Archduchess Charlotte of Austria (german: Erzherzogin Charlotte von Österreich; 1 March 1921 – 23 July 1989) was a daughter of Emperor

Charles I of Austria Charles I or Karl I (german: Karl Franz Josef Ludwig Hubert Georg Otto Maria, hu, Károly Ferenc József Lajos Hubert György Ottó Mária; 17 August 18871 April 1922) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary (as Charles IV, ), King of Croatia, ...

and his wife Princess

Zita of Bourbon-Parma Zita of Bourbon-Parma (''Zita Maria delle Grazie Adelgonda Micaela Raffaela Gabriella Giuseppina Antonia Luisa Agnese''; 9 May 1892 – 14 March 1989) was the wife of Charles I of Austria, Charles, the last monarch of Austria-Hungary. As such, sh ...

. She was also known by the name Charlotte de Bar while a welfare worker in the United States from 1943 to 1956.

Life

Charlotte Hedwig Franziska Josepha Maria Antonia Roberta Ottonia Pia Anna Ignatia Marcus d'Aviano of Habsburg-Lorraine was born in

Prangins Prangins () is a municipality in the district of Nyon in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is located on Lake Geneva. History Prangins is first mentioned around 1135-85 as ''Prengins''. Following the fall of the Second French Empire, Prince ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, where the Austrian imperial family was living in exile following the collapse of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

after the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Her family lived in various countries during their exile: after they left Switzerland they went to the Portuguese island of

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

where her father died a month after her first birthday, having contracted pneumonia. Her sister, Elisabeth was born one month later. They later settled in Belgium before leaving Europe to flee to the United States to escape the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

s. Having moved to Canada with her family, she obtained a degree in economics from

Laval University Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of: People * House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne * Laval (surname) Places Belgium * Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Luxemb ...

in 1942 and pursued further education at

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

upon returning to the United States. In 1943 Archduchess Charlotte started work as a

welfare Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...

worker in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

East Harlem East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem or and historically known as Italian Harlem, is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City, roughly encompassing the area north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, F ...

neighbourhood using the name Charlotte de Bar. In May 1956, Charlotte became engaged to

George, Duke of Mecklenburg George, Duke of Mecklenburg (german: Georg Herzog zu Mecklenburg; – 6 July 1963) was the head of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz from 1934 until his death. Through his father, he was a descendant of Emperor Paul I of Russia. Early life He wa ...

and head of the

House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz The House of Mecklenburg, also known as Nikloting, is a North German dynasty of Slavic origin that ruled until 1918 in the Mecklenburg region, being among the longest-ruling families of Europe. Queen Juliana of the Netherlands (1909–2004), fo ...

. They were married in a civil ceremony on 21 July 1956 in

Pöcking Pöcking is a municipality in the district of Starnberg in Bavaria in Germany. Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria, consort of Emperor Franz Josef I of Austria-Hungary, grew up here in the Possenhofen Castle as daughter of Duke Max in Bavaria and Prin ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, followed by a religious ceremony four days later. She left her position as a welfare worker after her marriage. Her husband Duke George died on 6 July 1963 and they had no children. Archduchess Charlotte died in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

four months after the death of her mother.

Ancestry

References

External links

Newsreel footage of her wedding to George, Duke of Mecklenburg
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Charlotte Of Austria, Archduchess 1921 births 1989 deaths 20th-century Austrian people 20th-century Austrian women House of Habsburg House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Austrian princesses German royalty Hereditary Grand Duchesses of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Université Laval alumni Fordham Graduate School of Social Service alumni Austrian Roman Catholics Swiss Roman Catholics 20th-century Roman Catholics 21st-century Roman Catholics People from Nyon District Swiss expatriates in the United States Daughters of emperors Children of Charles I of Austria Daughters of kings