Archduchess Charlotte of Austria (; 1 March 1921 – 23 July 1989) was a daughter of Emperor

Charles I of Austria Charles I (, ; 17 August 1887 – 1 April 1922) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary (as Charles IV), and the ruler of the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from November 1916 until the monarchy was abolished in November 1918. He was the ...

and his wife Princess

Zita of Bourbon-Parma Zita of Bourbon-Parma (Zita Maria delle Grazie Adelgonda Micaela Raffaela Gabriella Giuseppina Antonia Luisa Agnese; 9 May 1892 – 14 March 1989) was the wife of Charles I, the last monarch of Austria-Hungary. She was also the last Empress o ...

. She was also known by the name Charlotte de Bar while a welfare worker in the United States from 1943 to 1956.

Life

Charlotte Hedwig Franziska Josepha Maria Antonia Roberta Ottonia Pia Anna Ignatia Marcus d'Aviano of Habsburg-Lorraine was born in

Prangins Prangins () is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Nyon (district), Nyon in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is located on Lake Geneva. History Prangins is first mentioned around 1135-85 a ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, where the Austrian imperial family was living in exile following the collapse of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

after the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Her family lived in various countries during their exile: after they left Switzerland they went to the Portuguese island of

Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...

where her father died a month after her first birthday, having contracted pneumonia. Her sister, Elisabeth was born one month later. They later settled in Belgium before leaving Europe to flee to the United States to escape the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

s. Having moved to Canada with her family, she obtained a degree in economics from

Laval University Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of: People * House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne * Laval (surname) Places Belgium * Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Luxe ...

in 1942 and pursued further education at

Fordham University Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...

upon returning to the United States. In 1943 Archduchess Charlotte started work as a

welfare Welfare may refer to: Philosophy *Well-being (happiness, prosperity, or flourishing) of a person or group * Utility in utilitarianism * Value in value theory Economics * Utility, a general term for individual well-being in economics and decision ...

worker in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

East Harlem East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem, or , is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City, north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, Fifth Avenue to the west, and the East and Harlem Rivers to the eas ...

neighbourhood using the name Charlotte de Bar. In May 1956, Charlotte became engaged to

George, Duke of Mecklenburg George, Duke of Mecklenburg (; – 6 July 1963) was the head of the House of Mecklenburg, House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz from 1934 until his death. Through his father, he was a descendant of Emperor Paul I of Russia. Early life He was born in Oran ...

and head of the

House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz The House of Mecklenburg, also known as Nikloting, is a North German dynasty of Polabian origin that ruled until 1918 in the Mecklenburg region, being among the longest-ruling families of Europe. Queen Juliana of the Netherlands (1909–2004), ...

. They were married in a civil ceremony on 21 July 1956 in

Pöcking Pöcking is a municipality in the district of Starnberg in Bavaria, Germany. It is best known for being the location of Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria's childhood summer home, Possenhofen Castle. Transport The district has a railway station, , t ...

, Germany, followed by a religious ceremony four days later. She left her position as a welfare worker after her marriage. Her husband Duke George died on 6 July 1963 and they had no children. Archduchess Charlotte died in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

four months after the death of her mother.

Ancestry

References

External links

Newsreel footage of her wedding to George, Duke of Mecklenburg
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Charlotte Of Austria, Archduchess 1921 births 1989 deaths 20th-century Austrian people 20th-century Austrian women 20th-century House of Habsburg House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Austrian princesses German royalty Hereditary grand duchesses of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Université Laval alumni Fordham Graduate School of Social Service alumni Austrian Roman Catholics Swiss Roman Catholics 20th-century Roman Catholics 21st-century Roman Catholics People from Nyon District Swiss expatriates in the United States Daughters of emperors Children of Charles I of Austria Daughters of kings Exiled royalty