Happy 153rd Birthday to Prince Friedrich “Frittie” of Hesse and By Rhine, October 7th 1870 ✨🖤
Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Hesse and By Rhine was born on October 7th 1870 in Darmstadt, Hesse. He was the 5th child and 2nd son of Grand Duke Louis IV of Hesse and Princess Alice of Great Britain and Ireland. He was the brother of Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna and Grand Duchess Elisabeth Feodorovna.
He was a very lively baby and loved playing with his siblings, especially his brother Ernst Louis who he was especially close with. When he was around 1 year old he was diagnosed with Hemophilia because of a fall. Hemophilia is a genetic blood disorder that doesn’t allow the blood to clot which means that any bump or bruise could cause a fatal hemorrhage.
When he was almost 3 years old in 1873 he was playing with his brother Ernie and his mother Alice in her bedroom. Ernie ran into the adjoining room and looked out of the window to wave to Frittie, and Alice went to fetch him to bring him back into the room. Unsupervised Frittie looked out of the open window to try to find his brother which resulted in him falling 20 feet. The fall turned out to be fatal and he died of a brain hemorrhage. He would have survived the fall if not for his Hemophilia.
Fly high Frittie ✨🕊️❤️🩹
