Prince Henry of Battenberg (Henry Maurice; 5 October 1858 – 20 January 1896), formerly Count Henry of Battenberg, was a German prince who became a member of the British royal family by marriage to Princess Beatrice, the youngest child of Queen Victoria. He was the son of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine, but did not belong to the House of Hesse because his mother, Countess Julia von Hauke, was of a lower rank. He moved to the United Kingdom when he married Beatrice in 1885 and became governor of the Isle of Wight in 1894. He died of malaria on his way to fight in the Ashanti War.
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Early life
Henry was born on 5 October 1858 in Milan, Lombardy–Venetia. He was the son of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine, and his wife, Countess Julia von Hauke. His father was the third son and fourth child of Grand Duke Ludwig II of Hesse and Wilhelmina of Baden.
His parents' marriage was morganatic, as Julia was considered of unequal rank to a prince of a reigning dynasty, being only a countess. As such, at the time of his birth, Henry could not bear his father's title or name, and was styled His Illustrious Highness Count Henry of Battenberg. He was known as 'Liko' to his family. The name 'Liko' came from a nanny who called him 'Enrico' or 'Rico", and his brother Sandro, who was a toddler at the time, pronounced it as 'Liko'. When his mother was raised to Princess von Battenberg and given the higher style of Her Serene Highness by Alexander's older brother, Louis III, Grand Duke of Hesse, Henry and his siblings shared in their mother's new rank. He became His Serene Highness Prince Henry of Battenberg, although he remained ineligible to inherit the throne of Hesse.