Mother Countess Julia Hauke Name Prince Joseph | House Battenberg family | |
 | ||
Born 24 September 1861
Padua, Kingdom of Italy ( 1861-09-24 ) Father Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine Died July 31, 1924, Schaffhausen, Switzerland Spouse Princess Anna of Montenegro (m. 1897–1924) Parents Julia, Princess of Battenberg, Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine Grandparents John Maurice Hauke, Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse, Princess Wilhelmine of Baden Similar People Princess Anna of Montenegro, Julia - Princess of Battenberg, Prince Henry of Battenberg, Prince Louis of Battenberg, Alexander of Battenberg | ||
Prince Francis Joseph of Battenberg, also known as Prince Franz Joseph of Battenberg, (24 September 1861 – 31 July 1924), was the youngest son of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine and Countess Julia von Hauke.
Biography
At one time, he was considered for the throne of Bulgaria, which eventually went to his brother Alexander. Francis Joseph nevertheless followed his brother to Bulgaria, where he served as a colonel in the Bulgarian cavalry. In 1891 he published an academic study on Bulgarian economic history, which he dedicated to his brother.
At a family reunion in London in 1894 Franz Joseph met Consuelo Vanderbilt, the daughter of an extremely wealthy American railway tycoon William Kissam Vanderbilt. He made a marriage proposal to Consuelo, but she disliked him and turned him down.
In 1897 he married Princess Ana Petrović-Njegoš of Montenegro (1874–1971), daughter of Nicholas I of Montenegro. They had no children.
He was made an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (Civil Division) by Queen Victoria in 1896.