Archduchess Elisabeth Amalie of Austria

Family and early life

Elisabeth was born in Reichenau on 7 July 1878. She was born the youngest of a large family, as her father Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria married three times and had children with two of his wives. With his first wife Princess Margaretha of Saxony, he had no children. With his second wife Princess Maria Annunciata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Karl Ludwig fathered Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, who became heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, as well as three other siblings. Elisabeth and her older sister Archduchess Maria Annunziata of Austria (later Abbess of the Theresia Convent in the Hradschin, Prague) were the product of his third marriage to Infanta Maria Theresa of Portugal, a daughter of deposed King Miguel I of Portugal.

In addition, her father was a younger brother of Franz Joseph I of Austria, the reigning emperor at the time of her birth. He was also a sibling of Maximilian I of Mexico, who became Emperor of Mexico for a short period of time.

Marriage

On 20 April 1903, in Vienna, Archduchess Elisabeth Amalie married Prince Aloys of Liechtenstein. There had been some debate as to whether this was an equal union. Emperor Franz Joseph I attended the wedding with the intention of making it clear he regarded Liechtenstein as a legitimate ruling dynasty. As the House of Liechtenstein had become regnant, the couple were ruled equal in birth, and the Emperor was happy to see a member of his family making a dynastic marriage, after the morganatic marriage of her brother Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. Later, the Emperor also became the godfather of the couple's eldest son, Franz Joseph, who was named for him.

Sometime after their marriage, Princess Catherine Radziwill commented that Elisabeth "is very pretty and resembles her mother more than the Habsburgs, whose lower lip she has not inherited by some kind of miracle, for which, I suppose, she feels immeasurably grateful". Elisabeth and Aloys lived in various castles within Austria, including Gross-Ullersdorf Castle. Their eldest son was born in Frauenthal Castle.

The couple had eight children together:

She owned thirty-one motor cars and was seen as the most enthusiastic motorist of all the imperial women in Europe. She converted the stables at her Hungarian castle Stuhlweissenburg to garages but pursued her hobby rather quietly and studiously, so that the great majority of the public were not even aware of her large collection.

Prince Aloys renounced his rights to the succession on 26 February 1923, in favor of their son Franz Joseph II. On 25 July 1938, Franz I, Prince of Liechtenstein died, passing the throne on to their eldest son. Prince Alois died on 17 March 1955 from influenza at Vaduz Castle in Liechtenstein. Due to his renunciation, he never ruled over the tiny principality. Elisabeth died on 13 March 1960.

Titles and styles