The cake was probably named in honor of the marriage , in 1884 , of Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine Queen Victoria 's granddaughter to Prince Louis of Battenberg , with the four squares representing the four Battenberg princes : Louis , Alexander , Henry and Francis Joseph . The origin of the name is not clear , but one theory claims that the cake was created in honor of the marriage in 1884 of Queen Victoria 's granddaughter to Prince Louis of Battenberg , with the four squares representing the four Battenberg princes : Louis , Alexander , Henry and Francis Joseph .