After the ceremony, a gala lunch was given with 60 people in attendance. [44], In the autumn of 1881, Stphanie thought she was pregnant, but it was a false alarm. She disinherited her daughter, who had divorced Prince Otto of Windisch-Graetz to live with Leopold Petznek, a Social Democratic deputy from Lower Austria, and bequeathed all of her real estate to the order of the Benedictines. (Credit: DeAgostini/Getty Images). In 1867, Hungary became an equal partner in the Austro-Hungarian empire. The escape from Austria was less dramatic than the musical suggests involving far less Nazi chases, music festivals, and nuns ripping out car parts. But you may have wondered, Was there a real Baroness Schraeder, and if so, what wasshe like?. Maria sought advice from the convent from which she was due to re-enter in just a matter of days and the conclusion was reached that she would be better served marrying the Captain and acting as mother to his children. Pannonhalma Archabbey. See Photos. One thing I always found interesting was the 11 year time shift, and I wonder if it had anything to do with the Captains World War 1 stint in the Austrian navy, where he was torpedoing Allied ships with U-boats. [15] Louise and Stphanie had to dust their room themselves. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); You can support me and join me for historical tidbits and other behind the scene facts at my Patreon. She photographed celebrities from Maria Callas to Gianni Agnelli to Luciano Pavarotti and published travel reports. [34] In The Story of the Trapp Family Singers (1949), Maria von Trapp pointed out that there was a high incidence of lung cancer among World War I U-Boat crews, due to the diesel and gasoline fumes and poor ventilation, and that his death could be considered service-related. Franz Joseph was crowned King of Hungary and Sisi became queen. The Nazis are waiting for them! The reaction of Rudolf's parents was mixed while Empress Elisabeth was deeply disappointed with the match as the Belgian monarchy dated only from 1830 and did not compare to the Habsburgs in terms of seniority, even though its royal house was a branch of the House of Wettin (one of the oldest ruling houses in Europe), Emperor Franz Joseph I was pleased. She wished to go to her parents in Brussels, but neither Leopold II nor Franz Joseph I would allow Stephanie, who had become a Dowager Crown Princess, to abandon Austria. Web princess yvonne was cool, almost to the point of coldness. However, regardless of how the story played out, the Captain did not return home and whisk Maria off her feet. [8], In 1900, he was assigned to the protected cruiser SMSZenta and was decorated for his performance during the Boxer Rebellion, in which he participated in the assault on the Taku Forts. Fritz Mayr-Melnhof and Teresa Sayn-Wittgenstein at Glanneg during Christmas photo, 1956. VIENNA, Dec. 10. The British government rejected Whitehead's invention, but Austrian Emperor Franz Josef invited him to open a torpedo factory in Fiume. [54], Rudolf pursued other connections, in particular with the 17-year-old Baroness Marie Vetsera from around April 1888. The family was musically inclined before Maria arrived, but she did teach them to sing madrigals. The following 183 pages are in this category, out of 183 total. [30][31] Around 1936, Lotte Lehmann heard the family sing, and she suggested they perform paid concerts. A few things stood in the way of her permanency there, however. Georg Ludwig Ritter von Trapp was born in Zara, Dalmatia, then a Crown Land of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (present-day Zadar, Croatia). To do this, she chose to collaborate with Egon Corti, a biographer recognized in particular for his work on the historical figures of the House of Habsburg. They met the latter in Spain, and then in Belgium where Ferdinand had been exiled since 1930. Gradually, they withdrew to their estate where they led a more secluded existence, punctuated by religious exercises. The names of the Trapp children were changed for the musical, along with their ages. [37] Her mother-in-law, Empress Elisabeth, nicknamed her "the hideous dromedary";[38] however, Stephanie began to enjoy her new position. In return, the Benedictines were responsible for meeting all the debts of the Lnyays and managing their estates. During this time, they went back to Salzburg for a few months before returning to Sweden to finish the tour. Stphanie and Elemr were forced to take refuge in a few rooms because the occupants had appropriated most of the castle. Three months later, on 23 August 1945, Stephanie died there of a stroke, aged 81. The young descendant of the last Austrian emperor lost her life to an aneurysm in her heart.. The territory of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was divided among seven countries, with the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes keeping most of the seacoast. Stphanie was the third child of the Duke (future King Leopold II) and Duchess of Brabant (born Archduchess Marie Henriette of Austria), an unhappy and mismatched couple. [5], At the beginning of 1871, epidemics of typhus and smallpox raged in Brussels. The bank failed, wiping out most of the family's substantial fortune.