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Albert Maria Joseph Maximilian Lamoral, 8th Prince of Thurn and Taxis (full
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
name: ''Albert Maria Joseph Maximilian Lamoral Fürst von Thurn und Taxis''; 8 May 1867 – 22 January 1952) was the eighth Prince of Thurn and Taxis and Head of the Princely House of Thurn and Taxis from 2 June 1885 until his death on 22 January 1952.


Youth, education and marriage

Albert was born at Regensburg, Germany, the youngest of four children of
Maximilian Anton Lamoral, Hereditary Prince of Thurn and Taxis ''Maximilian Anton Lamoral'', Hereditary Prince of Thurn and Taxis (German: ''Maximilian Anton Lamoral Erbprinz von Thurn und Taxis''; 28 September 1831 – 26 June 1867) was the Hereditary Prince of Thurn and Taxis from birth until his death ...
(1831–1867) and
Duchess Helene in Bavaria Duchess Helene in Bavaria (Helene Caroline Therese; 4 April 1834 16 May 1890), nicknamed Néné, was the Hereditary Princess of Thurn and Taxis as the wife of Maximilian Anton Lamoral. She was a Duchess in Bavaria by birth as the daughter of D ...
(1834–1890). His father died when he was less than two months old, so on the death of his grandfather,
Maximilian Karl, 6th Prince of Thurn and Taxis Maximilian Karl, 6th Prince of Thurn and Taxis, full German name: ''Maximilian Karl Fürst von Thurn und Taxis'' (3 November 1802 – 10 November 1871) was the sixth Prince of Thurn and Taxis, head of the Thurn-und-Taxis-Post, and Head of t ...
, his older brother
Maximilian Maria, 7th Prince of Thurn and Taxis Maximilian Maria Carl Joseph Gabriel Lamoral, 7th Prince of Thurn and Taxis, full German language, German name: ''Maximilian Maria Carl Joseph Gabriel Lamoral Fürst von Thurn und Taxis'' (24 June 1862, Schloss Taxis, Dischingen, Kingdom of Württ ...
became Prince, under the guardianship of his mother who was regent until he should come of age. Prince Albert spent his childhood with his mother and three siblings in
Prüfening Abbey Prüfening Abbey () was a Benedictine order, Benedictine monastery on the outskirts of Regensburg in Bavaria, Germany. Since the beginning of the 19th century it has also been known as Prüfening Castle (''Schloss Prüfening''). Notably, its Prüfe ...
, in Bismarckplatz, Regensburg. As was then typical for the aristocracy, he received a non-specific education, attending lectures in law, national economics and art history in Würzburg, Freiburg and Leipzig. On his brother's untimely death, aged 22, Prince Albert, then aged 18, inherited his brother's title, also under the guardianship of his mother as regent. At the time, his full title was Prince of Thurn and Taxis, Prince of Buchau und Prince of Krotoszyn, royal Count of Friedberg-Scheer, Count of Valle-Sassina, and of Marchtal, Neresheim etc., Hereditary general postmaster. In 1899 he acquired the additional Bavarian royal titles of Duke of Wörth und Donaustauf. He came of age on 8 May 1888 as full prince, head of the family of Thurn and Taxis. On 30 November 1889 he was made a knight of the Austrian
Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece (, ) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in 1430 in Brugge by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, to celebrate his marriage to Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy, Isabella of Portugal. T ...
, along with ten other members of the European royal families, including the later father-in-law of his daughter,
Frederick Augustus III of Saxony Frederick Augustus III (; 25 May 1865 – 18 February 1932) was the last King of Saxony (1904–1918). Born in Dresden, Frederick Augustus was the eldest son of King George of Saxony and his wife, Maria Anna of Portugal. Frederick Augustus ...
. Albert was the ninth member of the house of Thurn and Taxis to be honoured with this knighthood. At the time of his succession, Prince Albert had not yet married. On 15 July 1890 in
Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
, Hungary, Albert married
Archduchess Margarethe Klementine of Austria Archduchess Margarethe Klementine Maria of Austria (in German: ''Margarethe Klementine Maria, Erzherzogin von Österreich''; in Hungarian: ''Habsburg–Toscanai Margit Klementina Mária főhercegnő''; 6 July 1870, Alcsút, Austria-Hungary– ...
(6 July 1870 – 2 May 1955), daughter of Archduke Joseph Karl of Austria. Albert purchased the 'Empress Eugenie Tiara' as a wedding present for Margarethe; the tiara, designed by Gabriel Lemmonier in 1853, was part of the French crown jewels and is now in the Louvre in Paris. They were married by the archbishop of Esztergom–Budapest, the Roman Catholic primate of Hungary, Cardinal János Simor in the chapel of
Buda Castle Buda Castle (, ), formerly also called the Royal Palace () and the Royal Castle (, ), is the historical castle and palace complex of the King of Hungary, Hungarian kings in Budapest. First completed in 1265, the Baroque architecture, Baroque pa ...
. His marriage to Archduchess Margarethe lasted over 60 years, producing seven sons and a daughter.


