Princess Cecilie, Grand Duchess of Hesse

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Today marks the Anniversary of the death of Princess Cecilie, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine, who died on this day in 1937! The daughter of Prince Andrew of Greece and Princess Alice of Battenberg, she was the sister of Princess Margarita (later Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg)Princess Theodora (later Margravine of Baden)Princess Sophie of Greece and Hanover and Prince Phillip (now the Duke of Edinburgh). Her cousins include King George, King Alexander, and King Paul of Greece, Queen Helen of RomaniaPrincess Irene, Duchess of AostaPrincess Marina, Duchess of KentPrincess Paul of YugoslaviaPrincess Eugenie of GreecePrince Michael of GreeceQueen Alexandra of YugoslaviaQueen Sofia of SpainKing Constantine II of Greece, and King Michael of Romania. Spending most of her early life in Greece, the family was forced to flee during the Greek Royal Family’s frequent exiles in the 1920s, residing in Paris until she married Georg Donatus, the Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse in 1931. The couple had four children and became the titular Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine after the death of her father-in-law in 1937. The following month, the couple, their two elder sons, and the Dowager Grand Duchess were travelling to London to attend the wedding of his younger brother, when the Grand Duchess went into labour and the flight crashed in Belgium while attempting to land, killing all those on board. Princess Cecilie’s only daughter was adopted by her uncle and aunt, the new Prince and Princess of Hesse and by Rhine, until she passed away from meningitis in 1939.

Hesse Strawberry Leaf Tiara | Hesse Star Tiara | Hesse Turquoise and Moonstone Tiara | Hesse Medieval Emerald Tiara

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Hesse Strawberry Leaf Tiara

Hesse Star Tiara

Hesse Medieval Emerald Tiara

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