeding as head of the house. ==Ancestry==

Patrilineal descent • Gilbert I, Count of the Maasgau, d. 842 • Gilbert II, Count of the Maasgau, 825–875 • Reginar, Duke of Lorraine, 850–915 • Reginar II, Count of Hainaut, 890–932 • Reginar III, Count of Hainaut, 920–973 • Lambert I, Count of Leuven, 950–1015 • Lambert II, Count of Leuven, d. 1054 • Henry II, Count of Leuven, 1020–1078 • Godfrey I, Count of Leuven, 1060–1139 • Godfrey II, Count of Leuven, 1187–1226 • Godfrey III, Count of Leuven, 1140–1190 • Henry I, Duke of Brabant, 1165–1235 • Henry II, Duke of Brabant, 1207–1248 • Henry I, Landgrave of Hesse, 1244–1308 • Otto I, Landgrave of Hesse, 1272–1328 • Louis the Junker of Hesse, 1305–1345 • Hermann II, Landgrave of Hesse, 1341–1413 • Louis I, Landgrave of Hesse, 1402–1458 • Louis II, Landgrave of Hesse, 1438–1471 • William II, Landgrave of Hesse, 1469–1509 • Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, 1504–1567 • George I, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, 1547–1596 • Louis V, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, 1577–1626 • George II, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, 1605–1661 • Louis VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, 1630–1678 • Ernest Louis, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, 1667–1739 • Louis VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, 1691–1768 • Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, 1719–1790 • Louis I, Grand Duke of Hesse, 1753–1830 • Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse, 1777–1848 • Prince Charles of Hesse and by Rhine, 1809–1877 • Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse, 1837–1892 • Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse, 1868–1937 • Georg Donatus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse, 1906–1937 ==See also==