Archduke Franz Josef of Austria, Prince of Tuscany
Archduke Franz Josef | |||||
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Duke of Madrid (in pretense) | |||||
Carlist-Carloctavismo claimant to the Spanish throne as Francisco I | |||||
Pretense | 1961 – 9 May 1975 | ||||
Predecessor | Antonio I | ||||
Successor | Domingo I | ||||
Born | Vienna, Austria[1] | 4 February 1905||||
Died | 9 May 1975 Hernstein, Austria | (aged 70)||||
Spouse |
Marta Baumer
(m. 1937; div. 1954)Maria Elena Seunig, Condesa de Basus
(m. 1962) | ||||
Issue | Patricia Gräfin von Habsburg-Lothringen | ||||
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House | Habsburg-Lorraine | ||||
Father | Archduke Leopold Salvator of Austria | ||||
Mother | Infanta Blanca of Spain |
Archduke Franz Josef of Austria–Tuscany (
Early life
Archduke Franz Josef of Austria was born on February 4, 1905, in Vienna, the ninth child and fourth son of Archduke Leopold Salvator of Austria and Infanta Blanca of Spain. His father, a member of the Tuscan line of the Habsburg family and thus a descendant of Emperor Leopold II, had been Inspector General of the Austrian Artillery and Commander of the 18th infantry regiment. Franz Josef's mother, Infanta Blanca of Spain, was the eldest daughter of Infante Carlos, Duke of Madrid, who had been, as Carlos VII, pretender to the Spanish throne.[2] Archduke Franz Josef was given the baptismal names Franz Josef Karl Leopold Blanka Adelgunde Ignatius Rafael Michael von Habsburg-Lothringen.
Archduke Franz Josef's early years coincided with the last period of the Habsburg monarchy. His childhood was spent in the various properties owned by his parents, enjoying a comfortable and privileged life. The family's main residences were the
Exile
At the fall of Habsburg monarchy, the republican government of Austria confiscated all the properties of the Habsburgs. Franz Josef's family lost all its fortune.
While completing his education, Franz Joseph worked in Barcelona as a garage mechanic.[3] He graduated from the Peritaje industrial de Terraza and the Barcelona School of Agriculture and obtained his license as a pilot at the Marine Flying School.[6] He purchased a small airplane with his brother Archduke Anton of Austria. The two brothers worked giving flying tours over Barcelona.
In the turmoil of the Spanish Civil War, Archduke Franz Joseph returned to Austria. He initially lived with his widowed mother and his unmarried siblings, Archduchess Dolores and Archduke Karl Pius of Austria, Prince of Tuscany.[7] Working in advertising, he moved to Paris where he found employment in tourism promotion for two airlines.[7]
Marriage and later life
While on a visit to Berlin, he fell in love with an Austrian emigre, Marta Baumer, who had divorced Baron von Kahlera, a wealthy Czech sugar exporter. She was a daughter of Andreas Rudolf, an army officer, and Anna Countess di Locatelli.[8] With his mother's approval, Archduke Franz Joseph married Martha Baumer in London on 22 July 1937. Theirs was a morganatic union.[9] The couple settled in France. During World War II, the archduke emigrated with his wife to the United States. The couple settled in Franconia, New Hampshire, where he worked in the agricultural and forestry industry. During this period of his life, Archduke Franz Josef collaborated with author Bertita Harding in her book Lost Waltz: A Story of Exile, which recounts the story of his family from the last years of the Habsburg dynasty until 1943. After the war, the archduke and his wife returned to Europe. They lived for sometime in Madrid and in Berne Village, Lower Austria. The marriage was childless and ended in divorce in 1954.
From 1955 Archduke Franz Josef lived again in Austria working in the forestry industry. He married, secondly, Maria Elena Seunig, Condesa de Basus, daughter of Egon Seunig and Nella Penelope Gialdini, on 21 January 1962 at Zürich, Switzerland. The couple had one daughter, Patricia of Habsburg-Lorraine.
At the death of his brothers
Ancestry
Ancestors of Archduke Franz Josef of Austria, Prince of Tuscany | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Notes
- ^ Harding, Lost Waltz, p. 20
- ^ Harding, Lost Waltz, p. 19
- ^ a b Harding, Lost Waltz, p. 36
- ^ McIntosh, The Unknown Habsburgs, p. 48
- ^ Harding, Lost Waltz, p. 115
- ^ Harding, Lost Waltz, p. 191
- ^ a b Harding, Lost Waltz, p. 219
- ^ Harding, Lost Waltz, p. 245
- ^ Harding, Lost Waltz, p. 254
- ^ Heras y Borrero, Un pretendiente desconocido. Carlos de Habsburgo. El otro candidato de Franco, p. 147
Bibliography
- Heras y Borrero, Francisco. Un pretendiente desconocido. Carlos de Habsburgo. El otro candidato de Franco, 2004. ISBN 8497725565
- Harding, Bertita. Lost Waltz: A Story of Exile. Bobbs-Merrill, 1944. ASIN: B0007DXCLY
- McIntosh, David. The Unknown Habsburgs. Rosvall Royal Books, 2000. ISBN 91-973978-0-6