As a younger son, he was expected to have a military career. Initially, he joined the Imperial Austrian Army. In 1830, Prince Charles' grandfather, Grand Duke Louis I, died, and Charles' father became Grand Duke as Louis II. Shortly afterwards, in 1832, Prince Charles returned to Hesse, where he joined his father's army and became a general in the infantry.[1]
The couple moved into the Prinz-Carl-Palais at Wilhelminenstraße 34 in Darmstadt, a residence they had built in Neoclassical style by the architect Georg Moller from 1834 to 1836. The couple had four children, Prince Louis, Prince Heinrich, Princess Anne, and Prince William, but they were unhappy together, as Prince Charles preferred life in the military to spending time with his family.[1]
From 1836 until his death in 1877, Prince Charles was colonel-in-chief of the 4. Infantry Regiment, later named "Prinz Carl" after him. In accordance with the Constitution of the Grand Duchy of Hesse, Prince Charles was a member of the First Chamber of the Landtag of the Grand Duchy of Hesse from 1834 until a reform of the electoral law in 1849. As a liberal, the prince was long an advocate of giving the Grand Duchy of Hesse a free constitution. At the March Revolution of 1848, Prince Charles' father, Grand Duke Louis II, was forced to abdicate and handed over the throne to his son, Prince Charles' older brother, who became Grand Duke Louis III. As a consequence of the reactionism, Prince Charles was again a member of the First Chamber from 1856 to 1877.[1]
On 19 March 1877, Queen Victoria received a telegram from her daughter Alice, wife of Charles' son Louis, saying that they "feared the worst".[2] The following evening, news reached the Queen from Alice that Charles had "passed away quite peacefully after 6."[3] The Queen appears to have been affected by Charles' death, referring to him in her journal upon his death as "dear excellent Prince Charles of Hesse", later repeating, "So grieved and feel deeply for poor Prince Charles."[3] From 25 March, The Court[which?] went into mourning until 5 April.[4] Prince Charles was buried at the Altes Mausoleum at Park Rosenhöhe in Darmstadt, one of the burial sites of the House of Hesse-Darmstadt.
Prince Heinrich of Hesse and by Rhine (1838–1900); married, firstly, Baroness Caroline of Nidda and had issue. Married, secondly, Baroness Emilie of Dornberg and had issue.
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