Princess Isabella of Croÿ

Princess Isabella Hedwig Franziska Natalie of Croÿ (27 February 1856 – 5 September 1931) was by birth member of House of Croÿ and by marriage member of House of Habsburg.

Archduchess Isabella
Duchess of Teschen
Born(1856-02-27)27 February 1856
Dülmen, Province of Westphalia, Kingdom of Prussia
Died5 September 1931(1931-09-05) (aged 75)
Budapest
Burial
Imperial Crypt, Capuchin Church, Vienna
SpouseArchduke Friedrich, Duke of Teschen
IssueMaria Christina, Hereditary Princess of Salm-Salm
Maria Anna, Princess of Bourbon-Parma
Maria Henrietta, Princess Gottfried of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingfurst
Archduchess Natalie
Archduchess Stephanie
Archduchess Gabriella
Isabella, Princess Georg of Bavaria
Maria Alice, Baroness von Bassenheim
Archduke Albrecht Franz, Duke of Teschen
Full name
German: Isabella Hedwig Franziska Natalie
HouseCroÿ
FatherRudolf, Duke of Croÿ
MotherPrincess Natalie of Ligne
ReligionRoman Catholicism

Biography

Early life

Princess Isabella was daughter of Rudolf, Duke of Croÿ and Princess Natalie of Ligne. Her paternal grandparents were Alfred Franz Friedrich Philipp, 10th Duke of Croÿ and Princess Eleonore Wilhelmine Luise zu Salm-Salm. Her maternal grandparents were Eugène I, 8th Prince of Ligne and Auguste Charlotte Nathalie de Trazegnies d'Ittre.

Marriage and issue
Isabella with her husband, her husband's mother Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska of Austria, and her husband's sisters Maria Christina of Austria and Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria-Este

She married Archduke Friedrich, Duke of Teschen on 8 October 1878. They had eight daughters and one son:

Archduke Franz Ferdinand

In the mid-1890s, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria began visiting Isabella and Friedrich's home. At first, it was assumed that he was there to court one of their many daughters. Eventually, it was discovered that in fact he was courting Countess Sophie Chotek von Wognin, lady-in-waiting to Archduchess Isabella and daughter of Austrian ambassador Bohuslav, Count Chotek of Chotkow and Wognin.[1]

Isabella became infuriated that Franz Ferdinand had not singled out one of her eight daughters as his bride and future empress; as a result she engaged in a crusade to thwart the marriage of Franz Ferdinand and Sophie. Sophie was dismissed from service, thus beginning an ongoing conflict between Friedrich and Franz Ferdinand, who married Sophie in 1900. The marriage was morganatic; Sophie was subjected to the indignities of a much lower rank at court than that of her husband, and none of their children could succeed to their father's dynastic honours—all chiefly as a result of Isabella's machinations.[1]

A decade later, Isabella created a similar furore when her nephew, Karl, 13th Prince von Croÿ, sought to marry Nancy Leishman, the charming young daughter of John George Alexander Leishman, United States Ambassador to Germany, the former president of Carnegie Steel. The Archduchess felt that Nancy, being an American and a commoner, was not an appropriate spouse for a prince of Croÿ. Karl and Nancy were wed, nonetheless; today their grandson is the present Duke of Croÿ.[2]

Honours

Isabella received the following awards:[3]

Sources
  1. Radziwill, Catherine (1916). The Austrian Court From Within. London: Cassel and Company, LTD. ISBN 1-4021-9370-X.
  2. "Miss Leishman Weds Duke of Croy". New York Times. 25 October 1913. p. 1.
  3. Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie (1918), Genealogy p. 12
  4. "Real orden de Damas Nobles de la Reina Maria Luisa". Guía Oficial de España (in Spanish). 1930. p. 235. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
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