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Princess Maria Theresia of Thurn and Taxis (1794–1874)

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For other people called Princess Maria Theresia of Thurn and Taxis, see Princess Maria Theresia of Thurn and Taxis (disambiguation).
Princess Maria Theresia
Princess Esterházy of Galántha
Princess Esterházy of Galántha
Tenure15 November 1833 – 21 May 1866
Born(1794-07-06)6 July 1794
Regensburg, Holy Roman Empire
Died18 August 1874(1874-08-18) (aged 80)
Hütteldorf, Penzing, Vienna
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1812; died 1866)​
IssuePrincess Maria Theresia
Princess Theresia Rosa
Nikolaus III, Prince Esterházy
Names
German: Maria Theresia
HouseThurn and Taxis
FatherKarl Alexander, 5th Prince of Thurn and Taxis
MotherDuchess Therese of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

Princess Maria Theresia of Thurn and Taxis, (full German name: Maria Theresia, Prinzessin von Thurn und Taxis, 6 July 1794 in Regensburg, Free Imperial City of Regensburg, Holy Roman Empire – 18 August 1874 in Hütteldorf, Penzing, Vienna, Austria-Hungary) was a member of the House of Thurn and Taxis and a Princess of Thurn and Taxis by birth and a member of the House of Esterházy and Princess Esterházy of Galántha from 25 November 1833 to 21 May 1866 through her marriage to Paul III Anthony, 8th Prince Esterházy of Galántha.

Family

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Maria Theresia was the third child and second daughter of Karl Alexander, 5th Prince of Thurn and Taxis and his wife Duchess Therese of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. She was an elder sister of Maximilian Karl, 6th Prince of Thurn and Taxis.

Marriage, diplomatic work, and issue

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Maria Theresia married Prince Paul Anthony Esterházy of Galántha,[1] eldest child and son of Nicholas II, 7th Prince Esterházy of Galántha and his wife Princess Maria Josepha of Liechtenstein, on 18 June 1812 in Regensburg, Kingdom of Bavaria.[2] Maria Theresia and Paul Anthony had three children:

Esterházy was a popular diplomat and Maria Theresia became admired by his contemporaries, especially during the Congress of Vienna of 1814-5.[4] She and her mother-in-law, Princess Maria Esterházy, collaborated to host a bal d'enfants or children's ball, which was attended by major aristocratic and diplomatic families.[5]

During his long tenure as Austrian Ambassador to the United Kingdom (1815-1842), she became a leader of fashionable society. In 1839, she was one of the notable dignitaries who participated in the Eglinton Tournament reenactment, along with Georgiana Seymour, Duchess of Somerset.[6]

Princess Esterházy was invited to become one of the patronesses of Almack's, the centre of London social life: the patronesses had the final say as to who was and who was not socially acceptable.[7] Due to her youth she was described as "a nice child" though Dorothea Lieven criticised her as an attention seeker.[7]

Ancestry

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References

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Citations

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  1. ^ Beghin 2015, p. 144; Koeppe 2010, p. 88; Way 2016, p. 49.
  2. ^ Public Characters of All Nations: Consisting of Biographical Accounts of Nearly Three Thousand Eminent Contemporaries, Alphabetically Arranged. Sir Richard Phillips & Company. 1823.
  3. ^ Austria and the Austrians. Henry Colburn. 1837.
  4. ^ Vick, Brian E. (2014-10-13). The Congress of Vienna: Power and Politics after Napoleon. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-74548-3.
  5. ^ Beghin, Tom (2024-05-31). The Virtual Haydn: Paradox of a Twenty-First-Century Keyboardist. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-19535-3.
  6. ^ "Gothic Revival & The Eglinton Tournament". Future Museum. Retrieved 2025-10-13.
  7. ^ a b Hern, Candice (17 July 2011). "The Patronesses of Almack's: The Arbiters of London Respectability". Jane Austen Centre. Retrieved 2025-10-13.

Bibliography

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