Princess Cecilie of Greece, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Hesse

Princess Cecilie of Greece and Denmark, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Hesse, was the older sister of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

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She was born in Greece on 22 June 1911, the daughter of Princess Alice of Battenberg and Prince Andrew of Greece.

Related Topics:
Princess Alice of Battenberg - Prince Andrew of Greece

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She had three sisters and one brother:

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• Princess Margarita (1905-1981)
• Princess Theodora (1906-1969)
• Princess Sophie (1914-2000)
• Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (1921 -)

She married the Hereditary Grand Duke Georg Donatus of Hesse-Darmstadt on 2 February 1931. They had three children:

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• Prince Ludwig Ernst Andreas (25 October, 1932)
• Prince Alexander Georg Karl Heinrich (14 April, 1931)
• Princess Johanna Marina Eleonore (20 September, 1936)

In October 1937, Georg Donatus' father, Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig of Hesse died. A few weeks after the funeral, Ernst Ludwig's younger son, Prince Ludwig was due to be married to Margaret Geddes. On 16 November 1937, Georg Donatus, Cecilie, their two young sons, Georg's mother Grand Duchess Eleonore, the children's nurse and a family friend, along with a pilot and two creman, left Darmstadt for England, where Prince Ludwig was due to be married. The aeroplane hit a factory chimney near Ostend and crashed into flames, killing all those on board. The remains of an eight-months child were found in the wreakage, indicating that Cecilie had been pregnant and had, in all probability, either gone into labor shortly before, during or directly after the crash. The only survivor of the family was Johanna, she was not on the plane at the time. Johanna was adopted by Prince Ludwig and Princess Margaret, however, she died in 1939 from meningitis.

Related Topics:
Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig of Hesse - Ostend

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