Early life
In 1913, Leo and his younger brother, Archduke Wilhelm of Austria, Wilhelm, enrolled at the Imperial Military Academy in Wiener-Neustadt. Upon reaching twenty years of age, which was the age of majority in the Habsburg family, he was inducted into the Order of the Golden Fleece, a chivalric order. At this age, he was also inducted into the Upper House of Parliament. He served in the Austrian army until the fall of the Austria-Hungary, Habsburg Empire, after which he served with great distinction in the Polish army.Marriage and family
In October 1922, he married Austrian noblewoman Maria-Klothilde von Thuillières Gfn von Montjoye-Vaufrey et de la Roche (1893–1978), known among family as "Maja", at St. Stephen Cathedral in Vienna, Austria, Vienna. The marriage was acceptable although Morganatic marriage, morganatic. Their children, among them Count Leo Stefan of Habsburg (12 June 1928 – 3 February 2020), were granted the title of Count of Habsburg.Later life
He lived on a portion of the Żywiec family estate that he and his brother, Albrecht, inherited from their father. Leo raised his children as Germans. He died of tuberculosis on the 28 April 1939 at his estate in Bestwina, in southern Poland. Since he did not leave a will, the property was inherited by his wife Maja. He was buried in the local cemetery in Bestwina, a countryside plot belonging to his family. Bestwina was also the location of the palace where he and his family moved to in 1933, after the death of his father, Karl Stefan.References
Polish nobility 1893 births 1939 deaths House of Habsburg-Lorraine Austrian princes People of World War I from Austria-Hungary Polish Army officers Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria People from Pula {{Europe-noble-stub