Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse

Louis II
Portrait of Louis II
Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine
Reign	6 April 1830 – 5 March 1848
Predecessor	Louis I
Successor	Louis III
Born	(1777-12-26)26 December 1777 Darmstadt
Died	16 June 1848(1848-06-16) (aged 70) Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse
Spouse	Princess Wilhelmine of Baden ​ ​ (m. 1804; died 1836)​
Issue	Louis III, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine Prince Karl of Hesse and by Rhine Princess Elizabeth of Hesse and by Rhine Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine Marie, Empress of Russia
House	Hesse-Darmstadt
Father	Louis I, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine
Mother	Princess Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt

Louis II (26 December 1777 – 16 June 1848) was Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine from 6 April 1830 until 5 March 1848, resigning during the German Revolution of 1848. He was the son of Louis I, Grand Duke of Hesse, and Princess Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt.

Marriage and issue

On 19 June 1804, in Karlsruhe, he married his first cousin Princess Wilhelmine of Baden, youngest daughter of Charles Louis, Hereditary Prince of Baden, and his wife, Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt.

Due to Louis's affairs, the union proved an unhappy one, and the couple separated after the birth of their third child. Through Wilhelmine, Louis had four surviving children:

• Prince Ludwig of Hesse-Darmstadt (9 June 1806 – 13 June 1877); (the future Grand Duke).
• Stillborn son (18 August 1807).
• Prince Karl Wilhelm Ludwig of Hesse-Darmstadt (23 April 1809 – 20 March 1877).
• Princess Amalia Elisabeth Luise Karoline Friederike Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt (20 May 1821 – 27 May 1826).
• Stillborn daughter (7 June 1822).
• Prince Alexander Ludwig Georg Friedrich Emil of Hesse-Darmstadt (15 July 1823 – 15 December 1888)
• Princess Maximiliane Wilhelmine Auguste Sophie Marie of Hesse-Darmstadt (8 August 1824 – 3 June 1880); the future Empress consort of Alexander II of Russia.

Ancestry

16. Ernest Louis, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt

8. Louis VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt

17. Princess Dorothea Charlotte of Brandenburg-Ansbach

4. Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt

18. Johann Reinhard III, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg

9. Countess Charlotte of Hanau-Lichtenberg

19. Princess Dorothea Friederike of Brandenburg-Ansbach

2. Louis I, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine

20. Christian II, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld

10. Christian III, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken

21. Countess Katharina Agathe of Rappoltstein

5. Countess Palatine Caroline of Zweibrücken

22. Louis Crato, Count of Nassau-Saarbrücken

11. Countess Caroline of Nassau-Saarbrücken

23. Countess Philippine Henriette of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

1. Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine

24. Ernest Louis, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (= 16)

12. Louis VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (= 8)

25. Princess Dorothea Charlotte of Brandenburg-Ansbach (= 17)

6. Prince George William of Hesse-Darmstadt

26. Johann Reinhard III, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg (= 18)

13. Countess Charlotte of Hanau-Lichtenberg (= 9)

27. Princess Dorothea Friederike of Brandenburg-Ansbach (= 19)

3. Princess Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt

28. Johann, Count of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Falkenburg

14. Count Christian Karl Reinhard of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Falkenburg

29. Countess Johanna Magdalene of Hanau-Lichtenberg

7. Countess Maria Louise Albertine of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Falkenburg

30. Count Georg Ludwig of Solms-Rödelheim

15. Countess Katharina Polyxena of Solms-Rödelheim

31. Countess Charlotte Sibylle of Ahlefeldt