Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Hohenberg (Elisabeth Hilda Zita Marie Anna Antonia Friederike Wilhelmine Luise; 22 December 1922 – 22 November 2011) was a

Luxembourgian Luxembourgish ( ; also ''Luxemburgish'', ''Luxembourgian'', ''Letzebu(e)rgesch''; Luxembourgish: ) is a West Germanic language that is spoken mainly in Luxembourg. About 400,000 people speak Luxembourgish worldwide. As a standard form of th ...

princess. She was a daughter of Grand Duchess Charlotte and her husband,

Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma Prince Félix of Bourbon-Parma (later Prince Félix of Luxembourg; 28 September 1893 – 8 April 1970) was the husband of Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg and the father of her six children, including her successor Jean, Grand Duke of ...

,Enache, Nicolas. ''La Descendance de Marie-Therese de Habsburg''. ICC, Paris, 1996. pp. 55–56, 59, 426, 479–480, 489 (French). the sister of Grand Duke Jean and the aunt of

Grand Duke Henri Henri (french: Henri Albert Gabriel Félix Marie Guillaume, ; born 16 April 1955) is the Grand Duke of Luxembourg. He has reigned since 7 October 2000. Henri, the eldest son of Grand Duke Jean and Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium, is a f ...

. In 1956 she married

Franz, Duke of Hohenberg Franz Ferdinand, Duke of Hohenberg (13 September 1927 – 16 August 1977), was the eldest son of Maximilian, Duke of Hohenberg and Countess Maria of Waldburg zu Wolfegg und Waldsee. He was also a grandson of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austr ...

Biography

Princess Elisabeth was born at Berg Castle in

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

on 22 December 1922 as the second child and first daughter of Grand Duchess Charlotte and Prince Felix. To commemorate her birth, Luxembourg issued a

stamp Stamp or Stamps or Stamping may refer to: Official documents and related impressions * Postage stamp, used to indicate prepayment of fees for public mail * Ration stamp, indicating the right to rationed goods * Revenue stamp, used on documents ...

as a

souvenir sheet A souvenir sheet or miniature sheet is a postage stamp or a small group of postage stamps still attached to the Paper, sheet on which they were printed. They may be either regular issues that just happen to be printed in small groups (typical of m ...

the following year, the world's first such miniature sheet. Facing the German invasion in 10 May 1940 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg left the country to find refuge in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

, after receiving transit visas from the Portuguese consul

Aristides de Sousa Mendes Aristides de Sousa Mendes do Amaral e Abranches () GCC, OL (July 19, 1885 – April 3, 1954) was a Portuguese consul during World War II. As the Portuguese consul-general in the French city of Bordeaux, he defied the orders of Antóni ...

, in June 1940. They arrived at Vilar Formoso on 23 June 1940. After travelling through Coimbra and Lisbon, the family first stayed in

Cascais Cascais () is a town and municipality in the Lisbon District of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera. The municipality has a total of 214,158 inhabitants in an area of 97.40 km2. Cascais is an important tourist destination. Its marin ...

, in Casa de Santa Maria, owned by Manuel Espírito Santo, who was then the honorary consul for Luxembourg in Portugal. By July they had moved to Monte Estoril, staying at the Chalet Posser de Andrade. On 10 July 1940, Princess Elisabeth, together with her father Prince Félix, her siblings, Heir Prince Jean, Princess Marie Adelaide, Princess Marie Gabriele,

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

and Princess Alix, the nanny Justine Reinard and the chauffeur Eugène Niclou, along with his wife Joséphine, boarded the ''S.S. Trenton'' headed for New York City. Exiles Memorial Center. While Prince Félix and his children went to America, Grand Duchess Charlotte headed for London. Forced to respect American impartiality, the Grand Ducal Family settled for

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

, Canada. With her father and brother Jean, Princess Elisabeth moved to London in 1942. With her sister

Princess Marie Adelaide of Luxembourg Princess Marie-Adélaïde of Luxembourg (Marie-Adélaïde Louise Thérèse Wilhelmine; 21 May 1924 – 28 February 2007) was a Luxembourgish princess, the third child and the second daughter of Grand Duchess Charlotte (1896–1985) and Prince Fe ...

, she attended Convent of the Sacred Heart in

Roehampton Roehampton is an area in southwest London, in the Putney SW15 postal district, and takes up a far western strip running north to south of the London Borough of Wandsworth. It contains a number of large council house estates and is home to the U ...

, England. After the war ended, the Grand Ducal Family regained the

grand duchy A grand duchy is a country or territory whose official head of state or ruler is a monarch bearing the title of grand duke or grand duchess. Relatively rare until the abolition of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the term was often used in th ...

Marriage and issue

She married

(1927–1977) in

on 9 May 1956. He was a grandson 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. Fr ...

, whose assassination in 1914 sparked

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. They had two daughters, Anita and Sophie, and seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. *Anna ''(Anita)'' Charlotte Maximiliana Euphemia Maria Helena of Hohenberg (b. 18 August 1958,

Schloss Berg Berg Palace (german: Schloss Berg) is a manor house situated on the east bank of Lake Starnberg in the village of Berg in Upper Bavaria, Germany. The site became widely known as the last residence of King Ludwig II of Bavaria and location of h ...

). Married Romee de la Poeze (b. 15 July 1949), on 22 July 1978 in Artstetten,

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 ...

. They have four children: **Gaetan de la Poeze (b. 25 July 1980,

) **Alix de la Poeze (b. 8 September 1981,

) married Francois-Xavier Fraye (b. 7 March 1979) in 2010. They have four children: ***Armel Fraye (b. 2011) ***Benedikt Fraye (b. 2013) ***Alexandra Fraye (b. 2014) ***Marie-Anastasie Fraye (b. 2017) **Gabriel de la Poeze (b. 3 October 1987, Artstetten,

) **Raoul de la Poeze (b. 14 June 1989, Artstetten,

) *''Sophie'' Felicitas Elisabetha Bona Maria Antonia (b. 10 May 1960,

). Married Jean-Louis de Potesta (b. 8 February 1951) on 18 June 1983 in Artstetten,

. They have three children: **Eleonore de Potesta (b. 24 April 1984,

). Married Diego Fernandez de Cordova y Cervero on 16 June 2012. They have three children: ***Rafael Fernandez de Cordova y de Potesta (b. 9 August 2013) ***Luis Fernandez de Cordova y de Potesta (b. 19 August 2016) ***Sofia Fernandez de Cordova y de Potesta (b. 27 August 2018) **

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or kn ...

Charles de Potesta (b. 25 October 1985,

) **Elizabeth de Potesta (b. 29 April 1988, London, England)

Final years

Princess Elisabeth returned to

after her husband's death in 1977. In 1983 she inherited

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 purcha ...

, which she ceded that year to her oldest daughter, Anita de La Poëze d´Harambure. Following the death of her mother Grand Duchess Charlotte, in 1985, she moved to Wasserhaf, near Fischbach Castle. Between 1980 and 1990, she participated in Luxembourgian official ceremonies. Towards the end of her life, she resided at Fischbach Castle with her older brother, Grand Duke Jean. She died at Fischbach Castle on 22 November 2011 aged 88, following a stroke in 2010. She was cremated and buried next to her husband in a crypt at Artstetten Castle.

Ancestry

References

External links

Grand-Ducal House of Luxembourg
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elisabeth, Princess, Duchess of Hohenberg 1922 births 2011 deaths House of Nassau-Weilburg Hohenberg family Luxembourgian princesses Princesses of Bourbon-Parma People from Colmar-Berg People educated at Woldingham School Disease-related deaths in Luxembourg Daughters of monarchs