Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine

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Princess Marie of Hesse
Princess Marie of Hesse in 1878.
Born	May 24, 1874(1874-05-24) Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany
Died	November 16, 1878 (aged 4) Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany
Occupation	Royalty
Parents	Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine and Princess Alice of the United Kingdom

Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine (Marie Victoria Feodore Leopoldine), (24 May 1874 - 16 November 1878), was the youngest daughter of Princess Alice of the United Kingdom and Ludwig IV, the Grand Duke of Hesse. Her mother was the second daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. She died of diphtheria at the age of four and was buried with her mother, who died a few weeks later of the same disease. She and her maternal grandmother, Queen Victoria, shared the same birthday.

1 Life
2 Death
3 Ancestry
4 See also
5 Notes
6 References

[edit] Life

She had six older siblings, Victoria, Elisabeth, Irene, Ernest, Friedrich (who died a year before her birth of complications of haemophilia), and Alix. She was known as May in the family. Her sister Alix, two years older, was her constant companion. The two girls were dressed alike and shared the nursery. Marie was her mother's favorite child.^[1]

[edit] Death

Tragedy struck the Grand Ducal family in 1878. As her sister Victoria described the scene later, the family had been gathered together on the evening of November 5 when she developed a stiff neck. Victoria reported her symptoms to their mother, who thought it might be mumps and said it would be "comical" if they all caught it. Victoria felt well enough to read Alice in Wonderland to her younger siblings, while her mother sat nearby chatting with her friend Katie Macbean, who was filling in for an absent lady-in-waiting. Marie leaped up and begged her mother to let her have more cake. Her siblings asked Miss Macbean to play the piano so they could dance. They danced for half an hour and went to bed in high spirits.

The next morning Victoria was diagnosed with diphtheria; at three in the morning on November 12, six-year-old Alix was diagnosed with the disease. Princess Alice ordered a steam inhaler be brought to her room to prevent the seriously ill Alix from choking to death. Hours later, Princess Marie ran into her mother's room, crawled into bed with her and kissed her. By afternoon, Marie as well was displaying the symptoms of the disease, suffering from a high fever. White spots and a white membrane covered the back of her throat. The next day her sister Irene became ill and on the day of November 14 her brother Ernest and father Ludwig also became ill with diphtheria. Alice and the doctors nursed the family round the clock. On the morning of November 16, Marie choked to death from the membrane covering her throat. Her mother, awakened by the doctors, hurried to the nursery, only to find her daughter dead. Alice sat by her daughter's body, kissing Marie's face and hands, trying to work up the strength to tell her ill husband. She watched as Marie's coffin was wheeled off to the family mausoleum.

For weeks, Alice concealed Marie's death from the other sick children, who asked about her and tried to send their little sister toys. Elizabeth, who had been sent to stay with her paternal grandmother, was the only child who escaped infection. The sick children were finally told at the beginning of December that Marie had died. Ten-year-old Ernest at first refused to believe the news and then broke down in tears. His mother hugged and kissed him, despite the risk of infection. On December 7 Alice recognized the symptoms of diphtheria in herself. She died on the morning of December 14, murmuring "From Friday to Saturday -- four weeks -- May -- dear Papa."^[2] Alice was interred beside her daughter. A statue was placed on the tomb of Alice holding Marie in her arms.^[3]