Prince Louis of Liechtenstein

Prince Aloys Franz de Paula Maria (18 November 1846 – 25 March 1920), known in English as Prince Louis, was the son of Prince Franz de Paula of Liechtenstein (1802–1887) and younger brother of Prince Alfred of Liechtenstein. He was the cousin of Johann II, Prince of Liechtenstein. He was nicknamed "The Red Prince" (der rote Prinz).

Prince Louis
Born(1846-11-18)18 November 1846
Prague
Died25 March 1920(1920-03-25) (aged 73)
Vienna
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1872; died 1878)​

Johanna Elisabeth Maria von Klinkosch
​
​
(m. 1890)​
IssuePrincess Sophie, Mrs. Ürményi
Princess Julie
Princess Henriette
Princess Marie, Countess of Meran, Baroness of Brandhofen
Full name
Aloys Franz de Paula Maria
HouseLiechtenstein
FatherPrince Franz de Paula of Liechtenstein
MotherCountess Ewa Józefina Julia Potocka

Life and career

As did most of his family, Aloys attended the Schottengymnasium in Vienna.

Prince Louis of Liechtenstein was an Austrian politician and social reformer. He was an opponent of liberalism, serving in the Reichsrat from 1878–1889 as a Catholic-Conservative member of parliament. In 1881 he became a member, and from 1888–1889 was chairman of the conservative Zentrum-Klub. In 1875, he met Karl von Vogelsang and in 1887 came into contact with Karl Lueger, joining the latter's Christian Social Party (Christlichsozialen Partei) when it was founded in 1891. Aloys, Lueger, Vogelsang and Franz Martin Schindler met regularly at the Hotel Zur goldenen Ente (Golden Duck, Riemergasse 4) in Vienna's First District, and would refer to their meetings as Enten-Abende (Duck Evenings). This working group became the focus for social reform and they organised the Second Austrian Katholikentag in 1889. From this Schindler developed the platform of the fledgling Christian Social Party.

He represented the party in parliament until 1911. He worked to bring the Catholic Conservatives and Christian Socials into a coalition between 1896–1907 to keep the liberals in opposition. After Lueger's death in 1910, he became chair of the party.

From 1906–1918 he was Marshal of Lower Austria. In 1911 he was appointed to the Upper House (Herrenhaus) but progressively withdrew from public life due to ill health. He resigned all offices in 1918. His campaigns for social reform, religious schools (Konfessionsschulen) and religious law were in the spirit of Pope Leo XIII.[1]

Like Lueger, he was considered an Anti-Semite.[2]

He is buried in a dedicated grave in Vienna's central cemetery, the Zentralfriedhof (32A, 54).

Marriage and issue
Wedding of Prince Louis and Marie Fox, 1872

He married firstly in London on 27 June 1872 Marie Fox, adopted daughter of Henry Edward Fox, 4th Baron Holland and wife Lady Mary Augusta Coventry, and had issue, four daughters. Marie died in 1878, aged 28.

Their children were:

  • Princess Sophie Maria Josepha (Berlin, 29 March 1873 – Graz, 2 March 1947); married Franz Ürményi d'Ürmény (14 January 1863 - 20 February 1934), without issue.
  • Princess Julie Margarethe Maria (Schloss Burgstall, 20 July 1874 – Mayerling, 3 July 1950); unmarried and without issue
  • Princess Henriette Maria Josefa (Schloss Burgstall, 6 July 1875 – Pertlstein, 21 April 1958), a Benedictine nun under the name Sister Adelgundis
  • Princess Marie Johanna Franziska (Schloss Burgstall, 21 August 1877 – Vienna, 11 January 1939); married in Vienna on 7 June 1902 Franz Peter Johann, Count of Meran, Baron of Brandhofen (Graz, 5 October 1868 – Bad Aussee, 10 November 1949), son of Franz, Count of Meran (1868–1949), and had six children.

Louis married secondly in Vienna on 20 May 1890 Johanna Elisabeth Maria von Klinkosch (Vienna, 13 August 1849 – Baden bei Wien, 31 January 1925), daughter of the master silversmith Josef Carl Ritter von Klinkosch and his wife Elise Swoboda, without issue.

Ancestry

Works
  • Über Interessenvertretung im Staat, 1877 (Advocacy and the State)
  • Die soziale Frage, 1877 (The Social Question)
  • Österreich-Ungarns äußere Politik, 1916 (Austria-Hungary's Foreign Policy)
  • Österreichs neue politische Organisation, 1916 (Austria's New Political Organisation)
  • Numerous journal articles, particularly Das Neue Reich (1918–1920)

Bibliography
  • M. Banauch, Prinz A. von und zu Liechtenstein. Stationen im Leben eines ungewöhnlichen Politikers, Diplomarbeit, Wien 1997
  • Neue Österreichische Biographie
  • Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon
  • Neue Deutsche Biographie

References
  1. Austria-Forum: Liechtenstein, Aloys Prinz (Note: Illustration is incorrect and belongs to another Aloys, Prince Aloys of Liechtenstein)
  2. Global Security: Anti-Semitism in Austria-Hungary

See also
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