Two world wars, and thereafter

In the years before the outbreak of the First World War, the finances of royal household of Thurn and Taxis were exceptional, with the highest income Prince Albert would ever see. His events and numerous trips with his extended family were at this time more lavish than ever. In 1914, the yearbook of millionaires in Württemberg and Hohenzollern listed him as the richest man in Württemberg, with assets of 270 million Deutschmarks. By comparison, the king of Württemberg, Wilhelm II, had in the same year assets of only 36 million Marks. During the First World War, the civilian Prince Albert acted as a delegate and inspector for the Red Cross and medical services. On his journey to the front he retained his luxury and entourage, but he also supported the soldiers of his cavalry regiment, and he had the medical hospital of Ostheim built in the grounds of the sugar factory at Regensburg, where his wife Margarethe worked as a nurse. After the war, during the
German Revolution of 1918–1919 German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
and the time of the
Bavarian Soviet Republic The Bavarian Soviet Republic (or Bavarian Council Republic), also known as the Munich Soviet Republic (), was a short-lived unrecognised socialist state in Bavaria during the German revolution of 1918–1919. A group of communists and anarchist ...
there was unrest in Regensburg too, and rumours of a planned attack on the Prince's palace at Saint Emmeram. Nevertheless, the prince was given assurances by the mayor and the military administration, and in return he gave financial support to the construction of residential flats. When the situation reached its climax in 1919, the castle was barricaded and protected by soldiers from the Taxis regiment, armed with machine-guns. Finally, after the assassination of
Kurt Eisner Kurt Eisner (; 14 May 1867 21 February 1919)"Kurt Eisner – Encyclopædia Britannica" (biography), ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 2006, Britannica.com webpageBritannica-KurtEisner. was a German politician, revolutionary, journalist, and theatre c ...
(who had organised the Socialist Revolution in Bavaria) in Munich in 1919, the rumoured attack on St. Emmeram came to nothing. To relieve the sufferings of the people in the winter months after the end of the war, Prince Albert founded in 1919 the princely emergency kitchen. This became a regular establishment from 1923, and remains to this day. In 1957, 70 students were fed by the kitchen, which today offers 400 meals to the needy, daily from Mondays to Fridays. After the second world war, prince Albert opened all the royal palaces in and around Regensburg to take in refugees. His childhood home, the former Benedictine monastery of Prüfening was, for a short time, home to the . As an aristocrat and Catholic, Albert was opposed to Nazism. Although his opposition was not active, he experienced his son Karl August's arrest in August 1944, and subsequent imprisonment in the
Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...
prison at
Landshut Landshut (; ) is a town in Bavaria, Germany, on the banks of the Isar, River Isar. Landshut is the capital of Lower Bavaria, one of the seven administrative regions of the Free state (government), Free State of Bavaria, and the seat of the surrou ...
until 1945. In 1949, Albert received the , named after
Albertus Magnus Albertus Magnus ( 1200 – 15 November 1280), also known as Saint Albert the Great, Albert of Swabia, Albert von Bollstadt, or Albert of Cologne, was a German Dominican friar, philosopher, scientist, and bishop, considered one of the great ...
, honouring scientists, artists, and patrons of the arts.


