Monthly Archives: September 2023

A View from a DKM: Looking Back One Year

I was home on vacation.  I was relaxing and sleeping in and enjoying not being at work.  However, on Wednesday night I had not slept well.  I woke up on and off all night because I was dreaming about the Queen and her health.  It wasn’t the first time, but it was the most vivid. Unable to sleep I grabbed my phone and looked at my messages and email.  There it was, Susan and Scott talking about the announcement regarding HM The Queen’s health.

“The Queen’s doctors are concerned for Her Majesty’s health and have recommended she remain under medical supervision. The Queen remains comfortable and at Balmoral.”

It was this generations “The King’s life is moving peacefully to its close” used for her grandfather, King George V, over 87 years before hand.

I got out of bed and turned-on BBC World to watch the news.  All the coverage was about the announcement and it early enough that nobody had changed clothes yet.  I texted a friend to give her the news.  I grabbed my laptop and checked a couple of online but “hidden” sources I knew about.  The news there wasn’t good.  I continued to watch BBC as I did a few things around the house, took care of the dogs, and ate a little.  I kept an eye on Unofficial Royalty to make sure it didn’t go down and messaged friends about the situation.  I watched the crowds gather and the talking heads on TV talk.  On my phone I would rotate between the UK Telegraph and the Times of London.  It still didn’t seem real.  I was watching history.  Then I saw it.

The helicopter over Buckingham Palace showed the flag at half-staff.  Just as it was registering in my mind what that meant, Huw Edwards announced The Queen had passed then read the official announcement:

“The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow.”

It hit me a lot harder than I thought it would.  It was 12:30 my time and quite honestly the rest of the day was a blur.  I watched BBC into the night; it would be my pattern over the next few days as I came to grip with what was going on.

A year later and I’m not sure I have fully come to grips with it yet.  Rest-in-Peace Your Majesty, you certainly earned it.

Prince Enrico of Bourbon-Parma, Titular Duke of Parma

by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Prince Enrico of Bourbon-Parma was the titular Duke of Parma from 1907 until his death in 1939. As he was mentally disabled, his younger brother Elia served as regent.

Prince Enrico of Bourbon-Parma, Titular Duke of Parma – source: Wikipedia

Prince Enrico was the second son of Roberto I, the last reigning Duke of Parma, and his first wife, Princess Maria Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. He was born at Wartegg Castle in Rorschach, Switzerland on June 13, 1873. He had 11 siblings:

  • Princess Marie Louise of Bourbon-Parma (1870 – 1899), married Ferdinand I, Prince of Bulgaria (later Tsar), had four children including Tsar Boris I of Bulgaria,
  • Ferdinando, Prince of Piacenza (born and died 1871 ), died in infancy
  • Princess Luisa Maria of Bourbon-Parma (1872 – 1943), unmarried, mentally disabled
  • Princess Maria Immacolata of Bourbon-Parma (1874 – 1914), unmarried, mentally disabled
  • Giuseppe, Titular Duke of Parma (1875 – 1950), unmarried, mentally disabled, his brother Elias continued his role as regent and Head of the House of Bourbon-Parma
  • Princess Maria Teresa of Bourbon-Parma (1876 – 1959), unmarried, mentally disabled
  • Princess Maria Pia of Bourbon-Parma (1877 – 1915), unmarried, mentally disabled
  • Princess Beatrice of Bourbon-Parma (1879 – 1946), married Count Pietro Lucchesi-Palli, had four children
  • Elias, Titular Duke of Parma (1880 – 1959), married Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria, had eight children, from 1907 to 1950, he served as regent for the claims of his two older disabled brothers, Head of the House of Bourbon-Parma
  • Princess Maria Anastasia of Bourbon-Parma (born and died 1881), died in infancy
  • Prince Augusto of Bourbon-Parma (stillborn 1882)

He also had 12 siblings from his father’s second marriage to Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal:

Enrico, as the oldest surviving son, succeeded his father Roberto I as titular Duke of Parma and Head of the House of Bourbon-Parma. Just a few months later, at the request of Roberto’s second wife, Enrico and several of his full siblings were declared legally incompetent due to their mental disabilities. Enrico’s younger brother, Elia, became guardian of the six siblings, and took on the role of Head of House and served as regent during Enrico’s tenure.

Unmarried and childless, Enrico died on November 16, 1939, at the Villa Borbone (link in Italian) in Viareggio, Kingdom of Italy. He was buried in the chapel at the Villa Borbone in Viareggio, Italy. He was succeeded as titular Duke of Parma by his brother Giuseppe, who was also mentally disabled. Their younger brother Elia once again served as regent.

