Richard Klemens Josef Lothar Hermann, 2nd Prince of Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein (

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 ...

: ''Richard Klemens, Fürst von Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein''; 7 January 1829 – 1 March 1895), usually known as Richard von Metternich, was an Austrian

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

and the eldest surviving son of the diplomat Klemens, Prince of Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein.

Early life

Richard Metternich was born into the

House of Metternich The House of Metternich was an old German nobility, German noble family originating in the Rhineland. The most prominent member was Prince Klemens von Metternich, who was the dominant figure at the Congress of Vienna (1814–1815). As a former re ...

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

on 7 January 1829. He was the eldest surviving son of

Klemens von Metternich Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar, Prince of Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein ( ; 15 May 1773 – 11 June 1859), known as Klemens von Metternich () or Prince Metternich, was a German statesman and diplomat in the service of the Austrian Empire. ...

and his second wife, Baroness Maria Antonia von Leykam (15 August 1806 – 17 January 1829). His mother died 10 days after the birth of his son. His father, who was previously married to Countess Eleonore von Kaunitz, had served as

Foreign Minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

and

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

. His paternal grandparents were Franz George Karl Count Metternich- Winneburg zu Beilstein, a diplomat who served the

Archbishopric of Trier The Diocese of Trier (), in English historically also known as ''Treves'' () from French ''Trèves'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic church in Germany.diplomacy Diplomacy is the communication by representatives of State (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, non-governmental institutions intended to influence events in the international syste ...

, joining the

embassy A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a Sovereign state, state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase ...

to the

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as a ''Legationssekretär'' (essentially a junior diplomat on a probation period). The next year, he was named Austria's

Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under the ...

to the

Kingdom of Saxony The Kingdom of Saxony () was a German monarchy in Central Europe between 1806 and 1918, the successor of the Electorate of Saxony. It joined the Confederation of the Rhine after the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, later joining the German ...

and took up his post in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

. In 1861, Emperor Franz Joseph I issued his

February Patent The February Patent was a constitution of the Austrian Empire promulgated in the form of letters patent on 26 February 1861. Background In the Austrian Empire, the early 1860s were a period of significant constitutional reforms. The revolutions ...

and the follow-up

October Diploma The October Diploma was a constitution of the Austrian Empire adopted by Habsburg Emperor Franz Joseph on 20 October 1860. The Diploma was written by the Minister of Interior, Agenor Gołuchowski. It attempted to increase the power of the conserva ...

, thus creating the new Austrian Reichsrat. Metternich became an hereditary member of the Herrenhaus, the upper house of the new Reichsrat. From 1859 to 1870, Metternich served as

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

of the Austrian Empire (after 1867, of

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 ...

) to the

court A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...

Napoleon III of France Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led a series of m ...

. During this period, his wife played a prominent role in Parisian society. Metternich attempted to convince France to intervene on behalf of Austria during the

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War (German: ''Preußisch-Österreichischer Krieg''), also known by many other names,Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Second War of Unification, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), ''Deutsc ...

, but he was unsuccessful in this attempt. In 1857, while serving at the Imperial court, Metternich received the highest mark in the celebrated dictée de Mérimée. In retirement, he edited and arranged for the publication of his father's

memoirs A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobio ...

Personal life

In 1856, he was married to his half-niece, Pauline Sándor de Szlavnicza. She was the daughter of his half-sister, Princess Leontine von Metternich (from his father's first wife) and Count Moritz Sándor de Szlavnicza. His wife was thereafter commonly known as Princess Pauline von Metternich. Together, Richard and Pauline had three children: * Princess Sophie von Metternich-Winneburg (1857–1941), married on 24 April 1878 Albrecht Fst zu Oettingen-Oettingen und Oettingen-Spielberg (d. 1916). Her grandson, Franz Albrecht, Duke of Ratibor u. Corvey (1920–2009), was adopted in 1926/7 by her sister, Klementina, and took the additional surname "Metternich-Sándor" * Princess Antoinette Pascalina von Metternich-Sándor Winneburg (1862–1890) * Princess Klementina Marie von Metternich-Sándor Winneburg (1870–1963) He died on 1 March 1895. Since his marriage produced three daughters, after his death, the princely title of

Fürst ' (, female form ', plural '; from Old High German ', "the first", a translation of the Latin ') is a German language, German word for a ruler as well as a princely title. ' were, starting in the Middle Ages, members of the highest nobility who ...

passed to his half-brother, Paul von Metternich.

Works

During the early 1880s, Metternich edited and published the memoirs of his father, Prince

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Metternich, Richard Von 1829 births 1895 deaths Politicians from Vienna Austrian princes Ambassadors of the Austrian Empire Ambassadors of Austria-Hungary House of Metternich Ambassadors of Austria-Hungary to France Members of the House of Lords (Austria) Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary