Archduke Ernst of Austria (Ernst Karl Felix Maria Rainer Gottfried Cyriak), Archduke of Austria, Prince Royal of Hungary and Bohemia (August 8, 1824,

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

– April 4, 1899,

Arco Arco may refer to: Places * Arco, Trentino, a town in Trentino, Italy * Arco, Idaho, in the United States * Arco, Minnesota, a city in the United States * ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California, home of the Sacramento Kings Companies * ARCO (b ...

) was a member of the

House of Habsburg-Lorraine The House of Habsburg-Lorraine () originated from the marriage in 1736 of Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, Francis III, Duke of Lorraine and Bar, and Maria Theresa of Habsburg monarchy, Austria, later successively List of Bohemian monarchs, Queen ...

Early life

Ernst was the second son of the viceroy

Archduke Rainer Joseph of Austria Archduke Rainer of Austria (30 September 1783 – 16 January 1853) was a Viceroy of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia from 1818 to 1848. He was also an Archduke of Austria, Prince Royal of Hungary and Bohemia. Biography Rainer was a son of Emp ...

and Princess Elisabeth of Savoy. In 1844 was made a Knight of the

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 ...

by Emperor

Ferdinand I of Austria Ferdinand I ( 19 April 1793 – 29 June 1875) was Emperor of Austria from March 1835 until his abdication in December 1848. He was also King of Hungary, King of Croatia, Croatia and King of Bohemia, Bohemia (as Ferdinand V), King of Lombardy– ...

Military career

Ernst started his military career in the

garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

of Milan, and in 1845 was appointed colonel and the commander of the 48th Infantry Regiment. In 1847, he was promoted to major general. In 1848, Ernst participated in the events of the

1848 revolution The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...

in Milan, when the Austrian troops had to withdraw from the city. In 1849, Ernst was sent with his regiment to

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

and managed to occupy

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...

and for a short time to disperse the troops of

Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as (). In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as () or (). 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, revolutionary and republican. H ...

. For these activities he was in 1850 awarded the Military Merit Cross and promoted to the rank of

Feldmarschall-Leutnant Lieutenant field marshal, also frequently historically field marshal lieutenant (, formerly , historically also and, in official Imperial and Royal Austrian army documents from 1867 always , abbreviated ''FML''), was a senior army rank in certai ...

. In the 1850s, Ernst was stationed in

Pressburg Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

, and since 1858 in

Buda Buda (, ) is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (), which was constructed by Béla IV between 1247 and ...

, where he was appointed a commander of the cavalry corps. In 1866, he participated in military action in

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

. In 1867, Ernst was appointed

General of the Cavalry General of the Cavalry () was a General officer rank in the cavalry in various states of which the modern states of German and Austria are successors or in other armies which used the German model. Artillery officers of equivalent rank were called ...

, and in 1868 he retired.

Marriage and children

Ernst claimed that he married the Hungarian noble lady Laura Skublics de Velike et Bessenyö (July 6, 1826, Schloss Bessenyö – October, 18, 1865, Vienna) on April 26 of 1858 in

Laibach Laibach () is a Slovenian and Yugoslav avant-garde music group associated with the industrial, martial, and neoclassical genres. Formed in 1980 in the mining town of Trbovlje, Slovenia, at the time a constituent republic within Socialist Fede ...

. She was the daughter of the nobleman Aloysius Skublics de Velike et Besenyő (1791–1835),

Prothonotary A prothonotary is the "principal clerk of a court," from Late Latin, L.L. ''prothonotarius'' (Wiktionary:circa, c. 400), from Greek ''protonotarios'' "first scribe," originally the chief of the college of recorders of the court of the Byzantine E ...

of the County of Zala, and Barbara Skublics de Velike et Besenyő, née Ivánkovich de Köbölkút (1791–1835).Szluha Márton (2012) Vas vármegye nemes családjai II kötet. Heraldika kiadó. 523.o. The Emperor

Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

had refused to give permission for the

morganatic marriage 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 spou ...

. Nevertheless, the couple treated their union as a marriage and Laura was known as Baroness von Wallburg and their four children who were baptised with the surname 'von Wallburg'. But there was no granting of that title. * Laura von Wallburg (January 17, 1859, Vienna – after 1911) * Ernst Heinrich Karl von Wallburg (January 17, 1859, Vienna – February 16, 1920, Budapest), married with children * Heinrich von Wallburg (June 27, 1861, Vienna – February 2, 1888, Krems) * Clothilde von Wallburg (August 12, 1863, Laibach – July 1, 1953, Trieste); married After the death of the Archduke, the Wallburg children tried to claim part of the estate of the late Archduke in the courts. However, the case collapsed as the marriage certificated presented turned out to be a forgery. In 1908 Franz Joseph ordered that the baptismal records of the children be altered, and that the children be given the surname of their mother ''Skublics'' on the grounds that no marriage had ever taken place.

Orders and decorations

* : ** Knight of the

, ''1844'' ** Grand Cross of the Austrian Imperial

Order of Leopold Order of Leopold may refer to: * Order of Leopold (Austria), founded in 1808 by emperor Francis I of Austria and discontinued in 1918 * Order of Leopold (Belgium), founded in 1832 by king Leopold I of Belgium * Order of Leopold II, founded in Congo ...

, with War Decoration, ''1849'' ** Military Merit Cross, with War Decoration * : ** Knight of the Imperial Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle the First-called ** Knight of the Imperial

Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky The Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky was an order of chivalry of the Russian Empire first awarded on by Empress Catherine I of Russia. History The introduction of the Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky was envisioned by Emperor ...

** Knight of the Imperial Order of the White Eagle ** Knight of the Imperial

Order of Saint Anna The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, on 14 February 1735, in hono ...

, 1st Class *

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

: ** Knight of the

Order of the Black Eagle The Order of the Black Eagle () was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg (who became Friedrich I of Prussia, Friedrich I, King in Prussia, the ...

, ''4 June 1853'' ** Knight of the

Order of the Red Eagle The Order of the Red Eagle () was an order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was awarded to both military personnel and civilians, to recognize valor in combat, excellence in military leadership, long and faithful service to the kingdom, o ...

, 1st Class * : Knight of the

Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation The Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation () is a Catholic order of chivalry, originating in County of Savoy, Savoy. It eventually was the pinnacle of the Orders, decorations, and medals of Italy#The Kingdom of Italy, honours system in the ...

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

: Grand Cross of the Pontifical Equestrian

Order of Saint Gregory the Great The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great (; ) was established on 1 September 1831, by Pope Gregory XVI, seven months after his election as Pope. The order is one of the five orders of knighthood of the Holy See. The honor is b ...

Kingdom of Greece The Kingdom of Greece (, Romanization, romanized: ''Vasíleion tis Elládos'', pronounced ) was the Greece, Greek Nation state, nation-state established in 1832 and was the successor state to the First Hellenic Republic. It was internationally ...

: Grand Cross of the

Order of the Redeemer The Order of the Redeemer (), also known as the Order of the Saviour, is an order of merit of Greece. The Order of the Redeemer is the oldest and highest decoration awarded by the modern Greek state. Establishment The establishment of the Orde ...

* : Grand Cross of the

Order of Saint-Charles The Order of Saint Charles (; Monégasque: ''U̍rdine de San Carlu'') is a dynastic order of knighthood established in Monaco on 15 March 1858. Award This order rewards service to the State or Prince. In particular cases, it may be grante ...

Early life

Military career

Marriage and children

Orders and decorations

Ancestry

References

Further reading