Religion Roman Catholicism Name Princess of | Died August 9, 1929 | |
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Issue Duke Paul Friedrich of MecklenburgDuchess Marie Louise of MecklenburgDuchess Marie Antoinette of MecklenburgDuke Henry Borwin of MecklenburgDuke Joseph of Mecklenburg Father Hugo, Prince of Windisch-Gratz Children Duchess Marie Antoinette of Mecklenburg, Duke Paul Frederick of Mecklenburg Parents Princess Louise of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Luise zu Mecklenburg Grandparents Princess Alexandrine of Prussia, Paul Frederick, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Great-grandparents Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz | ||
Princess Marie of Windisch-Graetz (11 December 1856 – 9 August 1929) was an Austrian noble. She was the daughter of Hugo, Prince of Windisch-Grätz, and Princess Louise of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (herself the eldest daughter of Grand Duke Paul Frederick and Princess Alexandrine of Prussia).
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Biography
Princess Marie was born Marie Gabriele Ernestine Alexandra in Vienna in 1856. In Schwerin on 5 May 1881, she married her first cousin, the German-born Duke Paul Frederick of Mecklenburg, second son of Frederick Francis II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg, and his wife, Princess Augusta Reuss of Köstritz. The couple had three surviving children, all of whom were raised as Roman Catholics, Marie's religion, and lived a quiet life in Venice, where they befriended Cardinal Sarto (later Pope Pius X), who often visited the family and acted as their spiritual advisor.
On 21 April 1884 Duke Paul Frederick deferred his and his sons' rights of succession to Mecklenburg-Schwerin in favour of his younger brothers and their sons, so they would take precedence over him and his. In 1887 her husband, raised a Lutheran, converted to Roman Catholicism, the religion of his wife and their common children.
Marie née Windisch-Graetz surveyed several archaeological excavations in Austria and Carniola, including excavations at Hallstatt Archaeological Site in Vače. Some of the artifacts were sold to museums in Harvard, Oxford and Berlin by her daughter Duchess Marie Antoinette of Mecklenburg.
In 1906 after raising the concerns of his nephew Frederick Francis IV, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg, about his expenses Duke Paul Frederick and his wife were ordered to submit expenditures to the comptroller of the royal household.