Prince Rudolf of Liechtenstein

Rudolf, Prince of Liechtenstein (German: Rudolf Eugen Cresantius Ferdinand Karl Fürst von und zu Liechtenstein; 18 April 1838 – 15 December 1908) was an Austrian aristocrat, a general in the Common Army and one of the highest officials in the court of Emperor Franz Joseph I.

Rudolf
Prince of Liechtenstein
Rudolf as a Field Marshal Lieutenant, c.1895
Born(1838-04-18)18 April 1838
Vienna, Austrian Empire
Died15 December 1908(1908-12-15) (aged 70)
Moravský Krumlov, Austro-Hungarian Empire
Full name
Rudolf Eugen Cresantius Ferdinand Karl
HouseLiechtenstein
FatherPrince Karl Joseph of Liechtenstein
MotherCountess Franziska von Wrbna-Freudenthal

Biography

Rudolf was the youngest child and second son of Prince Karl Joseph of Liechtenstein and Countess Franziska von Wrbna-Freudenthal. His family was a cadet branch of the reigning Princely House of Liechtenstein, the Karoline line, which was descended from Prince Karl Borromäus, the younger brother of Franz Joseph I, Prince of Liechtenstein. Upon the death of his older brother Karl Rudolf – who was unmarried and childless – in 1899, Rudolf became head of the family.

After completing his education, Rudolf joined the military, eventually becoming General of the Cavalry in 1904. In 1862 he entered the service of the imperial court in Vienna, first as treasurer and later, privy councilor and Acting Minister of the Horse, as well as an honorary colonel of the Imperial Life-guards. In 1896 he was personally appointed by the Emperor as First Oberhofmeister (Lord High Steward), the premier official of the court, after the death of Prince Konstantin of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst.[1][2] Rudolf's tenure at court was fraught with multiple events: the Badeni riots in Bohemia in 1897, the assassination of the Empress Elisabeth in 1898, and the morganatic marriage of Archduke Franz Ferdinand to Countess Sophie Chotek in 1900. He was also present during the state visits of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia in 1903.

An accomplished musician, Rudolf composed music for the texts of Walther von der Vogelweide and Heinrich Heine.

In the later years of his life, Rudolf was often plagued by illness; his duties were taken over by his deputy Alfred, 2nd Prince of Montenuovo. He eventually died unmarried in 1908, and was interred in the family crypt in Moravský Krumlov castle, Moravia. With his death, the Karoline line of the House of Liechtenstein became extinct.

Titles, styles and honours

Titles and styles
  • 18 April 1838 – 16 January 1899: His Serene Highness Prince Rudolf of Liechtenstein, Count Rietberg
  • 16 January 1899 – 15 December 1908: His Serene Highness The Prince of Liechtenstein

Honours
National orders and decorations[3]
Foreign orders and decorations[3]

Ancestry

References
  1. Egger, Franz (1972), "Liechtenstein Rudolf Prinz von und zu" (PDF), Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon 1815–1950 (in German), 5, Vienna: Austrian Academy of Sciences, p. 206
  2. Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie, 1900, pp. 15, 17, 25, 30, 54, 56, 205, 208, 257, 283, retrieved 20 July 2020
  3. "Hofstaat Seiner Kaiserlichen und Koniglich Apostolischen Majestat", Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie, 1908, p. 15, retrieved 20 July 2020
  4. "Ritter-Orden", Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie, 1908, pp. 53, 56, retrieved 20 July 2020
  5. Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Bayern (1908), "Königliche Orden" pp. 9, 26
  6. Staatshandbuch für das Großherzogtum Sachsen / Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach (1900), "Großherzogliche Hausorden" p. 39
  7. "Real y distinguida orden de Carlos III". Guía Oficial de España (in Spanish). 1907. p. 150. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  8. Sveriges statskalender (in Swedish), 1905, p. 441, retrieved 20 July 2020 – via runeberg.org
  9. The London Gazette, issue 27604, p. 6148
  10. Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg (1907), "Königliche Orden" pp. 44, 105

Sources
  • Dotson, Samuel C. (2003). Genealogie des Fürstlichen Hauses Liechtenstein seit Hartmann II. (1544-1585) (in German). Rosvall Royal Books. ISBN 9789197397841.
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