Prince Ernst of Hohenberg (''Ernst Alfons Franz Ignaz Joseph Maria Anton von Hohenberg''; 27 May 1904 – 5 March 1954) was the second son of

Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I. F ...

and his

morganatic Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spous ...

wife

Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg (; cs, Žofie Marie Josefína Albína hraběnka Chotková z Chotkova a Vojnína 1 March 1868 – 28 June 1914) was the wife of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. Their assas ...

, who were assassinated at

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...

in 1914.

Life

Prince Ernst was born at his parents' estate at

Konopiště Konopiště Castle (; german: Schloss Konopischt) is a four-winged, three-storey castle located in Konopiště, now a part of the town of Benešov in Central Bohemian Region, Czech Republic. It has become famous as the last residence of Archduke F ...

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 ...

. Following his parents' assassination, which precipitated

World War I 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 ...

, Ernst and his siblings, Sophie and

Maximilian Maximilian, Maximillian or Maximiliaan (Maximilien in French) is a male given name. The name " Max" is considered a shortening of "Maximilian" as well as of several other names. List of people Monarchs *Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (1459� ...

, were taken in by their uncle, Prince Jaroslav von

Thun und Hohenstein The House of Thun und Hohenstein, also known as Thun-Hohenstein, belonged to the historical Austrian and Bohemian nobility. There is one princely and several comital branches of the family. The princely branch of the family lived at Děčín (Te ...

. In late 1918, their properties in

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

, including Konopiště and

Chlumec nad Cidlinou Chlumec nad Cidlinou (; german: Chlumetz an der Zidlina) is a town in Hradec Králové District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,600 inhabitants. Administrative parts The town is made up of town parts of Chlumec ...

, were confiscated. The children moved to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and

Schloß Artstetten Artstetten Castle (german: Schloss Artstetten, ) is a château near the Wachau valley in Lower Austria, in the community of Artstetten-Pöbring. History Artstetten Castle was owned by a number of families over the centuries until it was purchas ...

. In 1938, following the ''

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...

'', some of the family members were arrested. Prince Ernst, having previously spoken at pro-monarchist meetings and having publicly opposed the ''Anschluss'', was sent to

Dachau concentration camp , , commandant = List of commandants , known for = , location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany , built by = Germany , operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) , original use = Political prison , construction ...

with his brother. Prince Ernst was later transferred to other camps and was freed in 1943. The family's Austrian properties were confiscated in 1939, but they were returned in 1945.

Marriage and issue

Prince Ernst married on 25 May 1936 in Vienna, Marie-Thérèse Wood (9 May 1910 in Vienna – 28 November 1985 in

Radmer Radmer is a municipality in the district of Leoben in Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine ...

), daughter of Captain George Jervis Wood and Countess Rosa Lónyay de Nagy-Lónya et Vásáros-Namény. The couple had two children: * Prince ''Franz Ferdinand'' Maximilian Georg Ernst Maria Josef Zacharius Ignaz of Hohenberg (14 March 1937 in Vienna – 8 August 1978 in

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

), married Heide Zechling (born 4 January 1941 in

Eisenerz Eisenerz (; "Iron ore") is a market place and old mining town in the Austrian state of Styria, . N.W. of Graz by rail. Pop. (2001) 6,400. It is situated in the deep Erzbach Valley, dominated on the east by the Pfaffenstein , on the west by the ...

). They have one son. * Prince ''Ernst'' Georg Elemer Albert Josef Antonius Peregrinus Rupertus Maria of Hohenberg (born 1 March 1944 in Vienna), first married Patricia Caesar (born 12 June 1950 in Glen Cove) in 1973; they divorced in 1999. In 2007 he married Margareta Anna Ndisi (born 26 November 1959 in

Östhammar Östhammar is a locality and the seat of Östhammar Municipality, Uppsala County, Sweden with 4,534 inhabitants in 2010. Today Östhammar Municipality is a part of Uppsala County, but the area has historically been a part of Stockholm County. Hist ...

. He has one daughter from his first marriage.

Death

Prince Ernst died at

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

in 1954, aged 49. He is buried in the

crypt A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...

of the Hohenberg family's

Artstetten Castle Artstetten Castle (german: Schloss Artstetten, ) is a château near the Wachau valley in Lower Austria, in the community of Artstetten-Pöbring. History Artstetten Castle was owned by a number of families over the centuries until it was purchas ...

Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...

. His wife's remains are in a

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...

to the right of his.

Honours

* Austro-Hungarian Imperial and Royal Family: 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 ...

, ''1945''

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hohenberg, Prince Ernst of 1904 births 1954 deaths 20th-century Austrian people 20th-century Czech people Austrian princes Austrian people of German Bohemian descent Austrian people of Czech descent Bohemian nobility Chotek family Dachau concentration camp survivors Czech people of Austrian descent Czechoslovak refugees German Bohemian people

Ernst Ernst is both a surname and a given name, the German, Dutch, and Scandinavian form of Ernest. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Adolf Ernst (1832–1899) German botanist known by the author abbreviation "Ernst" * Anton Ernst (1975-) ...

People from Benešov Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria