Overview
Prince Christian of Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld (Christian Ludwig Friedrich Adolf Alexis Wilhelm Ferdinand; 16 June 1887 – 19 October 1971) was a member of the House of Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld and a German naval officer until he resigned his commission during the First World War in protest at Germany's policy of unrestricted submarine warfare.
As a member of the House of Hesse, he was styled His Highness Prince Christian of Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld. To distinguish between the various branches of the house, the designation -Philippsthal-Barchfeld was sometimes added to the end of the princely title.
Early life
[[File:Prince Christian of Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld (1912).jpg|thumb|left|Prince Christian (on the left) during SMS Stettin'''s 1912 visit to the United States]]
Prince Christian, the youngest of Prince Wilhelm of Hesse's ten children, was born at Louisenlund Castle in Güby, Schleswig-Holstein. He was the only child from his father's fourth marriage with Princess Auguste of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, the eldest daughter of Duke Friedrich. Prince Christian was closely related to the British, Danish, Greek and Russian royal families through his mother, who was a first cousin of Queen Alexandra, King Frederik VIII, King George I and Empress Maria Feodorovna. His half-sister Princess Bertha was married to Leopold IV, Prince of Lippe.
In 1905, Prince Christian's elder half brother Prince Chlodwig inherited the family's wealth and assets when he succeeded their uncle Landgrave Alexis as head of the House of Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld because the children of their father's first morganatic marriage, the Princes and Princesses von Ardeck, were excluded from the succession. As a younger son, Prince Christian was not particularly wealthy and had to live off the money that his family granted him.
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