Prince Henry's condition has worsened

Marlene A. Eilers Koenig collection

January 12, 1896

The War office has received a dispatch from British authorities in West Africa, saying that the condition of Prince Henry of Battenberg, husband of Princess Beatrice, has worsened, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Prince Henry, 37,  served as military secretary to General Sir Francis Scott in the Ashanti campaign, when he was stricken with swamp fever (malaria), and is now at Cape Coast Castle.   

It is understood that Princess Beatrice, the youngest of Queen Victoria's nine children, has been kept informed about her husband's health.  

She married Prince Henry in 1885.  The couple have four young children,  Prince Alexander, Princess Victoria Eugenia, Prince Leopold and Prince Maurice.