Princely and Noble Families of Hungary and Bohemia

[Mapple]

Originally Posted by Warren

Yes Princess Robijn, you are correct.
Using their Habsburg titles Princess Astrid's children are Archduke (Erzherzog) or Archduchess (Erzherzogen) of Austria-Este, Prince or Princess of Hungary and Bohemia, with the style of Imperial and Royal Highness.
Within the Habsburg territories Austria ranked first, Hungary second, and Bohemia third.

There was a movement in Bohemia to convert the Dual Monarchy into the Triple Monarchy, putting Bohemia on equal footing with Austria and Hungary. Emperor Franz Joseph and King Ferenc József was to be crowned as King František Josef at Prague... It did not come to pass, of course.

[Von Schlesian]

Originally Posted by tiaraprin

I am trying to find out my great-grandmother's maiden name and her mother's also. They may be the link.

Yes, there was a safe-guard created in our family in the 1940s, where (though the maternal family name had been changed in the 1890s), my Grandmother who was sent back to register the family with a records office in 1941, did so with false papers and information, thereby creating totally new identities for her parents (then interred in Australia), her maternal Grandparents, of the Silesian nobility, and paternal Grandparents, the Jewish owners of a chain of department stores through Europe.

[tiaraprin]

Originally Posted by Von Schlesian

Yes, there was a safe-guard created in our family in the 1940s, where (though the maternal family name had been changed in the 1890s), my Grandmother who was sent back to register the family with a records office in 1941, did so with false papers and information, thereby creating totally new identities for her parents (then interred in Australia), her maternal Grandparents, of the Silesian nobility, and paternal Grandparents, the Jewish owners of a chain of department stores through Europe.

That is so terrible that your Grandmother had to hide who she was.

I am often asked with my Slavic last name if it is abbreviated, or did they chop off the ending at Ellis Island. My last name was never altered upon arriving in America and has survived. It is quite rare among Slavic last names.

[Von Schlesian]

Originally Posted by tiaraprin

That is so terrible that your Grandmother had to hide who she was.

I am often asked with my Slavic last name if it is abbreviated, or did they chop off the ending at Ellis Island. My last name was never altered upon arriving in America and has survived. It is quite rare among Slavic last names.

Ahh well. I prefer having a Grandmother, who has hidden her past generations for their safety, than not have a Grandma at all..

[Australis]

Originally Posted by Von Schlesian

Ahh well. I prefer having a Grandmother, who has hidden her past generations for their safety, than not have a Grandma at all..

Agree!!! very sweet :)
Did she leave her old surname written down some where? I do not know perhaps on an old book, diary, notebook, old photos, notes, etc.

[Von Schlesian]

Originally Posted by Australis

Agree!!! very sweet :)
Did she leave her old surname written down some where? I do not know perhaps on an old book, diary, notebook, old photos, notes, etc.

There's an infamous 'small red suitcase', hidden under the sink of every house my Grandparents have ever lived in, which I'm assured will provide me with all the answers both both my Grandma, and Grandad's branch of the family.

Considering she was in a life-or-death situation from returning to Germany in 1941, until peace in 1945, I doubt she'd have left any trace of herself to be un-done by. She did however work as a maid for her uncle, who could protect her, in that he was Field Marshal Walter von Brauchitsch.

[Eva_39]

Does anyone have any information on the noble families who were in parts of Hungary that is now in Slovakia? I am interested in the nobility in Hungary (or Austria-Hungary) from the 18th century and 19th century.

[BeatrixFan]

Having just found out that a distant cousin of mine was Freidrich V of Bohemia, can anyone tell me a little bit more about him and what he did?

[Warren]

Here's the Wikipedia entry on Friedrich V, Elector Palatine and King of Bohemia.
Is there a family resemblance?

[BeatrixFan]

I sincerely hope not - lol. He's my cousin 26 times removed apparantly which is a very weak link but still, it's a link I suppose.

[HR Isogecnáltrebör]

As Hungary no longer (officially) have a raigning royal family, how are they organised or recognised? As there is no authoirty to say, who is a prince, princess, etc. How do they proove they're actually royal?

Do the Hungary's government recognise them in any capacity, either formally or informally? Are they given any priviligaes? Police escorts, Diplomatic immunity, diplomatic passports, etc?

Do any forigen govenments recognise them either formally or informally?