Prince Albert and his wife Margarethe, artists, patrons of the art, and builders

Prince Albert played piano and organ, and sang in private life as a baritone. He busied himself around Regensburg as a builder and patron of the arts, and supported a wide range of cultural activities. He funded a high altar
reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a Church (building), church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular a ...
constructed between 1906 and 1912 in the ,
Reinhausen Reinhausen is the largest village in the municipality (''Gemeinde'') Gleichen in the district Göttingen, Germany. It is also the seat of government for the Gleichen. The village has 1,500 residents (as of December 31, 2005). The village mayo ...
; his coat of arms can be seen at the level of the central figure of St. Joseph. When a bust of
Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...
was set up at the memorial, Walhalla to celebrate the composer's 100th birthday in 1913, Prince Albert personally asked
Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria Luitpold Karl Joseph Wilhelm Ludwig, Prince Regent of Bavaria (12 March 1821 – 12 December 1912), was the ''de facto'' ruler of Kingdom of Bavaria, Bavaria from 1886 to 1912, as regent for his nephews, Ludwig II of Bavaria, King Ludwig II and O ...
if he might be permitted to fund the bust and its building-costs. In partial compensation for the loss of monopoly over the postal service on the founding of the kingdom of Bavaria, the princes of Thurn and Taxis had been given the secularised monastery buildings of the imperial monastery of St. Emmeram in 1812. From 1816, the buildings were converted into a residence. During the incumbency of
Maximilian Maria, 7th Prince of Thurn and Taxis Maximilian Maria Carl Joseph Gabriel Lamoral, 7th Prince of Thurn and Taxis, full German language, German name: ''Maximilian Maria Carl Joseph Gabriel Lamoral Fürst von Thurn und Taxis'' (24 June 1862, Schloss Taxis, Dischingen, Kingdom of Württ ...
, the architect had added (1883-1885) the south wing of the palace, 150m in length. During the regency of prince Albert, the south wing was, from 188, converted to a Rococo Revival style. In the years 1904 to 1908, Prince Albert had Schultze build a new, modernised royal stables in the north part of the new ;at Waffnergasse. It had stalls and a three-storied coach house. When mechanised transport arrived in 1931, the royal stables were closed, and the contents of the harness-room and coach house were preserved in the royal stable museum of the princes of Thurn and Taxis. Princess Margarethe, too, was benevolent, and had good taste in art; she not only made a name for herself as a painter and sculptor, but also helped out as a surgical nurse in the Regensburg hospitals.


Later years and death

In 1913, prince Albert became the first recipient of the golden . In 1923 he received an honorary doctorate from the
University of Innsbruck The University of Innsbruck (; ) is a public research university in Innsbruck, the capital of the Austrian federal state of Tyrol (state), Tyrol, founded on October 15, 1669. It is the largest education facility in the Austrian States of Austria, ...
; the Tyroleans had been keen to distance themselves from "red Vienna" since 1922, and wanted to establish themselves independently under a Catholic monarch. Since Albert was married to a Habsburger, he fitted the bill, an impression reinforced by the award of this doctorate. Albert was an honorary member of the Catholic
Studentenverbindung () or , often referred to as , is the umbrella term for many different kinds of fraternity-type associations in German-speaking countries, including Corps, , , , and Catholic fraternities. Worldwide, there are over 1,600 , about a thousand in ...
KDStV Vindelicia in Munich, and the KDStV Rupertia in Regensburg, part of the Union of Catholic German Student Fraternities. On 15 July 1950, Albert and Margarethe von Thurn und Taxis, accompanied by the royalty of Europe and the people of Regensburg, celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary. At a celebratory mass for the occasion, their granddaughter Maria Fernanda married prince Franz Josef von Hohenzollern. The city of Regensburg honoured Albert and Margarethe with honorary citizenship of the city. On 22 January 1952 Albert died, at the age of 84, in the St. Emmeram palace at Regensburg. His wife Margarethe died three years later on 2 May 1955. They are buried together in the crypt chapel of palace of St. Emmeram, formerly
St. Emmeram's Abbey Saint Emmeram's Abbey ( or ''Reichsabtei Sankt Emmeram'') was a Benedictine monastery founded around 739 at Regensburg in Bavaria (modern-day southeastern Germany) at the grave of the itinerant Frankish bishop Saint Emmeram. The original abbe ...
. Today two streets in Regensburg are named after the couple.


Children

* Franz Joseph, 9th Prince of Thurn and Taxis (21 December 1893 – 13 July 1971), married Princess Isabel Maria of Braganza, daughter of
Miguel, Duke of Braganza Prince Miguel Januário of Braganza (; full name Miguel Maria Carlos Egídio Constantino Gabriel Rafael Gonzaga Francisco de Paula e de Assis Januário de Bragança; 19 September 1853 – 11 October 1927) was the Miguelist claimant to the throne ...
. Miguel’s first wife had been Franz Joseph’s paternal aunt, Princess Elisabeth of Thurn and Taxis *Prince Joseph Albert of Thurn and Taxis (4 November 1895 – 7 December 1895) * Karl August, 10th Prince of Thurn and Taxis (23 July 1898 – 26 April 1982), married Princess Maria Anna of Braganza, daughter of
Miguel, Duke of Braganza Prince Miguel Januário of Braganza (; full name Miguel Maria Carlos Egídio Constantino Gabriel Rafael Gonzaga Francisco de Paula e de Assis Januário de Bragança; 19 September 1853 – 11 October 1927) was the Miguelist claimant to the throne ...
* Prince Ludwig Philipp of Thurn and Taxis (2 February 1901 – 22 April 1933), married Princess Elisabeth of Luxembourg, daughter of Grand Duke William IV of Luxembourg *
Prince Max Emanuel of Thurn and Taxis Father ''Emmeram'' of Thurn and Taxis Order of Saint Benedict, OSB, until his profession Prince ''Max Emanuel'' Maria Siegfried Joseph Antonius Ignatius Lamoral of Thurn and Taxis (; 1 March 1902, Regensburg, Kingdom of Bavaria – 3 October 1994 ...
(1 March 1902 – 3 October 1994) *Princess Elisabeth Helene of Thurn and Taxis (15 December 1903 – 22 October 1976), married Friedrich Christian, Margrave of Meissen *Prince Raphael Rainer of Thurn and Taxis (30 May 1906 – 8 June 1993), married Princess Margarete of Thurn and Taxis; father of
Prince Max Emanuel of Thurn and Taxis Father ''Emmeram'' of Thurn and Taxis Order of Saint Benedict, OSB, until his profession Prince ''Max Emanuel'' Maria Siegfried Joseph Antonius Ignatius Lamoral of Thurn and Taxis (; 1 March 1902, Regensburg, Kingdom of Bavaria – 3 October 1994 ...
, the former
heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of a person with a better claim to the position in question. This is in contrast to an heir app ...
to Thurn and Taxis. *Prince Philipp Ernst of Thurn and Taxis (7 May 1908 – 23 July 1964), married Princess Eulalia of Thurn and Taxis


