Alfred III, Prince of Windisch-Grätz

Alfred III, Prince of Windisch-Grätz (German: Alfred August Karl Maria Wolfgang Erwin Fürst zu Windisch-Grätz; 31 October 1851, Prague – 23 November 1927, Tachov) was a Bohemian and Austrian nobleman, an Austro-Hungarian statesman who served as 11th Minister-President of Austria between 1893 and 1895, replacing Eduard Taaffe, 11th Viscount Taaffe, who previously held this position for 14 straight years.

Durchlaucht Alfred August, Fürst zu Windischgraetz
Prince Alfred August of Windischgraetz in 1893
Minister-President of Austria
In office 11 November 1893 – 19 June 1895
Monarch	Francis Joseph I
Preceded by	Eduard von Taaffe
Succeeded by	Erich von Kielmansegg
Personal details
Born	(1851-10-31)31 October 1851 Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia, Austrian Empire
Died	23 November 1927(1927-11-23) (aged 76) Tachov, Bohemia, Czechoslovakia
Spouse	Princess Gabrielle von Auersperg
Children	Princess Maria Hedwig of Windisch-Grätz Prince Alfred Ludwig of Windisch-Grätz Princess Christine of Windisch-Grätz Prince Vincenz Alfred of Windisch-Grätz Princess Agnes Mathilde of Windisch-Grätz Princess Wilhelmine of Windisch-Grätz Princess Maria Aglaë of Windisch-Grätz
Parent(s)	Alfred II, Prince of Windisch-Grätz Princess Hedwig of Lobkowicz

Early life and ancestry

Born into an old House of Windisch-Grätz, one of the most prominent Austrian noble families, he was the only child of Alfred II, Prince of Windisch-Grätz (1819-1876), Lieutenant field marshal in the Imperial Austrian Army, and his wife, Princess Hedwig of Lobkowicz (1829-1852), the eldest daughter of Prince August Longin Josef of Lobkowicz (1797-1848), Governor of Lombardy, and his wife, Princess Bertha of Schwarzenberg (1807-1883).^[1]

Biography

Tachov palace in Tachov, residence of the Windisch-Graetz family from 1802 until 1939

His family owned large estates in the Western Bohemia, German-populated area near the border with Germany. Alfred and his family resided in Tachov palace, Plzeň Region, which stayed in their possession until the beginning of WWII in 1939. His grandfather, Alfred I, Prince of Windisch-Grätz had begun to transform an old Tachov castle into a town palace, but his plans remained partly unfulfilled. Alfred III served as the 11th Minister-President of Austria and was President of the Imperial Council from 1895 to 1918. He was also Hereditary Master of the Horse in the Duchy of Styria and Standesherr in the Kingdom of Württemberg.

Personal life

He was married to Princess Marie Gabrielle Eleonore von Auersperg (1855-1933), the eldest daughter of Prince Vincenz Karl Joseph Gabriel Heinrich von Auersperg (1813-67) and his wife, Countess Wilhemine Josephine von Colloredo-Mannsfeld (1826-1898). Together, they had seven children, two sons and five daughters:

• Hereditary Prince Alfred Ludwig of Windisch-Grätz (1879-1880); died as a baby
• Hereditary Prince Vincenz Alfred Wilhelm Maria Gabriel of Windisch-Grätz (1882-1913); never married
• Princess Maria Hedwig Anna Bertha Wilhelmine Christiane Elisabeth Rositta of Windisch-Grätz (1878-1918); who married an Austrian ambassador to St. Petersburg, Count Frigyes Szapáry de Szapár, Muraszombat et Széchy-Sziget at the outbreak of World War I. They were maternal grandparents of Princess Michael of Kent (formerly Baroness Marie Christine von Reibnitz).
• Princess Christiane Maria Wilhelmine Eleonore Gabriele Juliana Aloysia of Windisch-Grätz (1881-1895); died as a teenager
• Princess Agnes Mathilde Maria Bertha Eleonore Valentine Juliana of Windisch-Grätz (1884-1969); married Count Adolf Maria von Thun und Hohenstein (1880-1957)
• Princess Wilhelmine of Windisch-Grätz (1885-1886); died as a baby
• Princess Maria-Aglaë Christiane Hedwig Gabriele Wilhelmine Hygina Ernestine of Windisch-Grätz (1887-1961); married Count Karl Apponyi de Nagy-Appony (1878-1959) ^[2]

Honours

• Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece, 1884^[3]
• Grand Cross of the Order of St. Stephen, 1895^[3]

Ancestry

Ancestors of Alfred III, Prince of Windisch-Grätz

16. Count Leopold Karl of Windisch-Grätz 8. Count Joseph Niclas of Windisch-Grätz 17. Countess Maria Antonia of Khevenhüller 4. Alfred I, Prince of Windisch-Grätz 18. Charles Marie Raymond, 5th Duke of Arenberg 9. Princess and Duchess Leopoldine of Arenberg 19. Countess Louise Marguerite de La Marck et de Schleiden 2. Alfred II, Prince of Windisch-Grätz 20. Johann Joseph, 5th Prince of Schwarzenberg(= 28.) 10. Joseph Johann, 6th Prince of Schwarzenberg (= 14.) 21. Countess Maria Eleonore of Oettingen-Wallerstein (= 29.) 5. Princess Eleonore of Schwarzenberg 22. Louis Engelbert, 6th Duke of Arenberg (= 30.) 11. Princesse and Duchess Pauline of Arenberg (= 15.) 23. Louise Antoinette de Brancas-Villars, Countess of Lauragais (= 31.) 1. Alfred III, Prince of Windisch-Grätz 24. Prince August Anton of Lobkowicz 12. Prince Anton Isidor of Lobkowicz 25. Countess Maria Ludmilla Czernin of Chudenitz 6. Prince August Longin of Lobkowicz 26. Joseph, 4th Prince Kinsky of Wchynitz and Tettau 13. Countess Maria Sidonia Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau 27. Countess Rosa Harrach-Rohrau of Thannhausen 3. Princess Hedwig of Lobkowicz 28. Johann Joseph, 5th Prince of Schwarzenberg (= 20.) 14. Joseph Johann, 6th Prince of Schwarzenberg (= 10.) 29. Countess Maria Eleonore of Oettingen-Wallerstein (= 21.) 7. Princessin Bertha of Schwarzenberg 30. Louis Engelbert, 6th Duke of Arenberg (= 22.) 15. Princesse and Duchess Pauline of Arenberg (= 11.) 31. Louise Antoinette de Brancas-Villars, Countess of Lauragais (= 23.)

See also

• Windisch-Graetz
• First Grammar School, Celje
• Portrait

References

1. "Lobkowicz 6".
2. "Windisch-Graetz 4".
3. "Ritter-Orden", Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie, 1918, pp. 50, 53, retrieved 2 November 2019

External links

• Otto^{[permanent dead link]} (in Czech)