Prince Ferdinand Aloys Andreas Joseph Anton Maria of Liechtenstein (18 January 1901 – 7 July 1981) was a Prince of the
House of Liechtenstein and nephew of
Franz I, Prince of Liechtenstein and cousin of
Franz Joseph II, Prince of Liechtenstein. Prince Ferdinand was an internationally known banker, athlete and big game hunter.
Early life
He was the second son of Prince Eduard Viktor Maria (1872–1951) and the former Olga,
Gräfin von Pückler und Limpurg (1873–1966). His brother,
Prince Johannes, married an American and moved to a ranch near
Weatherford, Texas.
His paternal grandparents were
Prince Eduard Franz (a son of
Johann I Joseph and
Landgravine Josepha of Fürstenberg-Weitra) and the former Honoria Hrabina Choloniowa-Choloniewska.
Career
In
1932
Events January
* January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel.
* January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...
, he was a captain of the
Austrian Olympic team that competed in
Los Angeles, California.
He shared a bungalow with a butcher, a policeman, and a chauffeur, all members of the team. Later that year, he qualified as a parachutist.
In 1935, thirty-four year old Prince Ferdinand left
Vienna for
Addis Ababa to offer his services to
Haile Selassie, the
Emperor of Abyssinia
The emperor of Ethiopia ( gez, ንጉሠ ነገሥት, nəgusä nägäst, "King of Kings"), also known as the Atse ( am, ዐፄ, "emperor"), was the hereditary ruler of the Ethiopian Empire, from at least the 13th century until the abolition ...
(modern day
Ethiopia).
In 1939, Prince Ferdinand try to join Finnish army. Finnish official knew that he was German spy (Finland was in war against German ally Russia) and rejected him at the medical examination. When he was sent out of Finland he made fake news article about him fighting in Finnish army as one of the first foreign volunteers in unit called "ghost patrol" what didn`t exist
In 1943, he was falsely reported to have been murdered by the
Gestapo in Austria. The alleged murder, reported by his aunt, was apparently in revenge for Prince Ferdinand's help in saving fortunes of friends in Vienna. When the Nazis moved into
Central Europe, he helped his friends deposit their funds in Swiss banks, a move which the Germans charged, was instrumental in the decline in the value of the
mark.
Personal life
Prince Ferdinand was married four times and had issue with his first two wives. He
morganatically married firstly Shelagh Salome Houston Brunner (1900–1983) in London on 14 January 1925,
in what was reportedly the first marriage of a member of the House of Liechtenstein history and a commoner.
Shelagh was the daughter of Roscoe Brunner, chairman of
Brunner Mond, and granddaughter of
Sir John Brunner, 1st Baronet.
A little more than a year after their marriage, her father killed her mother in a murder-suicide at Green Cottage,
Roehampton, the London home of the Liechtensteins.
After their divorce, she was created ''Gräfin von Rietberg'' on 5 December 1951. Together, they were the parents of:
[Mosley, Charles, editor. ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes.'' Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003. Vol. 1, p. 556.]
* Christopher Richard Francis,
Graf von Rietberg (1926–2005), who married Kathleen Hamilton Mahan in 1955, a daughter of
Alfred Thayer Mahan of New York City.
* Ethel ''Elisabeth'' Olga Mary, Gräfin von Rietberg (1928–1999), who married Klaus Bruno von Brehm in 1953. They divorced in 1961 and she married Richard Douglas Loftus Onslow in 1968.
While in Los Angeles for the
1932 Summer Olympics
The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held duri ...
, he met actress
Ina Claire. In 1934, Ferdinand and Ina bought tickets for the Italian ocean liner ''
Vulcania'' bound for
Cannes.
His second marriage was to Brita Christina Nordenskiöld (1919–1971) in
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
on 7 September 1940. Brita was the daughter of
Bengt Nordenskiöld
General Bengt Gustafsson (G:son) Nordenskiöld (6September 1891 – 28January 1983) was a Swedish Air Force officer who served as Chief of the Air Force from 1942 to 1954. In 1910 Nordenskiöld started his military career as a voluntee ...
and
Dagmar Werner. Before divorced, they were the parents of:
* Johannes (''Hanno'') Eduard Bengt Henrik Andreas Maria, Graf von Rietberg (1941–2003), who married Kerstin
Lundberg, the daughter of Carl Gustaf Lennart
Lundberg, Commanding General of the Royal
Swedish Air Force
The Swedish Air Force ( sv, Svenska flygvapnet or just ) is the air force branch of the Swedish Armed Forces.
History
The Swedish Air Force was created on 1 July, 1926 when the aircraft units of the Army and Navy were merged. Because of the es ...
, and Tyra Elisabet
Felldin in 1968. They were created Prinz und Prinzessin von und zu Liechtenstein on 11 May 1974.
On 21 August 1950, he married for the third time to Dorothy (née Haydel) Oelrichs (1893–1961), in
East Hampton,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
.
Dorothy, a daughter of Harry Haydel of
St. Louis, Missouri, was the widow of Hermann Oelrichs Jr. (the only child of
Hermann Oelrichs and
Theresa Fair Oelrichs).
She died
Kitzbühel
Kitzbühel (, also: ; ) is a medieval town situated in the Kitzbühel Alps along the river Kitzbüheler Ache in Tyrol, Austria, about east of the state capital Innsbruck and is the administrative centre of the Kitzbühel district (). Kitzbühel ...
,
Austria, on 11 April 1961.
On 19 December 1968, he was married in
Sucy-en-Brie for the fourth and final time to Nadine Georgette Maria (née Ansay) Alexandre (1916–2003). Nadine, the former wife of Pierre Alexandre and daughter of Hubert Ansay and Lucienne Legrand, was created Prinzessin von und zu
Liechtenstein on 31 June 1975.
Prince Ferdinand died on 7 July 1981 in
Neuilly-sur-Seine
Neuilly-sur-Seine (; literally 'Neuilly on Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is a commune in the department of Hauts-de-Seine in France, just west of Paris. Immediately adjacent to the city, the area is composed of mostly select residentia ...
,
France after a traffic accident.
His widow, Prinzessin von und zu Liechtenstein, died in
Boulogne-sur-Mer on 5 November 2003.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferdinand of Liechtenstein, Prince
Princes of Liechtenstein
1901 births
1981 deaths
Olympic athletes for Austria