William Albert, 1st Prince of Montenuovo (8 August 18197 April 1895) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

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 ...

and Field Marshal Lieutenant 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 ...

Early life

Count William Albert of Neipperg was born in 1819 at

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

Duchy of Parma The Duchy of Parma and Piacenza (, ) was an Italian state created in 1545 and located in northern Italy, in the current region of Emilia-Romagna. Originally a realm of the Farnese family after Pope Paul III made it a hereditary duchy for his s ...

. He was the son of

Adam Albert, Count of Neipperg Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam). According to Christianity, Adam sin ...

(1775–1829), illegitimately (prior to his marriage in 1821) by his second wife,

Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma Marie Louise (Maria Ludovica Leopoldina Franziska Theresia Josepha Lucia; 12 December 1791 – 17 December 1847) was Duchess of Parma from 11 April 1814 until her death in 1847. She was Napoleon's second wife and as such Empress of the French a ...

(1791–1847). She was the daughter of

Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor Francis II and I (; 12 February 1768 – 2 March 1835) was the last Holy Roman Emperor as Francis II from 1792 to 1806, and the first Emperor of Austria as Francis I from 1804 to 1835. He was also King of Hungary, List of rulers of Croatia, Croa ...

, and Princess Maria Teresa of Naples and Sicily. His mother Marie Louise was the second wife and

Empress consort A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king, and usually shares her spouse's social rank and status. She holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles and may be crowned and anointed, but historically she does not formally ...

Napoleon I 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 Military career ...

from 1810 to 1814. She subsequently reigned in her own right as

Duchess of Parma Consorts of Parma House of Farnese, 1545–1731 House of Bourbon-Anjou, 1731–1735 :None House of Habsburg, 1735–1748 House of Bourbon-Parma, 1748–1802 House of Habsburg, 1814–1847 House of Bourbon-Parma, 1847–1859 ...

from 1817 onward. After the death of her husband Napoleon I, who died on St. Helena in 1821, she married morganatically to

Adam Albert von Neipperg Adam Albert, Count von Neipperg (8 April 1775 – 22 February 1829) was an Austrian general and statesman. He was the son of a diplomat famous for inventing a letter-copying machine, and the grandson of Count Wilhelm Reinhard von Neipperg. H ...

. As a result, William Albert was the half-brother of

Napoleon II Napoleon II (Napoléon François Joseph Charles Bonaparte; 20 March 181122 July 1832) was the disputed Emperor of the French for a few weeks in 1815. He was the son of Emperor Napoleon I and Empress Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma, Marie Louise, d ...

Military career

In 1838, he joined the ranks of the Austrian army and took part in the counterinsurgency battles of 1848 in Italy and Hungary, earning in 1854 the title of Second

Lieutenant field marshal 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 1859, he took part in the disastrous

Battle of Magenta The Battle of Magenta was fought on 4 June 1859 near the town of Magenta in the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, a crown land of the Austrian Empire, during the Second Italian War of Independence. It resulted in a French-Sardinian victory under ...

, where the Austrian army was defeated by the Franco-Sardinian army. In 1860, he became commander of a regiment, and he was moved in 1866 to

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, he was promoted to General of Cavalry, remaining in office until 1878.

Prince of Montenuovo

On 20 July 1864, he was elevated to the status 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 ...

of Montenuovo in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, which is the

translation of Neipperg. The title was heritable by all legitimate male line descendants, but it became extinct with the death of 3rd Fürst Ferdinand Bonaventura of Montenuovo (1888-1951), who only had three daughters.http://w.genealogy.euweb.cz/austria/neipperg2.html

Marriage

William Albert married on 22 February 1851 in

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. ...

to Countess Juliana von Batthyány-Strattmann (10 June 1827 – 19 November 1871), youngest daughter of Count János Baptist von Batthyány-Strattmann (1784–1865) and his wife, Countess Marie Esterházy von Galántha (1791–1830). They had three children: *Princess Albertine of Montenuovo (Vienna, 30 June 1853 – Chroberz Castle, 13 November 1895); married in 1873 to

Marquis A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or wido ...

Zygmunt Wielopolski-Gonzaga-Myszkowski (1833-1902), had issue. * Alfred, 2nd Prince of Montenuovo (Vienna, 16 September 1854 – Vienna, 6 September 1927); married in 1879 to Countess Franziska Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau (1861–1935), had issue. They were grandparents of Countess Maria Drašković of Trakošćan, first wife of Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria, the Head of the

House of Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a former Bavarian dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including the Electorate of Bavaria, the Electoral Palatinate, the Electorate of Cologne, County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, ...

. *Princess Marie of Montenuovo (Vienna, 10 September 1859 – Vienna, 2 March 1911); married in 1878 to Count Antal Apponyi de Nagy-Appony (1852–1920), had issue.

Honours

Parma * Knight Grand Cross of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St. George * Commander Order of Merit under the title of St. Louis Austria *

Knight of the Golden Fleece This article contains a list of knights of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Burgundian Golden Fleece 15th century !Year of induction!!Name!!Born!!Died!!Notes , - , rowspan=25, 1430, , Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, , 1396, , 1467, , Founde ...

, ''1867'' * Knight of the Military Order of Maria Theresa, ''1848'' * Knight of the Imperial Order of Leopold, ''1849'' *Medal of War Other * Grand Cross of the Order of the Red Eagle, ''25 September 1877'' * Knight of the Order of St. Anna * Knight of the Order of Saint Stanislaus * Knight 3rd class of the Order of St. Vladimir * Knight of the Nichan Iftikhar * Knight of Honour and Devotion of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta

Ancestry

Notes and sources

*The Royal House of Stuart, London, 1969, 1971, 1976, Addington, A. C., Reference: 60 ; III 10 *Jaromir Shepherd Field: The Military Maria Theresia Order and its members, Vienna 1857, S.1672-1676 *P. Broucek: Montenuovo Wilhelm Albrecht Fürst von . P. Broucek: Monte Nuovo Wilhelm Albrecht Fürst von . In: Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). In: Austrian Biographical Dictionary 1815-1950 (ÖBL). Band 6, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien 1975, , S. 361 f. Volume 6, published by the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 1975, , p. 361 f. (Direktlinks auf S. 361, S. 362 ) (Direct-on p. 361, p. 362 ) *Montenuovo, Wilhelm Albrecht Fürst von . Monte Nuovo, Wilhelm Albrecht Fürst von . In Constantin von Wurzbach : Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich, 19. In Constantin von Wurzbach : Biographical Encyclopedia of the Empire of Austria, 19 Band, 1868 Band, 1868 *Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon, Sechste Auflage, 1904–1911 Meyers Big Conversation Dictionary, Sixth Edition, 1904–1911 {{DEFAULTSORT:William Albert 01, Prince of Montenuovo Princes in Italy Austrian lieutenant field marshals 1819 births 1895 deaths Nobility from Parma Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria Knights Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa Military personnel from Parma Sons of duchesses regnant