Princess Stephanie of Windisch-Graetz
Encyclopedia
Princess Stéphanie of Windisch-Graetz (Ploskovice
, Bohemia
April 4 1909 – Uccle
(Belgium) May 29 2005) was the daughter of Prince Otto Weriand of Windisch-Grätz
(1873–1952) and Archduchess Elisabeth Marie of Austria
(1883–1963), only child of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria
and Princess Stéphanie of Belgium
.
Her full name was Stéphanie Eleonore Maria Elisabeth Kamilla Philomena Veronika zu Windisch-Grätz in German
, and Stéphanie Éléonore Marie Élisabeth Camille Philomène Véronique de Windisch-Grätz in French
. She may have been named after her maternal grandmother, Princess Stéphanie of Belgium. She was the great grandchild of emperor Franz-Joseph and of the empress Elisabeth ('Sissi') of Austria. She was also the great grandchild of king Leopold II of Belgium
.
As a child she suffered very much from the constant absence of her mother and subsequently from the painful divorce of her parents. Her mother came to live in Brussels with the four children and princess Clementine offered a friendly refuge to Stéphanie. The couple was separated in 1924 and divorced in 1948. Since 1921 princess Elisabeth de Windischgrätz was the mistress of the Austrian socialist member of parliament Leopold Petznek, who she married in 1948.
Stéphanie had three elder brothers:
In 1933 Stéphanie married Count Pierre d'Alcantara de Querrieu
(1907–1944), and in 1945 she married Karl-Axel Björklund (1906–1986). She had one child by each husband:
During her long life, Stéphanie was an extensive traveller, especially in Africa, where her brother François-Joseph lived in Kenya, and also in South America, particularly in Argentina.
Her sister-in-law née d'Arschot-Schoonhove claims that Stéphanie was the product of her mother's affair with the famous Austrian submarine officer, Egon Lerch (who during the First World War would command SM U-12
and attack the French battleship Jean Bart
), and that she was not the daughter of Prince Otto.
She is also the cognatic
heir of Hugh Capet.
Ploskovice
Ploskovice is a village and municipality in Litoměřice District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic.The municipality covers an area of , and has a population of 384 ....
, Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
April 4 1909 – Uccle
Uccle
Uccle or Ukkel is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium.Uccle is known for its well-to-do areas, its green spots and its high rental rates.-History:...
(Belgium) May 29 2005) was the daughter of Prince Otto Weriand of Windisch-Grätz
Windisch-Graetz
The House of Windisch-Graetz, also spelled Windisch-Grätz, was a princely family in the Austrian Empire, serving the Habsburg dynasty.The name derives from the town of Windischgrätz in the Duchy of Styria, which is today Slovenj Gradec in the Carinthia region of Slovenia...
(1873–1952) and Archduchess Elisabeth Marie of Austria
Archduchess Elisabeth Marie of Austria
Elisabeth Maria Henriette Stephanie Gisela , was an Archduchess of Austria and the only child of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria. She was known to the family as "Erzsi", a diminutive of her name in Hungarian...
(1883–1963), only child of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria
Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria
Rudolf , archduke of Austria and crown prince of Austria, Hungary and Bohemia, was the son and heir of Franz Joseph I, emperor of Austria, Hungary and Bohemia, and his wife and empress, Elisabeth...
and Princess Stéphanie of Belgium
Princess Stéphanie of Belgium
Stéphanie was a Belgium princess by birth, and then made Crown Princess of Austria through her marriage to the heir of the Habsburg dynasty, Archduke Rudolf...
.
Her full name was Stéphanie Eleonore Maria Elisabeth Kamilla Philomena Veronika zu Windisch-Grätz in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, and Stéphanie Éléonore Marie Élisabeth Camille Philomène Véronique de Windisch-Grätz in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
. She may have been named after her maternal grandmother, Princess Stéphanie of Belgium. She was the great grandchild of emperor Franz-Joseph and of the empress Elisabeth ('Sissi') of Austria. She was also the great grandchild of king Leopold II of Belgium
Leopold II of Belgium
Leopold II was the second king of the Belgians. Born in Brussels the second son of Leopold I and Louise-Marie of Orléans, he succeeded his father to the throne on 17 December 1865 and remained king until his death.Leopold is chiefly remembered as the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free...
