Although the marriage of social unequals like Julia and Alexander was deemed morganatic, the Duke of Hesse made her Princess of Battenberg.

Recognizing his abilities, Emperor Nicholas I appointed him Deputy Minister of War of Congress Poland and on 4 May 1829 made him a hereditary Count von Hauke.

[citation needed] Since she was not considered equal for royal marriage purposes, her children did not qualify for succession to the throne of Hesse and by Rhine.

[citation needed] Her husband's brother, Grand Duke Louis III of Hesse-Darmstadt, made her Countess of Battenberg in 1851, with the style of Illustrious Highness (German: Erlaucht).

[citation needed] Prior to her conversion, she frequently visited Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic churches throughout Hesse, often traveling great distances.

[citation needed] There were five children of the marriage, all princes and princesses of Battenberg: Julia's eldest son, Louis, became a British subject, and during World War I, due to anti-German sentiment prevalent at the time, anglicised his name to Mountbatten (a literal translation of the German Battenberg), as did his nephews, the surviving sons of Prince Henry and Princess Beatrice.