Archduke Ernst of Austria (Ernst Karl Felix Maria Rainer Gottfried Cyriak), Archduke of Austria, Prince Royal of Hungary and Bohemia (August 8, 1824, Milan – April 4, 1899,

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) was a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine.

Early life

Ernst was the second son of the viceroy Archduke Rainer Joseph of Austria and

Princess Elisabeth of Savoy Elisabeth of Savoy (Maria Francesca Elisabetta Carlotta Giuseppina; 13 April 1800 – 25 December 1856) was the Vicereine of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia by marriage to Archduke Rainer Joseph of Austria. She was the aunt and mother-in-law o ...

. In 1844 was made a Knight of the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece ( es, Insigne Orden del Toisón de Oro, german: Orden vom Goldenen Vlies) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1430, to celebrate his marriage ...

by Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria.

Military career

Ernst started his military career in the

garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...

of Milan, and in 1845 was appointed colonel and the commander of the 48th Infantry Regiment. In 1847, he was promoted to major general. In 1848, Ernst participated in the events of the

1848 revolution The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europea ...

in Milan, when the Austrian troops had to withdraw from the city. In 1849, Ernst was sent with his regiment to Tuscany and managed to conquer

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...

and for a short time to disperse the troops of

Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, patr ...

. For these activities he was in 1850 awarded the Military Merit Cross and promoted to the rank of Feldmarschall-Leutnant. In the 1850s, Ernst was stationed in

Pressburg Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 140% of ...

, and since 1858 in Budapest, where he was appointed a commander of the cavalry corps. In 1866, he participated in military action in

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

. In 1867, Ernst was appointed

General of the Cavalry General of the Cavalry (german: General der Kavallerie) was a General officer rank in the cavalry in various states of which the modern states of German and Austria are successors or in other armies which used the German model. Artillery officers o ...

, and in 1868 he retired.

Marriage and children

Ernst claimed that he married the Hungarian noble lady Laura Skublics de Velike et Bessenyö (July 6, 1826, Schloss Bessenyö - October, 18, 1865, Vienna) on April 26th of 1858 in Laibach. She was the daughter of the nobleman Aloysius Skublics de Velike et Besenyő (1791-1835), Prothonotary of the County of Zala, and Barbara Skublics de Velike et Besenyő, née Ivánkovich de Köbölkút (1791-1835).Szluha Márton (2012) Vas vármegye nemes családjai II kötet. Heraldika kiadó. 523.o. The Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria had refused to give permission for the morganatic marriage. Nevertheless, the couple treated their union as a marriage and Laura was known as Baroness von Wallburg and their four children who were baptised with the surname 'von Wallburg'. But there was no granting of that title. * Laura von Wallburg (January 17, 1859, Vienna - died after 1911) * Ernst Heinrich Karl von Wallburg (January 17, 1859, Vienna - February 16, 1920, Budapest), married with children * Heinrich von Wallburg (June 27, 1861, Vienna - February 2, 1888, Krems) * Clothilde von Wallburg (August 12, 1863, Laibach - July 1, 1953, Trieste); married After the death of the Archduke, the Wallburg children tried to claim part of the estate of the late Archduke in the courts. However, the case collapsed as the marriage certificated presented turned out to be a forgery. In 1908 Franz Joseph ordered that the baptismal records of the children be altered, and that the children be given the surname of their mother ''Skublics'' on the grounds that no marriage had ever taken place.

Orders and decorations

* : ** Knight of the

, ''1844'' ** Grand Cross of the Austrian Imperial

Order of Leopold Order of Leopold may refer to: * Order of Leopold (Austria), founded in 1808 by emperor Francis I of Austria and discontinued in 1918 * Order of Leopold (Belgium), founded in 1832 by king Leopold I of Belgium * Order of Leopold II, founded in Congo ...

, with War Decoration, ''1849'' ** Military Merit Cross, with War Decoration * : ** Knight of the Imperial Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle the First-called ** Knight of the Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky ** Knight of the Imperial Order of the White Eagle ** Knight of the Imperial Order of Saint Anna, 1st Class * Kingdom of Prussia: ** Knight of the Order of the Black Eagle, ''4 June 1853'' ** Knight of the Order of the Red Eagle, 1st Class * : Knight of the Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation * Holy See: Grand Cross of the Pontifical Equestrian Order of Saint Gregory the Great * Kingdom of Greece: Grand Cross of the Order of the Redeemer * : Grand Cross of the Order of Saint-Charles

Early life

Military career

Marriage and children

Orders and decorations

Ancestry

References

Further reading