House House of Montenuovo | Name William 1st | |
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Spouse Countess Juliana Batthyany-Strattmann Issue Albertine, Marquise Gonzaga-MyszkowskiAlfred, 2nd Prince of MontenuovoMarie, Countess Antal Apponyi de Nagy-Appony Children Alfred, 2nd Prince of Montenuovo Parents Adam Albert von Neipperg, Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma Grandparents Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily Similar People Adam Albert von Neipperg, Alfred - 2nd Prince of Montenuovo, Marie Louise - Duchess, Charles‑Rene de Bombelles, Napoleon II | ||
William Albert, 1st Prince of Montenuovo (8 August 1819 – 7 April 1895) was an Italian prince and Field Marshal Lieutenant of the Austrian Empire.
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Early life
Count William Albert of Neipperg was born in 1819 at Parma, Duchy of Parma. He was the son of Adam Albert, Count of Neipperg (1775–1829), illegitimately (prior to his marriage in 1821) by his second wife, Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma (1791–1847). She was the daughter of Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, and Princess Maria Teresa of Naples and Sicily.
His mother Marie Louise was the second wife and Empress consort of Napoleon I from 1810 to 1814. She subsequently reigned in her own right as Duchess of Parma from 1817 onward.
After the death of her husband Napoleon I, who died on St. Helena in 1821, she married morganatically to Adam Albert von Neipperg. As a result, William Albert was the half-brother of Napoleon II
Military career
In 1838, he joined the ranks of the Austrian army and took part in the counterinsurgency battles of 1848 in Italy and Hungary, earning in 1854 the title of Second Lieutenant field marshal.
In 1859, he took part in the disastrous Battle of Magenta, where the Austrian army was defeated by the Franco-Sardinian army. In 1860, he became commander of a regiment, and he was moved in 1866 to Bohemia. In 1867, he was promoted to General of Cavalry, remaining in office until 1878.
Prince of Montenuovo
In 1864, he was elevated to the status of Prince of Montenuovo, which is the Italian translation of Neipperg.
Marriage
William Albert married on 22 February 1861 in Vienna to Countess Juliana Batthyány-Strattmann (1827–1871), youngest daughter of Count János Baptist Batthyány-Strattmann and his wife, Countess Marie Esterházy de Galántha.
They had three children:
Honours
Parma
Austria
Other