Donatus, Landgrave of Hesse


Donatus, Prince and Landgrave of Hesse as the eldest son and successor of German aristocrat Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse, and his former wife, Princess Tatiana of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg is the head of the House of Brabant and the German House of Hesse. A great-grandson of Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, he is named in part after Georg Donatus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse. He is also a great-great-great grandson of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, through his paternal grandfather Philipp's mother Margaret, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Through his great-grandmother, Princess Margaret of Prussia, Donatus is additionally great great-grandson of Frederick III, German Emperor. His father Moritz was a third cousin of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.

Profession

A trained economist, Donatus directs the Hessische Hausstiftung, a foundation established to curate and showcase the cultural heritage and history of the House of Hesse, a dynasty which ruled the Electorate of Hesse-Cassel until 1866, the Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine until 1918, and whose male-line descendants include the Protestant leader Philip the Magnanimous, the Swedish king Frederick I, Russia's last tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna, the exiled Spanish queen Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, and Britain's last viceroy of India, the assassinated Louis, Earl Mountbatten of Burma.
Donatus also manages Prinz von Hessen, a winery specializing in production of varietal vintages on his 45 hectare vineyard.
Prince Donatus' father became the head of the Hesse-Cassel line on the death of his own father, Landgrave Philip in 1980. Having also been the adopted son and heir of his distant cousin, Louis, Prince of Hesse and by Rhine, the latter's death in 1968 as the last male of the Hesse-Darmstadt branch left Moritz head of the entire House of Hesse, to which Donatus is the successor.

Marriage and issue

Donatus married Countess Floria Franziska Marie-Luisa Erika von Faber-Castell in a civil ceremony in Wiesbaden on 25 April 2003. The bride is a communications professional and a niece of Count Anton Wolfgang von Faber-Castell, chairman of the board of the famous Faber-Castell pen-and-pencil company headquartered near Nuremberg and scion of the eponymous family, which is a morganatic branch of Castell-Rüdenhausen Princely family. Prince Donatus and Floria Franziska are 6th cousins, as both descended from Frederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel and his first wife Princess Mary of Great Britain.
The couple's religious wedding ceremony took place on 17 May 2003, attended by royalty and aristocrats. Held at the Johanneskirche and followed by a grand ball in the Green Salon, state room of the former Friedrichshof palace in Kronberg where Donatus's ancestress, the German Empress Frederick, lived in widowhood, more than 300 guests were present. Among them was Caroline, Princess of Hanover, the heiress presumptive of Monaco; Princess Benedikte of Denmark, aunt of the bridegroom and sister of Queens Margrethe II and Anne-Marie of Greece; and Gloria, Princess of Thurn and Taxis.
Landgrave Donatus and his wife have a daughter and two sons, Princess Paulina and Hereditary Prince Moritz and Prince August.

Ancestry

Patrilineal descent

  1. Gilbert, Count of the Maasgau, ???-???
  2. Reginar, Duke of Lorraine, 850-915
  3. Reginar II, Count of Hainaut, 890–932
  4. Reginar III, Count of Hainaut, 920–973
  5. Lambert I, Count of Louvain, 950–1015
  6. Lambert II, Count of Louvain, 9??–1054
  7. Henry II, Count of Louvain, c. 1020–1078
  8. Godfrey I, Count of Louvain, 1060–1139
  9. Godfrey II, Count of Louvain, c. 1110-1142
  10. Godfrey III, Count of Louvain, 1142–1190
  11. Henry I, Duke of Brabant, c. 1165–1235
  12. Henry II, Duke of Brabant, 1207–1248
  13. Henry I, Landgrave of Hesse, 1244–1308
  14. Otto I, Landgrave of Hesse, 1272–1328
  15. Louis the Junker, 1305–1345
  16. Hermann II, Landgrave of Hesse, 1341–1413
  17. Louis I, Landgrave of Hesse, 1402–1458
  18. Louis II, Landgrave of Lower Hesse, 1438–1471
  19. William II, Landgrave of Hesse, 1469–1509
  20. Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, 1504–1567
  21. William IV, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, 1532–1592
  22. Maurice, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, 1572–1632
  23. William V, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, 1602–1637
  24. William VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, 1629–1663
  25. Charles I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, 1654–1730
  26. William VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, 1682–1760
  27. Frederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, 1720–1785
  28. Prince Frederick of Hesse-Kassel, 1747–1837
  29. Prince William of Hesse-Kassel, 1787–1867
  30. Prince Frederick William of Hesse-Kassel, 1820–1884
  31. Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse, 1868–1940
  32. Philipp, Landgrave of Hesse, 1896–1980
  33. Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse, 1926-2013
  34. Donatus, Landgrave of Hesse, b. 1966

    Foundation of the House of Hesse

Founded in 1928, the Foundation of the House of Hesse is the successor institution of a family trust that had been established in 1830, confiscated by the Kingdom of Prussia in 1866, and re-established after partial restitution in 1878. The foundation manages the family fortunes including forests, agricultural estates, castles, hotels and an art collection. The latter is mainly shown at Fasanerie Palace in Eichenzell, Hesse, a former summer palace of the Prince Abbots of Fulda that had been taken over by the Landgraves of Hesse after the secularization and mediatisation of the Prince-bishopric of Fulda in 1803. Schlosshotel Kronberg and Grandhotel Hessischer Hof in Frankfurt are hotels, the Weingut Prinz von Hessen a winery in Johannisberg which was purchased in 1957, while Schloß Wolfsgarten south of Frankfurt am Main and Panker estate are used as private seats of the family. Other castles have been sold, such as Schloss Philippsruhe in Hanau, Schloss Rumpenheim in Offenbach am Main and Tarasp Castle in Switzerland.