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Duchy of Parma Resources at Unofficial Royalty

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This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Maria Leopoldine of Austria, Holy Roman Empress, 2nd wife of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Maria Leopoldine of Austria, Holy Roman Empress; Credit – Wikipedia

The Holy Roman Empire was a limited elective monarchy composed of hundreds of kingdoms, principalities, duchies, counties, prince-bishoprics, and Free Imperial Cities in central Europe. The Holy Roman Empire was not really holy since, after Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in 1530, no emperors were crowned by the pope or a bishop. It was not Roman but rather German because it was mainly in the regions of present-day Germany and Austria. It was an empire in name only – the territories it covered were mostly independent each with its own rulers. The Holy Roman Emperor directly ruled over only his family territories, and could not issue decrees and rule autonomously over the Holy Roman Empire. A Holy Roman Emperor was only as strong as his army and alliances, including marriage alliances, made him, and his power was severely restricted by the many sovereigns of the constituent monarchies of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century, prince-electors, or electors for short, elected the Holy Roman Emperor from among the sovereigns of the constituent states.

Frequently but not always, it was common practice to elect the deceased Holy Roman Emperor’s heir. The Holy Roman Empire was an elective monarchy. No person had a legal right to the succession simply because he was related to the current Holy Roman Emperor. However, the Holy Roman Emperor could and often did, while still alive, have a relative (usually a son) elected to succeed him after his death. This elected heir apparent used the title King of the Romans.

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Archduchess Maria Leopoldine of Austria was the second wife of her first cousin Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Lower and Inner Austria. King of Bohemia, and King of Hungary and Croatia. Born in Innsbruck, Archduchy of Austria, now in Austria on April 6, 1632, she was the fifth of the five children and the third of the three daughters of Leopold V, Archduke of Further Austria and Claudia de’ Medici. Maria Leopoldine’s father died on September 13, 1632, when she was five months old. Her paternal grandparents were Karl II, Archduke of Inner Austria and his niece Princess Maria Anna of Bavaria. Maria Leopoldine’s maternal grandparents were Ferdinando I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and Princess Christina of Lorraine.

Maria Leopoldine had four elder siblings:

Maria Leopoldine had one older half-sister from her mother’s first marriage to Federico Ubaldo della Rover, Duke of Urbino:

Maria Leopoldine’s husband, Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – Wikipedia

On May 13, 1646, Maria Anna of Austria, Infanta of Spain and Portugal, the first wife and first cousin of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor died. Two years later, forty-year-old Ferdinand III married again, on July 2, 1648, to sixteen-year-old Maria Leopoldine, another first cousin. The young Maria Leopoldine became Holy Roman Empress and the stepmother of Ferdinand III’s three surviving children from his first wife:

  • Ferdinand, King of the Romans (1633 – 1654), unmarried, died from smallpox
  • Archduchess Mariana of Austria (1634 – 1696), married (second wife) her maternal uncle Felipe IV, King of Spain, had five children
  • Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor (1640 – 1705), married (1) his first cousin Margaret Theresa of Spain, had four children, only one survived childhood (2) his first cousin and Maria Leopoldine’s niece Claudia Felicitas of Austria, had two children, both died in childhood (3) Eleonor Magdalene of Neuburg, had ten children, five survived childhood

Maria Leopoldine and Ferdinand III’s son Karl Josef; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Leopoldine and Ferdinand III had one son, Archduke Karl Josef of Austria (1649 – 1664), who died in his teens. Sadly, the childbirth was very difficult and 17-year-old Maria Leopoldine died on the day her son was born, August 19, 1649. She was interred in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna, Austria.

Maria Leopoldine’s tomb: Credit – Wikipedia

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Flantzer, Susan. (2023) Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Lower and Inner Austria, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/ferdinand-iii-holy-roman-emperor-archduke-of-lower-and-inner-austria-king-of-bohemia-king-of-hungary-and-croatia/ (Accessed: 27 June 2023).
  • Leopold V, Archduke of Austria (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_V,_Archduke_of_Austria (Accessed: 27 June 2023).
  • Maria Leopoldine of Austria (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Leopoldine_of_Austria (Accessed: 27 June 2023).
  • Wheatcroft, Andrew. (1995) The Habsburgs. London: Viking.
  • Wilson, Peter H. (2016) Heart of Europe – A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Countess Eleonore Barbara von Thun-Hohenstein, Princess of Liechtenstein

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Eleonore Barbara Catharina von Thun-Hohenstein, Princess of Liechtestein; Credit – Wikipedia

Countess Eleonore Barbara Catharina von Thun-Hohenstein was the wife of Anton Florian, Prince of Liechtenstein. Born on May 4, 1661, in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic, she was the elder of the two children, both daughters, of Count Michael Oswald von Thun-Hohenstein, a chamberlain and advisor at the imperial court of the Holy Roman Empire, and Countess Elisabeth von Lodron. Eleonore Barbara’s paternal grandparents were Count Johann Sigmund von Thun-Hohenstein and Anna Margaretha von Wolkenstein. Her maternal grandparents were Christoph von Lodron and Katharina von Spaur-Flavon.

