Line of succession to the former Hessian throne

The Electorate of Hesse was abolished in 1866 when it was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia, while the Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine came to an end in 1918 with its last Grand Duke, Ernest Ludwig. Like most former German realms of the Holy Roman Empire the succession in Hessian lands was semi-Salic, with the nearest female kinswoman of the last male inheriting the crown upon extinction of the dynasty in the male line. The current pretender to both Hessian thrones is Donatus, Landgrave of Hesse, from the electoral line of the family, which inherited its claim to the grand duchy following the death of Prince Louis of Hesse and by Rhine in 1968. Donatus became head of the House of Hesse on the death of his father, Prince Moritz, in 2013. Landgrave Donatus is the titular Grand Duke and Elector of Hesse.