by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2023
Archduke Gottfried of Austria was the Pretender to the former Grand Ducal throne of Tuscany from 1948 until his death in 1984.
Archduke Gottfried of Austria as a child – source: Wikipedia
Archduke Gottfried Maria Joseph Peter Ferdinand Hubert Anton Rupert Leopold Heinrich Ignaz Alfons was born Mary 14, 1902 in Linz, Austria, the elder son of Archduke Peter Ferdinand of Austria and Princess Maria Cristina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. He had three siblings:
- Archduchess Helena (1903) – married Philipp Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg, had issue
- Archduke Georg (1905) – married Countess Marie Valerie of Waldburg-Zeil-Hohenems, had issue
- Archduchess Rosa (1906) – married Philipp Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg, had issue
He was raised in Salzburg and Vienna in Austria until the family relocated to Lucerne, Switzerland at the end of World War I.
Wedding of Gottfried and Dorothea of Bavaria; Credit – Wikipedia
Gottfried married Princess Dorothea of Bavaria in civil and religious ceremonies held on August 2 and 3, 1938 in Sárvár, Hungary. She was the daughter of Prince Franz of Bavaria and Princess Isabella Antonie of Croÿ. The couple had four children:
- Archduchess Elisabeth (1939) – married Friedrich Edler von Braun, had issue
- Archduchess Alice (1941) – married Baron Vittorio Manno, had issue
- Archduke Leopold Franz of Austria, Prince of Tuscany (1942) – married Laetitia de Bezunce d’Arenberg, had issue
- Archduchess Marie Antoinette (1950) – married Baron von Proff zu Irnich, had issue
After World War II, Gottfried and his family settled in Sankt Gilgen, just outside of Salzburg, Austria. They lived a very quiet life, despite Gottfried succeeding his father as pretender to the former Grand Ducal throne of Tuscany in 1948.
Archduke Gottfried died in Bad Ischl, Austria on January 21, 1984. He is buried in the parish cemetery of Sankt Gilgen, in Salzburg. Gottfried was succeeded by his only son, Archduke Leopold Franz.
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