I have been trying to fined this out for years!!!

Isogecnáltrebör

[HR Isogecnáltrebör]

A Royalists party /monarchist group . I know of the Black & Yellow Alliance, but is there such a party in Hungary for Hungarians .

HH Robert L. von Isogecnáltrebör III

[katie-h]

Dear Isogecnáltrebör!

I can answer your questions, because I'am Hungarian.
Since 1921 we haven't got royal family. Our last king was Charles IV. (in Austria: Emperor Charles I.) from the Habsburg dynasty, so the heir of the Hungarian throne would be his son, Otto Habsburg, but he renounced all claims to the Austrian and Hungarian throne in 1961.
He is well-known in my country and everybody respect him (he don't have to prove that he is a royal, everybody knows it).
After the Hungarian Transition in 1989, Hungarian politicians wanted to elect him as president of the Hungarian Republic, but he refused it.
His second son, George and his family still live in Hungary, in Sóskút near Budapest.
You can read about him here: Otto von Habsburg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[NotAPretender]

I'm going to be delving into the Hungarian side of my family in 2009 and will post anything related to the Princely and Noble Families of Hungary here if it is of interest. While I highly doubt I am related to any such families, I do know that my family there had a certain amount of wealth, being the owners of numerous rope factories in the southeast plains.

None are left there, however; the only branches of my family to survive the second world war were those that had emigrated to the US, between 1879 and 1914. The family that remained were wiped out in 1945, it is believed by the White Arrow.

We've traced another branch of my family to Lincolnshire in the UK, to the 1720's. I can't imagine a need to go back further than that.

[MAfan]

I'm interested in finding informations about the Comital Family von Ledebur-Wicheln.
I know that in the last century several members of this family married into the highest german-austrian Nobility: the three sisters Henriette, Karoline and Marie were married respectively to Count Ferdinand Kinsky von Wchnitz und Tettau (and were the parents of Princess Marie Aglae v.u.z. Liechtenstein), to Prince Johannes v.u.z. Liechtenstein and to Count Joseph Hubert von Neipperg; Count Mario married Princess Maria Valerie von Altenburg (daughter of the former Archduke Clemens Salvator of Austria-Tuscany, himself the son of Archdukes Franz Salvator and Marie Valerie), and Count Bernhard married Sophie von Waldstein-Wartenberg (a doughter of Archduchess Josepha of Austria-Tuscany, a cousin of Marie Valerie).
Does someone know where can I find a genealogy of this family?

[amedea]

a good source is thepeerage.com as well as geneall.com

[MAfan]

I've found an article in German about Fürstin Melinda Esterhazy, who turns 90 today.
Can anyone enlighten me on the containts of this article?

[Warren]

Personal posts have been moved to the Help with Family Histories thread in Members' Corner.

[MAfan]

Esterházy

HSH Fürstin Melinda Esterházy de Galántha, née Ottrubay, passed away in Eisenstadt (Austria) on 28 August 2014, aged 94.

Melinda Ottrubay was born in Budapest on 24 May 1920, by Dezso Ottrubay and his wife, née Rosa von Schmidt. A talented ballet dancer, aged 24 she became the Prima Ballerina Assoluta of the Opera Teather in Budapest.

Two years later, in 1946, she married to Fürst Paul V Esterházy de Galántha (1901-1989), the head of one of the most illustrious Hungarian noble houses.

After the end of World War II, the new Hungarian communist government confiscated most of the family lands and Prince Paul was sentenced to solitary confinement for 15 years. He was freed in 1956 and left Hungary for Switzerland with his wife Melinda.

The couple settled in Zurich, from where they managed the remains of the family fortune (mainly located in Austria). The Prince died there in 1989.

Since he didn't left children, his heir was his widow Melinda. Fürstin Melinda has since then created several foundations, with the aim of preserving the cultural heritage of the House of Esterházy, and opened as museums many of the family residences.

Fürstin Melinda Esterházy verstirbt Mittwochnacht im Kreis ihrer Familie ‹ Esterházy.at

Schloss Eisenstadt (or Esterházy), Eisenstadt, Austria
In the Esterházy family since 1622

[Duc_et_Pair]

What a remarkable story and what an eventful life. The House Esterházy was lucky to have had a Fürstin with so much dedication, zest, commitment and loyalty. Rest in Peace, Fürstin Melinda Esterházy von Galantha.