, house = Croÿ , father = Rudolf, 11th Duke of Croÿ , mother =

Princess Natalie of Ligne The House of Ligne is one of the oldest Belgian noble families, dating back to the eleventh century.''Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser'' XIV. "Ligne". C.A. Starke Verlag, 1991, pp. 495-500. . The family's name comes from the v ...

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Dülmen Dülmen () is a town in the district of Coesfeld (district), Coesfeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Dülmen is situated in the south part of the Münsterland area, between the Lippe (river), Lippe river to the south, the Baumberge ...

Province of Westphalia The Province of Westphalia () was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815 to 1946. In turn, Prussia was the largest component state of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918, of the Weimar Republic and from 1918 ...

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...

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Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

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Imperial Crypt The Imperial Crypt (german: Kaisergruft), also called the Capuchin Crypt (''Kapuzinergruft''), is a burial chamber beneath the Capuchin Church and monastery in Vienna, Austria. It was founded in 1618 and dedicated in 1632, and located on the Neu ...

, Capuchin Church,

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

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Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

Princess ''Isabella'' Hedwig Franziska Natalie of Croÿ (27 February 1856 – 5 September 1931) was by birth member of

House of Croÿ The House of Croÿ () is a family of European mediatized nobility, which held a seat in the Imperial Diet from 1486, and was elevated to the rank of Princes of the Holy Roman Empire in 1594. In 1533 they became Dukes of Arschot (in Belgium) and in ...

and by marriage member of

House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

Biography

Early life and family

Princess Isabella was daughter of Rudolf, 11th Duke of Croÿ (1823–1902) and

(1835–1863). Her paternal grandparents were Alfred, 10th Duke of Croÿ (1789–1861) and

Princess Eleonore of Salm-Salm Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...

(1794–1861). Her maternal grandparents were

Eugène, 8th Prince of Ligne Eugène François Charles Joseph Lamoral de Ligne d'Amblise et d'Epinoy (Brussels, 28 January 1804 – Brussels, 20 May 1880), 8th Prince of Ligne and of the Holy Roman Empire was a Belgium, Belgian diplomat and liberal politician. Family He wa ...

(1804–1880) and

Nathalie de Trazegnies The Marquess of Trazegnies d'Ittre (''Markies van Trazegnies'' or ''marquis de Trazegnies'') is a member of the Belgian nobility. The title has been held for centuries by the noble house of Trazegnies (''Maison de Trazegnies''). They hold priv ...

(1811–1835).

Marriage and issue

Elisabeth Franziska Austria 1831 1903 family

She married

Archduke Friedrich, Duke of Teschen Archduke Friedrich, Duke of Teschen (Friedrich Maria Albrecht Wilhelm Karl; 4 June 1856 – 30 December 1936) was a member of the House of Habsburg and the supreme commander of the Austro-Hungarian Army during World War I. Early life Frie ...

on 8 October 1878. They had eight daughters and one son: * Maria Christina, Archduchess of Austria-Teschen (1879–1962), married Prince Emanuel of

Salm-Salm The Principality of Salm-Salm (german: Fürstentum Salm-Salm; french: Principauté de Salm-Salm) was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. It was located in the present-day French departments of Bas-Rhin and Vosges; it was one of a number of partitions ...

* Maria Anna, Archduchess of Austria-Teschen (1882–1940), married

Elias, Duke of Parma Elias I, Duke of Parma and Piacenza ( it, Elia di Borbone-Parma; 23 July 1880 – 27 June 1959) was the head of the House of Bourbon-Parma and pretender to the defunct throne of Parma between 1950 and 1959. From 1907 to 1950 he served as regent ...

* Maria Henrietta, Archduchess of Austria-Teschen (1883–1956), married Prince Gottfried of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst * Natalie Maria, Archduchess of Austria-Teschen (1884–1898) * Stephanie Maria Isabelle, Archduchess of Austria-Teschen (1886–1890) * Gabriele Maria Theresia, Archduchess of Austria-Teschen (1887–1954) * Isabella, Archduchess of Austria-Teschen (1888–1973), married

Prince Georg of Bavaria Prince Georg of Bavaria (german: Georg Franz Joseph Luitpold Maria Prinz von Bayern; 2 April 1880 – 31 May 1943) was a member of the Bavarian Royal House of Wittelsbach and a Catholic priest. Birth and family Georg was born in Munich, Bava ...

* Maria Alice, Archduchess of Austria-Teschen (1893–1962), married Baron Friedrich von Waldbott-Bassenheim (their daughter Countess Maria Immaculata Waldbott von Bassenheim was the second wife of Count Hans Heribert of Toerring-Jettenbach, son of

Duchess Sophie Adelheid in Bavaria , house =Wittelsbach , father =Karl Theodor, Duke in Bavaria , mother =Infanta Maria Josepha of Portugal , birth_date = , birth_place = Possenhofen, Bavaria , death_date = , death_place =Kreuth, Germany , burial_pla ...