.
As a child she suffered very much from the constant absence of her mother and subsequently from the painful divorce of her parents. Her mother came to live in Brussels with the four children and princess Clementine offered a friendly refuge to Stéphanie. The couple was separated in 1924 and divorced in 1948. Since 1921 princess Elisabeth de Windischgrätz was the mistress of the Austrian socialist member of parliament Leopold Petznek, who she married in 1948.
Stéphanie had three elder brothers:
- Prince Franz Joseph zu Windisch-Grätz (Prague, 1904 - Nairobi, 1981), married to Ghislaine d'Arschot Schoonhoven (1912–1997) and father of
- Princess Stéphanie Windisch-Graetz (b. 1939) became an artist, known for her photographic portraits using only candles as a source of light and for her sensual images from the animal world. She married Dermot Blundell-Hollinshead-Blundell (1935–2009). They are the parents of
- Henry Victor William Blundell-Hollinshead-Blundell (born 1967) and
- Alexander Otto Blundell-Hollinshead-Blundell (born 1969)
- Prince Guillaume Franz Josef Maria Windisch-Graetz (born 1950; unmarried).
- Princess Stéphanie Windisch-Graetz (b. 1939) became an artist, known for her photographic portraits using only candles as a source of light and for her sensual images from the animal world. She married Dermot Blundell-Hollinshead-Blundell (1935–2009). They are the parents of
- Prince Ernst zu Windisch-Grätz (1905–1952)
- Prince Rudolf zu Windisch-Grätz (1907–1939)
In 1933 Stéphanie married Count Pierre d'Alcantara de Querrieu
Querrieu
Querrieu is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Querrieu is situated on the D 929 road, some northeast of Amiens, on the banks of the Hallue river...
(1907–1944), and in 1945 she married Karl-Axel Björklund (1906–1986). She had one child by each husband:
- Alvar Etienne d'Alcantara de Querrieu (30 July 1935 - )
- Bjorn-Axel Björklund (20 October 1944 - 7 September 1995)
During her long life, Stéphanie was an extensive traveller, especially in Africa, where her brother François-Joseph lived in Kenya, and also in South America, particularly in Argentina.
Her sister-in-law née d'Arschot-Schoonhove claims that Stéphanie was the product of her mother's affair with the famous Austrian submarine officer, Egon Lerch (who during the First World War would command SM U-12
SM U-12 (Austria-Hungary)
SM U-12 or U-XII was a U-5-class submarine or U-boat built for and operated by the Austro-Hungarian Navy before and during the First World War.- Introduction :Built on speculation by Whitehead & Co...
and attack the French battleship Jean Bart
French battleship Jean Bart (1911)
Jean Bart was the second ship of the s, the first dreadnoughts built for the French Navy. She was completed before World War I as part of the 1910 naval building programme. She spent the war in the Mediterranean and helped to sink the Austro-Hungarian protected cruiser on 16 August 1914...
), and that she was not the daughter of Prince Otto.
She is also the cognatic
Cognatic
Cognatic kinship is a mode of descent calculated from an ancestor or ancestress counted through any combination of male and female links, or a system of bilateral kinship where relations are traced through both a father and mother....
heir of Hugh Capet.
Sources
- Ghislaine Windisch-Graetz, née d'Arschot Schoonhoven, Kaiseradler und rote Nelke: Das Leben der Tochter des Kronprinzen Rudolf, 1988
- Friedrich Weissensteiner, L'Archiduchesse rouge, Payot, Paris, 2010
- Oscar Coomans de Brachène, Etat présent de la noblesse belge, annuaire 2003, Brussels, 2003.