Friedrich Franz von Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst
| Friedrich Franz | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friedrich Franz von Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst | |||||
| Born | 15 February 1879 Budapest, Hungary | ||||
| Died | 24 May 1958 (aged 79) Curitiba, Brasil | ||||
| Spouse | Princess Stephanie von Hohenlohe | ||||
| Issue | Franz Josef Rudolf Hans Weriand Max Stefan Anton von Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst | ||||
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| House | House of Hohenlohe | ||||
| Father | Chlodwig Karl von Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst | ||||
| Mother | Maria Franziska Esterházy von Galántha | ||||
Friedrich Franz von Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst[1] full German name: Friedrich Franz Augustin Maria Prinz zu Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst[1] (15 February 1879, Budapest, Hungary [1] – 24 May 1958, Curitiba, Brasil) was the son of Chlodwig Karl Joseph Maria Prinz zu Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst and Maria Franziska Anna Theresia Hedwig Gräfin Esterházy von Galántha.[1]
Life, marriage and scandal
He was Prince Friedrich Franz von Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst, who was military attache at the Austro-Hungarian Embassy in Saint Petersburg, then the Russian capital. According to Princess Stephanie’s MI5 file, during the First World War Prince Friedrich became involved in the murky business of spying as chief of German propaganda and director of German espionage in Switzerland. The courtship was swift and harmonious, but the betrothal was far from straightforward because Stephanie, then 23 although she passed herself off as only 17, was pregnant, and not by her prince. The royal family could not risk a scandal, but because of the impending birth the marriage could not be long delayed. So instead of a prominent show wedding in Vienna, which would normally have been the case, it was decided to arrange a quiet, almost covert marriage ceremony far away in London. Why was Prince Friedrich willing to go through with this arrangement?
The answer was that by now Stephanie was reasonably well off. She had sufficient money to settle his not inconsiderable gambling debts, with more to spare to maintain a realistic lifestyle. And there was strong pressure in the royal family for the wedding to take place to avoid causing a public scandal. Naturally, the fatherhood of the baby was a close-kept secret.
The wedding was held with a minimum of publicity and fuss on 12 May 1914 in Westminster Cathedral, London’s Catholic cathedral. The required residence was fulfilled by a brief stay at the Ritz. As a marriage of convenience, it was not the kind of royal wedding one might have expected. On 5 December 1914, Princess Stephanie's son Prince Franz Josef von Hohenlohe was born in Vienna. His full name was Franz Josef Rudolf Hans Weriand Max Stefan Anton von Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst (he bore the surname of his mother's husband, although the latter was not his father). Stephanie and went back to Vienna for training.
Meanwhile, her husband had joined his regiment. Using her contacts, she arranged to be posted to the Russian front where she worked in a field hospital at Lemberg, which had just been recaptured from the Russians. Two years after the end of the First World War, the shot-gun marriage ended. On 20 July 1920 Prince Friedrich divorce was formalised in Budapest. Ex-Wife Prince Friedrich, Over the years, Stephanie, let herself, apparently, to be known in society as a Hohenlohe Princess, spending time in Paris, France and in various parts of Europe developing friendships and intimate relationships with a number of powerful and influential men as Irish- British tycoon of influential newspapers, Associated Newspapers Ltd, Harold Sidney Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere, (1868–1940), or leading Nazi diplomat, Joachim von Ribbentrop. Princess Stephanie von Hohenlohe died in Geneva, Switzerland in 1972 and is buried there.
Family and death
Friedrich Franz Augustin Maria Prinz zu Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst usually went by his middle name of Franz.[1] He had four siblings, two brothers and two sisters. His elder brother Nikolaus Moritz Aloys Hubertus Maria zu Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst (1877–1948) was the head of the family. Prince Friedrich died in Curitiba, Brasil on 24 May 1958.
References
- ^ a b c d e Darryl Lundy (2 Feb 2009). "Friedrich Franz Augustin Maria Prinz zu Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst". thePeerage.com. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
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Bibliography
- Jim Wilson: Nazi Princess. Hitler, Lord Rothermere and Princess Stephanie von Hohenlohe , The History Press 2011, ISBN 0752461141
- Hitler's Spy Princess: The Extraordinary Life of Princess Stephanie Von Hohenlohe by Martha Schad (translated by Angus McGeoch). Haynes. 2004. ISBN 978-0-7509-3514-2 (also published in German as Hitlers Spionin: das Leben der Stephanie von Hohenlohe)