) * Albrecht Franz, Archduke of Austria, Duke of Teschen (1897–1955)

Archduke Franz Ferdinand

In the mid-1890s, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne,

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 ...

began visiting Isabella and Friedrich's home. At first, it was assumed that he was there to court one of their many daughters. Eventually, it was discovered that in fact he was courting Countess Sophie Chotek von Wognin, lady-in-waiting to Archduchess Isabella and daughter of Austrian ambassador

Bohuslav, Count Chotek of Chotkow and Wognin Bohuslav, Count Chotek von Chotkow und WogninMontgomery-Massingberd, Hugh (editor). ''Burke's Guide to the Royal Family'', Burke's Peerage, London, 1973, p. 238. Willis, Daniel A., ''The Descendants of King George I of Great Britain'', Clearfield ...

. Isabella became infuriated that Franz Ferdinand had not singled out one of her eight daughters as his bride and future empress; as a result she engaged in a crusade to thwart the marriage of Franz Ferdinand and Sophie. Sophie was dismissed from service, thus beginning an ongoing conflict between Friedrich and Franz Ferdinand, who married Sophie in 1900. The marriage was

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 ...

; Sophie was subjected to the indignities of a much lower rank at court than that of her husband, and none of their children could succeed to their father's dynastic honours—all chiefly as a result of Isabella's machinations. A decade later, Isabella created a similar furore when her nephew, Karl, 13th Prince von Croÿ, sought to marry

Nancy Leishman Nancy Louise Leishman (October 2, 1894 – February 22, 1983) was an American heiress who married into the European aristocracy. Early life and relatives Nancy Louise Leishman was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on October 2, 1894. She was the ...

, the charming young daughter of

John George Alexander Leishman John George Alexander Leishman (March 28, 1857 – March 27, 1924) was an American businessman and diplomat. He worked in various executive positions at Carnegie Steel Company and later served as an ambassador for the United States. Early life ...

United States Ambassador to Germany The United States has had diplomatic relations with the nation of Germany and its principal predecessor nation, the Kingdom of Prussia, since 1835. These relations were broken twice (1917 to 1921, and 1941 to 1955) while Germany and the United St ...

, the former president of

Carnegie Steel Carnegie Steel Company was a steel-producing company primarily created by Andrew Carnegie and several close associates to manage businesses at steel mills in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area in the late 19th century. The company was formed ...

. The Archduchess felt that Nancy, being an American and a commoner, was not an appropriate spouse for a prince of Croÿ. Karl and Nancy were wed, nonetheless; today their grandson is the present Duke of Croÿ.

Honours

Isabella received the following awards:
Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie
' (1918), Genealogy p. 12 * Grand Cross of the Imperial Austrian

Order of Elizabeth The Imperial Austrian Order of Elizabeth (German: ''Kaiserlich österreichischer Elisabeth-Orden''), founded in 1898 by Francis Joseph, Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, was an order created for women. The order was the namesake of Saint E ...

, ''1901'' (

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

) * Dame of the Dame of the Starry Cross, 1st Class (Austria-Hungary) * Order of Merit of the Red Cross, 1st Class with War Decoration (Austria-Hungary) * Dame Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion, with Distinction for Jerusalem (

Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

) * Order of the Sun, 2nd Class in Diamonds (

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

) * Dame of the

Order of Queen Maria Luisa The Royal Order of Noble Ladies of Queen Maria Luisa is an Order created by King Charles IV of Spain by royal decree on April 21, 1792, at the request of his wife, Queen Maria Luisa, to reward noble women who distinguished themselves for their ...

, ''30 August 1883'' (

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

) * Dame of Honour of the

Order of Theresa The Order of Theresa was an order for noble ladies in the Kingdom of Bavaria. It continues to function today as an honorary society to which belong the princesses of the House of Wittelsbach as well as other ladies from Bavarian noble families. H ...

(

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria (german: Königreich Bayern; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1805 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German E ...

) * Dame of the

Order of Saint Elizabeth The Order of Saint Elizabeth was an all-female chivalric and charitable order in the Kingdom of Bavaria. The following excerpt is from ''The Orders of Knighthood, British and Foreign'' (1884): History The first Consort of the Elector Charles T ...

(Kingdom of Bavaria) * Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Civil Merit (

Kingdom of Bulgaria The Tsardom of Bulgaria ( bg, Царство България, translit=Tsarstvo Balgariya), also referred to as the Third Bulgarian Tsardom ( bg, Трето Българско Царство, translit=Treto Balgarsko Tsarstvo, links=no), someti ...

)

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Isabella Of Croy, Princess 1856 births 1931 deaths People from Dülmen People from the Province of Westphalia House of Croÿ House of Habsburg-Lorraine Duchesses of Teschen Austrian princesses Hungarian people of Austrian descent