Alexandrine von Hutten-Czapska

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Alexandrine Countess von Hutten-Czapska (born September 3, 1854 in Warsaw ; † May 8, 1941 in Vevey / Switzerland ) was the second wife of Grand Duke Ludwig IV of Hesse-Darmstadt for a short time in 1884 .

Alexandrine von Hutten-Czapska was born as the daughter of Adam Graf von Hutten-Czapski (1819–1884) and Marianne, Countess von Rzewuska-Grocholska (1827–1897). Her father, along with his brothers Ignacy and Emmerich Hutten-Czapski, was raised to the rank of Russian count on June 12, 1874. On the evening of April 30, 1884, the 47-year-old Grand Duke Ludwig IV of Hesse-Darmstadt, who had been widowed for six years, was secretly married to her, the 30-year-old, newly divorced. As a registraracted its acting Minister of State. Alexandrine had divorced her husband, the Russian chargé d'affaires in Darmstadt, Alexander von Kolemin, because of her affair with the Grand Duke. Her marriage to Ludwig IV was inappropriate, as she was not equal to the Grand Duke , although he had at least elevated her to Countess of Romrod on the occasion of the marriage.

By his first marriage to Princess Alice , Queen Victoria of Great Britain was the Grand Duke's mother-in-law. The queen was not taken with the wedding and condemned the liaison. She communicated this to the Grand Duke through his two brothers-in-law, the British Crown Prince Albert Edward and Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia. They stayed in Darmstadt because the daughter of Ludwig IV, Victoria , was married to Prince Ludwig Alexander von Battenberg (later Marquess of Milford Haven and British Grand Admiral) on the same day .

The marriage was then annulled and the countess resigned - among other things with the title of Countess von Romrod . Countess Alexandrine, with the help of the press, ensured that Europe was able to fully participate in her fate. 50 years later, Ludwig Berger wrote a comedy about the affair: "The lesser evil".

literature

personal data
SURNAME Hutten-Czapska, Alexandrine von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hutten-Czapska, Countess Alexandrine von (full name); Kolemine, Alexandrine; Kolemin, Alexandrine of
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Wife of Grand Duke Ludwig IV of Hesse-Darmstadt
DATE OF BIRTH September 3, 1854
PLACE OF BIRTH Warsaw
DATE OF DEATH May 8, 1941
Place of death Vevey , Switzerland