The Least Known Noble Blood Connection of Charles III and Felipe VI

His Majesty King Felipe VI of Spain traveled to the United Kingdom on November 21, 2022, to attend the 135th anniversary of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in London. He also met His Majesty King Charles III, on a private visit.

Usually, King Charles III received and welcomed visiting foreign royals and dignitaries at Buckingham Palace, his official London office, however, it was different for King Felipe VI.

The visit was held at Clarence House, the London residence of King Charles III and Queen Camilla, and not at Buckingham Palace because King Charles was only holding a private audience with the Spanish king, and it was not an official state visit.  

King Charles III and King Felipe VI of Spain at Clarence House. November 21, 2022. Getty Images

King Charles III and King Felipe VI of Spain at Clarence House. November 21, 2022. Getty Images

King Felipe VI was probably just like popping up for tea at Clarence House to give his uncle (Felipe's mother, Queen Sofia, is a second cousin of King Charles through Prince Philip), a courtesy visit.

Closest blood relatives

King Charles III and King Felipe VI, who are two of the most royal monarchs in Europe (because their parents were all born of royal blood), are blood-related four times over. 

King Charles III and King Felipe VI of Spain at Clarence House. November 21, 2022. Getty Images

King Charles III and King Felipe VI of Spain at Clarence House. November 21, 2022. Getty Images

The public of course knew them as blood relatives through Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, King Christian IX of Denmark, and Emperor Nicholas I of Russia. However, there's one blood connection between them that's rarely been discussed.

The Battenberg blood connection

Prince Philip's maternal grandfather, Louis Mountbatten, the first Marquess of Milford-Haven, was previously titled Prince Louis Alexander of Battenberg. 

The Prince and Princess of Wales with their young sons, William and Harry, were invited by King Juan Carlos of Spain to spend the summer at Palma de Mallorca. Felipe, the Prince of Asturias wearing a green shirt seated beside Princess Diana.

From left: Prince Felipe, Prince Charles, Queen Sofia (red dress), Prince Harry, Prince William, Princess Diana, and King Juan Carlos I of Spain. August 1987.

He was forced to renounce his princely title in July 1917 when his wife's cousin, King George V, changed its royal house name from Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to Windsor due to bitter anti-German sentiments in the UK during World War I.

From left: Queen Sofia, The Princess of Wales holding Harry, King Juan Carlos I, Prince Charles holding Prince William, and Felipe, the Prince of Asturias

Prince Louis married Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, and the older sister of Empress Alexandra of Russia (wife of Tsar Nicholas II). 

Their marriage led to the meeting of Princess Victoria's maternal aunt, Princess Beatrice, the youngest child of Queen Victoria, and Prince Louis's younger brother, Prince Henry of Battenberg.

Prince Henry of Battenberg and Princess Beatrice had an only daughter, Princess Victoria Eugenie, who became the wife of King Alfonso XIII of Spain. They were the grandparents of King Juan Carlos I of Spain. 

In 1917, when King George V instructed all his German princely relatives living in England to give up their princely titles, the German House of Battenberg became the House of Mountbatten in the British nobility.

But Prince Henry of Battenberg died in 1896, thus, his title remained unaffected in books and documents. It was his eldest son, Prince Alexander of Battenberg, who adopted the name of Mountbatten. He was the older brother of Queen Eugenie of Spain.

King George V created the prince Alexander Mountbatten, the 1st Marquess of Carisbrooke, while Alexander's uncle, Prince Louis, was created Louis Mountbatten, the 1st Marquess of Milford-Haven.

The creation of Battenberg

But the story of the House of Battenberg, now Mountbatten, is not as simple as that, and not as uneventful as most of us thought. It has some intriguing history.

Prince Louis and Prince Henry's father was Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine, son of Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse. Prince Alexander's great-nephew, Louis IV of Hesse, would marry Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, the second daughter of Queen Victoria. 

Photos were taken 35 years apart. Left: The Prince of Wales and The Prince of Asturias in Palma de Mallorca. Right: Now both Kings (Clarence House. November 2022)

Louis IV and Princess Alice were the parents of Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia, and Grand Duchess Elisabeth Feodorovna of Russia.

Prince Alexander was the older brother of Empress Marie, the wife of Emperor Alexander II of Russia. He would frequently visit his younger sister in Russia.

It was through his visits to St. Petersburg Palace that he became acquainted with one of the beautiful ladies-in-waiting of his younger sister, Countess Julia von Hauke, who was born in Warsaw, Poland.

Countess Julia von Hauke was not of royal blood. Her father, John Maurice Hauke, was a Polish military general of German descent but without royal ancestry. He was created Count John Maurice von Hauke by Emperor Nicholas I of Russia due to his distinguished military service in the Russian imperial army.

His close association with the Russian imperial family made way for his daughter, Countess Julia von Hauke, to enter the imperial service as Lady-in-Waiting to the future Empress Marie, daughter-in-law of Emperor Nicholas I.

The way they stood still the same 35 years later 😄

When Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine saw Julia at St. Petersburg Palace, he was instantly smitten and made his move to court her.

But Emperor Nicholas I reportedly opposed the courtship as he did not like the idea that the brother-in-law of his son and heir, the future Emperor Alexander II, would fall in love with a woman of unequal rank. 

Nonetheless, Prince Alexander was determined to marry Julia, so he took her out of Russia and moved to Darmstadt in Germany. They married in 1851 despite the opposition of his family.

However, due to unequal birth, Julia was not granted the title Princess of Hesse and by Rhine. instead, Prince Alexander's brother, Louis III, Grand Duke of Hesse, created Julia, Countess of Battenberg (in reference to the city of Battenberg in the state of Hesse).  

Their children were not considered members of the Grand Ducal House of Hesse and were not eligible to succeed to the Grand Ducal throne of Hesse. Instead, they belonged to the House of Battenberg.

Louis III later elevated the Countess of Battenberg to Princess of Battenberg with the courtesy title of Her Serene Highness, which made the five children Prince and Princess of Battenberg. The House of Battenberg became known as the morganatic branch of the Grand Ducal House of Hesse.

Children of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine and Julia, Princess of Battenberg:

• Princess Marie - she married Prince Gustav of Erbach-Schonberg
• Prince Louis - he married his second cousin, Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine. In 1917, he was obliged to renounce his princely title and anglicized Battenberg to Mountbatten. They were the maternal grandparents of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
• Prince Alexander - he was elected Prince of the newly created Principality of Bulgaria but he later abdicated and was created Count of Hartenau. 
• Prince Henry - he married Princess Beatrice (daughter of Queen Victoria). They were the maternal great-grandparents of King Juan Carlos I of Spain.
• Prince Francis Joseph - he married Princess Anna of Montenegro. No children

Today, the princely House of Battenberg ceased to exist and was replaced by the House of Mountbatten. The current head of the House of Mountbatten is George Mountbatten, the 4th Marquess of Milford-Haven. 

Through the Mountbatten line, George is the second cousin of King Charles III and the third cousin of King emeritus Juan Carlos I of Spain.