Oldenburg, Cecily (1911–1937)

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Oldenburg, Cecily (1911–1937)

Sister of England's Prince Philip. Born on June 22, 1911, in Tatoi, near Athens, Greece; died in an airplane crash on November 16, 1937, in Steene, Belgium; daughter of Alice of Battenberg and Prince Andrew of Greece; sister of Prince Philip, duke of Edinburgh (who married Elizabeth II, queen of England); married George Donatus of Hesse (1906–1937), on February 2, 1931; children: Louis of Hesse-Darmstadt (1931–1937); Alexander of Hesse (1933–1937); Joanna of Hesse-Darmstadt (1936–1939).

On November 16, 1937, Cecily Oldenburg was killed in an airplane crash near Steene, Belgium, while on a flight to England to attend the wedding of her brother, Prince Philip, to Princess Elizabeth (the future Elizabeth II ). Her husband, mother-in-law (Eleanor of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich ), and two sons were also killed. Cecily's daughter, one year old at the time, died two years later.