Honours

* Grand Master of the Order of Parfaite Amitié (
House of Thurn and Taxis The Princely House of Thurn and Taxis (, ) is a family of German nobility that is part of the ''Briefadel''. It was a key player in the mail, postal services in Europe during the 16th century, until the end of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, and ...
) * Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece, ''1889'' (
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
) * Grand Cross of the Order of Albert the Bear, ''1888'' (
Duchy of Anhalt The Duchy of Anhalt () was a historical German duchy. The duchy was located between the Harz Mountains in the west and the River Elbe and beyond to the Fläming Heath in the east. The territory was once ruled by the House of Ascania, and is now ...
) * Knight of the Order of St. Hubert, ''1888'' (
Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria ( ; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1806 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German Empire in 1871, the kingd ...
)''Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Bayern'' (1908), "Königliche Orden" p
8
/ref> * Grand Cross of the Order of St. Alexander (
Principality of Bulgaria The Principality of Bulgaria () was a vassal state under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire. It was established by the Treaty of Berlin in 1878. After the Russo-Turkish War ended with a Russian victory, the Treaty of San Stefano was signed ...
)''Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Bayern'' (1908), "Großbeamte der Krone" p
6
/ref> * Grand Cross of the Saxe-Ernestine House Order (
Ernestine duchies The Ernestine duchies (), also known as the Saxon duchies (, although the Albertine appanage duchies of Weissenfels, Merseburg and Zeitz were also "Saxon duchies" and adjacent to several Ernestine ones), were a group of small states whose numb ...
) * Cross of Honour of the Princely House Order of Hohenzollern, 1st Class (
House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen () was a principality in southwestern Germany. Its rulers belonged to the junior House of Hohenzollern#Swabian branch, Swabian branch of the House of Hohenzollern. The Swabian Hohenzollerns were elevated to princes in 162 ...
) * Grand Cross of the House Order of the Wendish Crown (
Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, Neubrandenburg, Wismar and Güstrow. ...
) * Knight of the Order of St. Januarius (
House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies The House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies is a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon that ruled Southern Italy and Sicily for more than a century in the 18th and 19th centuries. It descends from the Capetian dynasty in legitimate male line through Phili ...
) *In 1923 Albert received an honorary doctorate of philosophy from the
University of Innsbruck The University of Innsbruck (; ) is a public research university in Innsbruck, the capital of the Austrian federal state of Tyrol (state), Tyrol, founded on October 15, 1669. It is the largest education facility in the Austrian States of Austria, ...
.


Ancestry


Sources

* * * * Buchenau, Klaus (2023). ''From Grand Estates to Grand Corruption: The battle over the possessions of Prince Albert of Thurn and Taxis in interwar Yugoslavia''. Brill.


References


External links


Thurn-Taxis.com
- Albert 8th Prince of Thurn & Taxis, a key person in the long history of the Thurn & Taxis Postal family
www.thurnundtaxis.de
- Thurn and Taxis family and museums {{DEFAULTSORT:Albert 01 of Thurn And Taxis, Prince Members of the Bavarian Reichsrat 1867 births 1952 deaths People from Regensburg Princes of Thurn und Taxis Thurn and Taxis, Albert German Roman Catholics Hereditary princes of Thurn and Taxis Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria Members of the Prussian House of Lords Members of the Württembergian Chamber of Lords Burials at the Gruftkapelle, St. Emmeram's Abbey Pretenders