Archduke Rudolf of Austria (5 September 1919 – 15 May 2010) was the sixth child and youngest son of Emperor

Charles I of Austria Charles I (, ; 17 August 1887 – 1 April 1922) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary (as Charles IV), and the ruler of the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from November 1916 until the monarchy was abolished in November 1918. He was the ...

and

Zita of Bourbon-Parma Zita of Bourbon-Parma (Zita Maria delle Grazie Adelgonda Micaela Raffaela Gabriella Giuseppina Antonia Luisa Agnese; 9 May 1892 – 14 March 1989) was the wife of Charles I, the last monarch of Austria-Hungary. She was also the last Empress o ...

Early life

He was born in Prangins, Switzerland, where the former Austrian Imperial family were staying after they had been sent into exile. He was named after

Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria Rudolf IV (1 November 1339 – 27 July 1365), also called Rudolf the Founder (), was a scion of the House of Habsburg who ruled as duke of Austria (self-proclaimed archduke), Styria and Carinthia from 1358, as well as count of Tyrol from 136 ...

. Educated with his siblings first in Spain, in Belgium and at the Université Laval in Quebec City, but Rudolf was expelled in 1946 once his membership in the formerly imperial

House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful Dynasty, dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout ...

was exposed due to rumors of him and his brother being part of

Austrian resistance The Austrian resistance was launched in response to the rise of the fascists across Europe and, more specifically, to the Anschluss in 1938 and resulting occupation of Austria by Germany. An estimated 100,000 people were reported to have parti ...

.de Badts de Cugnac, Chantal. Coutant de Saisseval, Guy. ''Le Petit Gotha''. Nouvelle Imprimerie Laballery, Paris 2002, p. 172-174, 196-198 (French) After the war he travelled to the United States, Canada and the

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (, ; ) was a Belgian colonial empire, Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960 and became the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville). The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Repu ...

. Rudolf worked as a

Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...

junior executive and a bank director.''Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser'' XV. "Haus Österreich". C.A. Starke Verlag, 2001, pp. 87, 97. (German) .

First marriage

Rudolf was married by Archbishop

Fulton Sheen Fulton John Sheen (born Peter John Sheen; May 8, 1895 – December 9, 1979) was an Catholic Church in the United States, American Catholic prelate who served as Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester, Bishop of Rochester from 1966 to 1969. He was ...

to Countess Xenia Czernichev-Besobrasov the daughter of Count Sergei Aleksandrovich Chernyshyev-Besobrasov and his wife, Countess Elizabeta Dmitrievna

Sheremetev The House of Sheremetev () was one of the wealthiest and most influential Russian noble families, descending from Feodor Koshka. History The family held many high commanding ranks in the Russian military, governorships and eventually the ra ...

a, on 22 June 1953 at

Tuxedo Park, New York Tuxedo Park is a village in Orange County, New York, United States. Its population was 645 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Kiryas Joel–Poughkeepsie–Newburgh metropolitan area as well as the larger New York metropolitan area. Its name ...

. They had four children. Xenia was killed in a car crash on 20 September 1968, in which Rudolf was also seriously injured. *

Maria-Anna Galitzine Maria-Anna Galitzine (''Maria-Anna Charlotte Zita Elisabeth Regina Therese''; born 19 May 1954), also known as Archduchess Maria-Anna of Austria and Princess Maria-Anna Galitzine, is a Belgian traditionalist Catholic activist and member of the ...

(b. 1954) married Prince Peter

Galitzine Galitzine is an alternative romanization of Golitsyn, a surname chiefly associated with members of the House of Golitsyn of Lithuanian-Russian origin. Notable people with the surname include: House of Golitsyn * Alexandra Pavlovna Galitzine ...

(b. 1955); on 24 November 1981. They have six children. *Karl Peter von Habsburg (5 November 1955) married Princess Alexandra Elisabeth von

Wrede The House of Wrede is the name two different noble families, the German princely one, originating in Bavaria and a more ancient one, Finnish-Swede ''von Wrede'' family, also of German descent, originating in Westphalia, whose members held the ...

(12 May 1970), niece of his stepmother Anna-Gabriele. They have two children. * Simeon von Habsburg (29 June 1958) married

Princess María of Bourbon-Two Sicilies Princess is a title used by a female member of a regnant monarch's family or by a female ruler of a principality. The male equivalent is a prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for t ...

(b. 1967) on 13 July 1996. They have five children.de Badts de Cugnac, Chantal. Coutant de Saisseval, Guy. ''Le Petit Gotha''. Nouvelle Imprimerie Laballery, Paris 2002 (French) ''Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser'' XV. "Spanien". C.A. Starke Verlag, 1997, pp. 104-105. (German) . *Johannes Karl von Habsburg (11 December 1962 – 29 June 1975)

Second marriage

Rudolf was married secondly to Princess Anna Gabriele von

(11 September 1940), daughter of

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

Carl Josef Maria von Wrede (1899-1945) and his wife, Countess Sophie Schaffgotsch-Semperfrei von und zu Kynast und Greiffenstein (1916-2008) on 15 October 1971 in

Ellingen Ellingen is a town in the Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen district, in Bavaria, Germany. History It was first mentioned in 899. Between 1216 and 1806, it served as the capital of the Franconian branch of the Teutonic Order, and at least for some years ...

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

. They have one daughter: * Catharina-Maria Johanna Zita Sophie Kaspara of Habsburg (14 September 1972) married Massimiliano Secco d'Aragona (b. 1967) on 9 December 1998. They have three sons.https://www.genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00014665&tree=LEO

Death

Rudolph died on 15 May 2010. He was survived by two older brothers;

Otto Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants '' Audo'', '' Odo'', '' Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fr ...

and Felix.

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rudolf Of Austria, Archduke 1919 births 2010 deaths House of Habsburg-Lorraine Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria Austrian princes Swiss emigrants to Belgium Sons of emperors Children of Charles I of Austria Sons of kings Exiled royalty