Archduke Stefan of Austria

Early life

Stefan was baptised with the name of Stefan von Habsburg-Lothringen. He was born in Mödling, Austria and spent the first years of his childhood in Castle Sonnberg, Austria. In 1942, he moved with his parents and four sisters and brother to Romania. While there, Stefan's parents made their residence at Bran, Braşov. After his 1st cousin, Michael of Romania,was forced to abdicate and expelled by the Communist late in 1947, Stefan left the country with his parents. Stefan then lived first in Switzerland, then in Argentina, and then finally in the United States. He was naturalized as a United States citizen. He was a graduate from Malvern Preparatory School and MIT. He established a division for advanced research at General Motors in Detroit, Michigan. He is buried at St. Wenceslaus in Suttons Bay, MIchigan.

Marriage and issue

Stefan married morganatically to Mary Jerrine Soper (born 19 June 1931 in Boston, daughter of Charles B. Soper and wife Agnes McNeil; died 14 July 2015 in Farmington Hills, MI) on 26 August 1954 at St. Elizabeth's Church in Milton, Massachusetts. Stefan and Jerrine had five children together:

Christopher Habsburg-Lothringen (born 26 January 1957 in Faulkner Hospital, Boston)

∞ Elizabeth Ann Blanchette, born Popejoy (born 22 January 1967 in Peoria, Illinois) on 2 May 1987 at Mount Tamalpais, California, and divorced in July 1994, daughter of Larry Lee Popejoy, of Cherokee descent, and former wife Regina Irene Keller, of German and Polish-Ukrainian descent, and adopted daughter of her stepfather ... Blanchette; she later remarried and has more six children∞ Catherine Ripley (born 5 September 1958 in St. Joseph's Hospital, Pontiac, Michigan) on 15 October 1994 at Clarkston, Michigan, and divorced in 2001, daughter of Anthony Ripley and wife Ann Mary Brunner and former wife of Romanian-born naturalised U.S. citizen Corneliu Nastase, whom she married on 2 August 1986 and divorced in 1993∞ Teresa Murray (born 1958)

Ileana Habsburg-Lothringen (born 4 January 1958 in Detroit)

∞ David Snyder (born 18 November 1956 in Pontiac, Michigan) on 23 June 1979 in Farmington Hills, Michigan

Peter Habsburg-Lothringen (born 19 February 1959 in Detroit)

∞ Shari Suzanne Reid (born 1 September 1960 in Highland Park, Michigan) on 27 June 1981 in Farmington Hills, Michigan; divorced in 1985.∞ Lauren Ann Klaus (born 9 May 1956 in Detroit) on 17 June 1989 in Union Lake, Michigan. They have adopted three children:

Constanza Habsburg-Lothringen (born 2 October 1960 in Detroit)

∞ Mark Lee Matheson (born 15 February 1958 in Grosse Pointe, Michigan) on 16 January 1987 in Franklin, Michigan. Divorced November 1, 1995.∞ Michael Dale Bain (born January 4, 1962, in Rockwood, Tennessee) on November 8, 1997 in Marietta, Georgia.

Anton Habsburg-Lothringen (born 7 November 1964 in Detroit)

∞ Ashley Byrd Carrell (born 23 August 1966 in Nashville, Tennessee; died 24 Oct 2002) on 5 October 1991 in Hiram, Ohio

Title

15 August 1932 – 12 November 1998: His Imperial and Royal Highness Archduke Stefan of Austria, Prince of Tuscany