With reference to the feature “11 things you may not know about the Duke” (June 10), I wonder if I might be permitted to add a 12th?

The Duke has Maltese ancestry. He descends from General Tommaso Barbara, a Maltese mercenary who distinguished himself as General of Artillery in the Imperial Army at the siege of Esztergom in Hungary in 1595; he was created an hereditary noble of Hungary for his bravery by  Emperor Rudolf II. Barbara lost a leg in the fighting.

Barbara’s great great granddaughter, Maria Giovanna Barbara married Johan Gaspar Hauke, a German in 1696. Their great grandson was Count Johann Moritz Hauke whose daughter, Julia Hauke contracted a morganatic marriage with Prince Alexander of Hesse and the Rhine in 1851 and was created Countess of Battenberg upon her marriage. The Duke of Edinburgh  is her great grandson.

The full story is related in my book Of Maltese Generals and Admirals. I sent a copy of the book to the Duke who was delighted to receive it.

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