[9]. In this 1955 photograph, thirteen-year-old Princess Yvonne of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn in Germany is shown tipping back a bottle of Dry Sack sherry as her twelve-year-old brother Prince Alexander sits calmly by, his cigarette nearly finished. They were allowed to play, they didnt wear uniforms, and their idea of outdoor activity wasnt limited to marching. Concerned that her sudden removal might stir the Captains affections for her, Princess Yvonne convinced Maria to stay at least until the wedding and the start of the school term. Her new husband, for his part, had an annual income of 50,000 guilders. As the New York Times noted, Stphanie "invented a new chafing dish and spirit lamp combined, and [took] out patents in England, France, Germany, Italy, and Belgium". The real Georg von Trapp encouraged his children in all things and was in no way distant from them. Stephanie and Louise had lunch and dinner with their parents after their governess reported their behavior to the Queen. Rudolf began to lose control of himself: suffering from deep fits of melancholy and mania he spoke in front of whoever wanted to hear him the presentiment of his imminent death. Knowing that refusal will put the entire family in danger, they resolve to escape to Switzerland and the safety of neutrality. Yet despite her somber demeanor Sisi captivated the public, thanks to her stunning beauty and ankle-length chestnut hair. It was she who, at the request of her mother-in-law, now accompanied the Emperor and the Crown Prince on official trips and who received foreign sovereigns visiting the court. However, King Leopold II was still so furious with his daughter's unequal marriage that he forbade Stphanie to attend the funeral service,[69] and she was finally forced a few days later to return to London. Between April 1917 and October 1917, U-14 sank 11 Allied merchant ships under Trapp's command. Maria came to the von Trapp family in 1926 as a tutor for one of the children, Maria, who was recovering from scarlet fever, not as governess to all the children. With her liberal, progressive son dead, she knew that the creaking empire of Austria-Hungary could not last. In 1900, Stphanie married again, to Count Elemr Lnyay de Nagy-Lnya et Vsros-Namny, a Hungarian nobleman of lower rank; for this, she was excluded from the House of Austria-Hungary. I saw the tears trickling down the faces of the men., The empress was fascinated with new innovations in the treatment of the insane, and even toyed with the idea of opening her own psychiatric hospital. The time shift both makes him older and distances him from his WWI years. See Photos. Stalked by the press, adored by the common man and bedeviled by depression and a severe eating disorder, Sisis royal career also brings to mind Princess Diana, whose life ended similarly tragically a century later. They received many guests there, including Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his morganatic wife, still ostracized by the court of Vienna, and writers, such as the pacifist Bertha von Suttner. [40], As in any dynastic marriage where the political interest of the two sovereign houses takes precedence, the existence of romantic feelings within the couple has never been proven, but the relationship of the young spouses was based, at the beginning, on respect and a mutual attachment. [56] To Stphanie, Rudolf had left an undated letter: "Dear Stphanie, you are delivered from my fatal presence; be happy in your destiny. He chose that of indifference, infidelity, she had to accept that of resignation, loneliness and pain". Whenever theres something to see they come running, for the monkey dancing at the hurdy-gurdy just as much for me.. Horseback riding, fencing, fast-paced hikes and exercises adapted from the circusunusual for the timeconsumed her days. Shocked by the admission which had apparently come from the Captain himself, Maria resolved to return to the abbey so that she would be in no danger of encouraging his affections. Her former life had been one of mountain hikes and constant activity, and she soon developed severe headaches as she transitioned into a cloistered life. Though both Rudolf and Vetsera left behind notes, the circumstances surrounding their deaths remained a mystery; rumors of a double murder persisted. She married in Vienna on 10 May 1881, Crown Prince Rudolf, son and heir of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. After studying law in Budapest, he had entered diplomatic service. Here she displayed surprisingly down-to-earth behavior for a royal: holding hands with the dying, and speaking to patients about their needs. [55] Stphanie became a widow at the age of 24 when, on 30 January 1889, her husband was found dead in strange circumstances with his mistress Baroness Vetsera, both shot dead, at the Mayerling hunting lodge. [9] Stphanie relates about her parents: "It is sad and discouraging to think that these two beings [] could not live better together and create a home. [6] Maria von Trapp's 1949 memoir The Story of the Trapp Family Singers was adapted into the West German film The Trapp Family (1956), which served as the basis for the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music (1959) and the film adaptation directed by Robert Wise (1965). [2], Stphanie had two older siblings: Louise (born 18 February 1858), and Leopold, Count of Hainaut (born 12 June 1859). Firstly, the Captain felt obligated to continue his courtship with Princess Yvonne, the real life "Baroness Schrader" who was a distant cousin of his deceased wife. Under pressure from his parents to marry as soon as possible, the Crown Prince was satisfied with Stphanie and on 5 March, he asked her parents for her hand. Princess Anna of Bavaria (German: Anna-Natascha Prinzessin von Bayern; ne Princess Anna-Natascha zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg; born 15 March 1978), known professionally as Anna von Bayern, is a German journalist and author who has been serving as the Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Coty Inc. since 2020. However, it was the childrens relationship with their father that upset the family most when they attended the premiere of The Sound of Music. One of their guests, Father Wasner, was experienced in musical direction and began teaching the family formal singing techniques and arrangements. Initially, Captain von Trapp was opposed to the family singing on stage. [10] Leopold II thereafter lost interest in his family; he turned his attentions to the notorious creation of the Congo Free State, which was his personal fiefdom and not a Belgian colonial territory, and as such its ruthless exploitation amassed him a vast private fortune. [25], The betrothal was formalized on 7 March 1880, when Stphanie was not yet 16 years old. Shaped with gathers and tucks in the bodice area, this gorgeous gown features an elegant godet with a slight train and a beautiful organza pouff at the left shoulder! Doctors, fearing syphilis, used the approaches then used to treat the latter, namely opium, cognac, morphine, as well as mercury which, taken at too high a dose, can lead to psychological consequences. Estranged from her four children (of whom two died before her), after Leopold Petznek's death in 1956 from a heart attack, Elisabeth Marie (confined to a wheelchair due to gout) became reclusive until her death on 16 March 1963 at the Windisch-Graetz Villa in Htteldorf, Vienna and was buried in an unmarked tomb (only recognized by the burial codification group 2, number G72) at the Htteldorfer cemetery next to her husband; near her were buried her two sons who predeceased her, Rudolf and Ernst. After meeting the 15-year-old Princess Stphanie, he wrote to his mother that "[he had] found what [he] sought", noting that she was "pretty, good, [and] clever". [92] Her 1908 decision to take out a US patent on a chafing dish surprised the New York Times, not because of her lineage but because "throughout Europe the proficiency of Columbias daughters with the chafing dish is traditional". Princess Yvonne. ; Patents a Combination of Chafing Dish and Lamp -- To be Put on Market", "Bruxelles Extension sud Place Stphanie", "Les photos du tunnel Stphanie lors de sa construction", "Discovery of Lakes Rudolf and Stefanie: A narrative of count Samuel Teleki's exploring & hunting expedition in eastern and equatorial Africa in 1887 & 1888", Hof- und Staats-Handbuch der sterreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie, "Agraciamentos Portugueses Aos Prncipes da Casa Saxe-Coburgo-Gota", "Real orden de Damas Nobles de la Reina Maria Luisa", Josphine-Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, Princess Astrid, Archduchess of Austria-Este, Princesses of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha by birth, German Empress Victoria, Queen of Prussia, Grand Duchess Alice of Hesse and by Rhine, Helena, Princess Christian of Scheswig-Holstein, Clotilde, Archduchess Joseph Karl of Austria, Amalie, Duchess Maximilian Emanuel in Bavaria, Louise, Princess Philipp of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Kohry, Josphine Caroline, Princess Karl Anton of Hohenzollern, Louise, Princess Royal and Duchess of Fife, Alexandra, Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Dorothea, Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood, Princess Sibylla, Duchess of Vsterbotten, Princess Teresa Cristina, Baroness Taxis of Bordogna and Valnigra, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Countess Palatine Eleonor Magdalene of Neuburg, Princess Wilhelmina Amalia of Brunswick-Lneburg, Princess Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbttel, Princess Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily, Grand Duchess Alexandra Pavlovna of Russia, Princess Hermine of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym, Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska of Austria, Princess Maria Annunciata of the Two Sicilies, Princess Maria Immaculata of the Two Sicilies, Princess Maria Cristina of the Two Sicilies, Princess Maria of Lwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg, Freiin Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza de Kszon et Imprfalva, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Princess_Stphanie_of_Belgium&oldid=1140091676, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Stphanie Clotilde Louise Herminie Marie Charlotte. 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