Heirs to the Austrian Throne and House Rules

[Marc23]

Originally Posted by MAfan

No, despite his wife Francesca is merely the daughter of a baron their marriage has been authorized by Archduke Otto and it is considered as equal.

True,strange,but Francesca is noble from both sides of her family...Francesca has descended from Habsburg family through her mother Fiona Frances Elaine Cambell-Walter...in fact from Emperor Rudolf I!

From her father's side she has also descended from many great families such as Esterhazy,Zichy,Bethlen...

Of course,it may not be the reason for treated equal,but still could prove noble ancestry for many generations from both sides of her family!

[Cory]

Francesca has the same rank by birth as Sophia Chotek had.

[MAfan]

I'd say that Sophie's rank was higher than Francesca's rank, being the former a Countess and the latter a Baroness; but they married in very different times, ruled by deeply different mores, and most of all Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the heir to an actual Empire while Karl (for better or worse) was barely the heir to the headship of the former Imperial Family. That's why Sophie and Franz Ferdinand's marriage was morganatic and Francesca and Karl's was and is regarded as equal.

[branchg]

Francesca is not royal or noble.....everyone knows that. Otto dispensed with the House Laws because the monarchy is long over and he believed in a modern democratic society.