Eleonore Barbara had one sister:

  • Maria Magdalena von Thun-Hohenstein (? – 1708), married Ferenc Joszef Serényi de Kisserény, no children

Anton Florian, Prince of Liechtenstein; Credit – Wikipedia

On October 15, 1679, Eleonore Barbara married Anton Florian, the future sovereign Prince of Liechtenstein, the second of the three sons of Prince Hartmann of Liechtenstein and Countess Sidonie Elisabeth of Salm-Reifferscheidt. Anton Florian was the grandson of Prince Gundakar of Liechtenstein, the brother of Karl I, the first Prince of Liechtenstein. In 1676, at the age of twenty, Anton Florian began his career at the imperial court of the Holy Roman Empire in Vienna, Austria by being appointed a chamberlain of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor.

Eleonore Barbara and Anton Florian had eleven children:

  • Franz Augustin of Liechtenstein (1680 – 1681), died in infancy
  • Eleonore of Liechtenstein (1681 -1682), died in infancy
  • Antonia Maria Eleonore of Liechtenstein (1683 -1715), married (1) Count Johann Adam von Lamberg, no children (2) Count Maximilian von Kuefstein, had four children
  • Karl Josef Florian of Liechtenstein (born and died 1685), died in infancy
  • Anton Ignaz Josef of Liechtenstein (1689 – 1690), died in infancy
  • Josef Johann Adam, Prince of Liechtenstein (1690 – 1732),  The Four Wives of Josef Johann Adam, Prince of Liechtenstein married (1) Princess Maria Gabriele of Liechtenstein, his first cousin, daughter of Hans-Adam I, Prince of Liechtenstein, had one son who died in childhood (2) Countess Marianne of Thun-Hohenstein, died twenty days after the wedding (3) Countess Maria Anna Katharina of Oettingen-Spielberg, had five children including Johann Nepomuk Karl, Prince of Liechtenstein (4) Countess Maria Anna Kottulinska von Kottulin, had two children who died in childhood
  • Innocent Franz Anton of Liechtenstein (1693 – 1707), died in his teens
  • Maria Karoline Anna of Liechtenstein (1694 – 1735), married Count Franz Wilhelm von Salm-Reifferscheidt, had one son
  • Karl Josef (1697 – 1704), died in childhood
  • Anna Maria Antonie of Liechtenstein (1699 – 1753), married her first cousin Josef Wenzel I, Prince of Liechtenstein, had five children who all died in childhood
  • Maria Eleonore of Liechtenstein (1703 – 1757), married Friedrich August von Harrach-Rohrau, had ten children

Eleonore Barbara accompanied her husband Anton Florian on diplomatic and political missions throughout the Holy Roman Empire and Western Europe. In 1689, Anton Florian became a member of the Imperial Privy Council and in 1691, he became ambassador to the papal court in Rome. Due to his extensive knowledge, in 1693, Anton Florian became responsible for the education of Archduke Karl, son of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I. In 1711, upon the sudden death of his elder brother Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke Karl was elected to succeed him as Karl VI, Holy Roman Emperor. Anton Florian headed the imperial government as Chairman of the Council of State and served as Karl VI’s Chief Chamberlain for the rest of his life.

On June 16, 1712, Anton Florian’s nephew Hans-Adam I, Prince of Liechtenstein, died without a male heir. Anton Florian was the heir according to primogeniture but he was not very popular with the family, so Hans-Adam I had named his second cousin once removed Josef Wenzel as his heir. In 1718, after negotiations, Josef Wenzel I, Prince of Liechtenstein swapped the County of Vaduz and the Lordship of Schellenberg in exchange for the Dominion of Rumburk. Anton Florian became reigning Prince of Liechtenstein making Eleonore Barbara the Princess Consort.

The Pauline Church in Vienna, where Eleonore Barbara was buried; Credit – Di Ricardalovesmonuments – Opera propria, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=69117322

After a reign of only three years, Eleonore Barbara’s husband Anton Florian, Prince of Liechtenstein, aged 65, died in Vienna, Austria, on October 11, 1721, and was buried in the Old Crypt at Chuch of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Vranov, Moravia, now in the Czech Republic. Eleonore Barbara survived him by less than two years, dying at the age of 62 on February 10, 1723, in Vienna, Austria. She was buried in a crypt under the Pauline Church (link in German) in Vienna, Austria where her daughter Anna Maria who married her first cousin Josef Wenzel I, Prince of Liechtenstein, would later be buried. The crypt no longer exists and the tombs were not preserved.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • “Century: 18. Jahrhundert.” Das Fürstenhaus Von Liechtenstein, https://fuerstenhaus.li/die-biographien-aller-fuersten/18-jahrhundert/.
  • Eleonore Barbara von Thun und Hohenstein (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleonore_Barbara_von_Thun_und_Hohenstein (Accessed: 26 June 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2021) Anton Florian, Prince of Liechtenstein, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/anton-florian-prince-of-liechtenstein/ (Accessed: 26 June 2023).
  • Michael Oswald, Graf von Thun und Hohenstein (2016) geni_family_tree. Available at: https://www.geni.com/people/Michael-Oswald-Graf-von-Thun-und-Hohenstein/6000000015494997120 (Accessed: 26 June 2023).
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2023). Anton Florian (Liechtenstein). Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Florian_(Liechtenstein)
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2023). Anton Florian, Prince of Liechtenstein. Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Florian,_Prince_of_Liechtenstein.