Archduchess Eleonora of Austria (28 November 1886 – 26 May 1974) was a daughter of Archduke Charles Stephen of Austria and a first cousin of King Alphonso XIII of Spain. She was member of the Teschen branch of the

House of Habsburg-Lorraine The House of Habsburg-Lorraine (german: Haus Habsburg-Lothringen) originated from the marriage in 1736 of Francis III, Duke of Lorraine and Bar, and Maria Theresa of Austria, later successively Queen of Bohemia, Queen of Hungary, Queen of C ...

and an Archduchess of Austria and Princess of Bohemia, Hungary, and Tuscany by birth. She renounced to her titles upon her

morganatic marriage Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spous ...

to Alfons Kloss, the captain of her father's yacht. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

her sons served in the German army.Snyder, ''The Red Prince'', p. 281

Background and early life

Archduchess Eleonora was the eldest daughter of Archduke Charles Stephen of Austria and his wife, Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria, Princess of Tuscany. Both of her parents were closely related to

Emperor Franz Joseph Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...

. Her father, a grandson of archduke Karl of Austria who had led the Austrian army against

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

, was a brother of Queen Maria Christina of Spain. Eleonora’s mother, Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria, Princess of Tuscany, was a granddaughter of Leopold II, the last reigning Grand Duke of Tuscany. On her maternal side, she was a granddaughter of King

Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies Ferdinand II ( it, Ferdinando Carlo; scn, Ferdinannu Carlu; nap, Ferdinando Carlo; 12 January 1810 – 22 May 1859) was King of the Two Sicilies from 1830 until his death in 1859. Family Ferdinand was born in Palermo to King Francis I of the T ...

. Archduchess Eleonora was born in Pula,

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

, now

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, where her father was stationed as a naval officer. She was educated by private tutors, with an educational emphasis on languages. She learned German, Italian, English, French and from 1895 Polish. Her father followed a career in the Austrian Navy and Eleanore spent her formative years primarily in Istria in the then Austrian port of Pula in the Adriatic. Her father was very wealthy and the family had a summer villa in the island of Losinj in the Adriatic, a palace in

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and maintain a luxurious yacht for summer cruises. In 1895 her father inherited from Archduke Albert vast properties in Galicia. From 1907 the family main residence was in Zywiec castle in western Galicia today

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, but still they spent the winters in Istria.

Marriage

At age fifteen, Archduchess Eleanore fell in love with Alfons von Kloss, a sailor who worked as the captain of her father's yacht. Their relationship grew during many family's

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

cruises. Archduke Charles Stephen had wished to marry his eldest daughter to a Polish aristocrat, but he was touched by the couple's true love and persistence. He contacted the emperor, asking him to authorize the union.

was inflexible on family matters, but he was a good friend of Archduke Charles Stephen of Austria and gave his permission. The wedding, a modest ceremony, took place on 9 January 1913 at Saybusch, Poland, two days before the wedding of her sister

Archduchess Mechthildis of Austria Archduke (feminine: Archduchess; German: ''Erzherzog'', feminine form: ''Erzherzogin'') was the title borne from 1358 by the Habsburg rulers of the Archduchy of Austria, and later by all senior members of that dynasty. It denotes a rank within ...

. Archduchess Eleanore renounced to her titles upon her marriage becoming simply Mrs von Kloss. The couple settled in Istria. Alfons von Kloss worked as Corvette Captain in the Imperial navy, and served with distinction during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Eleanore and her husband stayed in Austria after the fall of the monarchy and lived in Baden near Vienna, in a large villa Eleanore had inherited from her childless uncle Archduke Rainer of Austria. One of her sons, Alfons, was military Attache at the Austrian Embassy in

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. Her husband died in 1953, Eleanora survived him by 21 years and died in 1974 at the age of 87. Most of her many descendants still live in Austria.

Children

Archduchess Eleonora and Alfons von Kloss (1880–1953) had eight children: * Albrecht von Kloss (1913–1963); married Erika Kaiser. They had one son and two daughters. * Karl von Kloss (1915–1939) * Rainer von Kloss (1916–1991); married Cornelia Schoute and had one son and one daughter. * Ernest von Kloss (1919–2017); married Ritxa Harting and had three sons and one daughter. * Alfons von Kloss (1920–2002); married Theresia von Coreth zu Coredo and had three sons. * Frederich von Kloss (1922–1943) * Maria Theresia von Kloss (1925–?); married Walter Kaiser and had four sons and one daughter. * Stephan von Kloss (1933–?); married Ingrid Morocutti and had three sons and three daughters.

Ancestry

References

* McIntosh David, ''The Unknown Habsburgs'', Rovall Royal Books, 2000. * Snyder, Timothy, ''The Red Prince: The Secret Lives of A Habsburg Archduke''. Basic Books, 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:Eleonora of Austria, Archduchess 1886 births 1974 deaths House of Habsburg-Lorraine Austrian princesses Austro-Hungarian people of World War I People from Pula