Hauke was born in
Warsaw,
Congress Poland, then ruled in
personal union by the
Russian emperor. She was the daughter of
Hans Moritz Hauke, a Polish general of German descent. Her mother, Sophie, was the daughter of Polish military surgeon of French descent,
Franz Leopold Lafontaine. Her father fought in
Napoleon's
Polish Legions in Austria, Italy, Germany, and the
Peninsular War. After his service in the army of the
Duchy of Warsaw from 1809 to 1814, he entered the ranks of the army of
Congress Poland, and was promoted to
general in 1828. Recognizing his abilities, Emperor
Nicholas I appointed him Deputy Minister of War of Congress Poland and on 4 May 1829 made him a hereditary
Count von
Hauke. In the
November Uprising of 1830, led by rebelling army cadets,
Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich, Poland's Russian
governor, managed to escape, but Julia's father was shot dead by the cadets on a
Warsaw street. Her mother died of shock shortly afterwards, and their children were made wards of the Emperor. Hauke served as
lady-in-waiting to
Marie of Hesse, wife of the future Emperor
Alexander II and a sister of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine. She met Prince Alexander while performing her duties at court in
Saint Petersburg. The Emperor did not approve of a courtship between her and his son's brother-in-law, so the two arranged to leave Saint Petersburg. By the time Julia and Alexander were able to marry, she was six months pregnant with their first child, Marie. They were married on 28 October 1851 in Breslau in Prussian
Silesia (now called
Wrocław and in
Poland). Since she was not considered equal for royal marriage purposes, her children did not qualify for succession to the throne of
Hesse and by Rhine. Her marriage was declared to be
morganatic after the birth of her first son. Her husband's brother,
Grand Duke Louis III of Hesse-Darmstadt, made her Countess of
Battenberg in 1851, with the style of
Illustrious Highness (). In 1858, she was elevated to Princess of Battenberg, with the style of
Serene Highness ().
Battenberg became the name of a morganatic branch of the Grand Ducal House of Hesse. Hauke converted to
Lutheranism on 12 May 1875. Prior to her conversion, she frequently visited
Orthodox and
Byzantine Catholic churches throughout Hesse, often traveling great distances. Her religion was openly criticized by members of her husband's family until her conversion. Her children were baptized Lutheran. She died at
Heiligenberg Castle on 19 September 1895. ==Children==