Archduchess Ilona of Austria (; 20 April 1927 – 12 January 2011) was a member of the Hungarian Palatine branch of the

House of Habsburg-Lorraine The House of Habsburg-Lorraine () originated from the marriage in 1736 of Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, Francis III, Duke of Lorraine and Bar, and Maria Theresa of Habsburg monarchy, Austria, later successively List of Bohemian monarchs, Queen ...

. She was married and later divorced from the late 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), ...

Georg Alexander, Duke of Mecklenburg Georg Alexander, Duke of Mecklenburg (; 27 August 1921 – 26 January 1996) was the head of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz from 1963 until his death. Early life Georg Alexander was born in Nice, France, the eldest son of the then Count Geor ...

Family and marriage

Archduchess Ilona (Helene) of Austria was born in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

the second daughter and child of

Archduke Joseph Francis of Austria Josef Franz, Archduke of Austria, Prince of Hungary (Josef Franz Leopold Anton Ignatius Maria; 28 March 1895 – 25 September 1957), was the eldest son of Archduke Joseph August of Austria and Princess Auguste Maria of Bavaria. As his fat ...

and his wife Princess Anna of Saxony. Her father was the son of

Archduke Joseph August of Austria Archduke Joseph August Viktor Klemens Maria of Austria, Prince of Hungary and Bohemia (9 August 1872 – 6 July 1962) was a '' Feldmarschall'' (field marshal) of the Austro-Hungarian Army and for a short period head of state of Hungary. He w ...

who was one of the heads of the provisional government of Hungary following the removal of King Charles IV. Her mother was a daughter of the last

king of Saxony This article lists dukes, electors, and kings ruling over different territories named Saxony from the beginning of the Saxon Duchy in the 6th century to the end of the German monarchies in 1918. The electors of Saxony from John the Steadfast ...

, Frederick Augustus III. Ilona married Duke Georg Alexander of Mecklenburg civilly on 20 February 1946 and religiously on 30 April 1946 in

Sigmaringen Sigmaringen ( Swabian: ''Semmerenga'') is a town in southern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Situated on the upper Danube, it is the capital of the Sigmaringen district. Sigmaringen is renowned for its castle, Schloss Sigmaringen, ...

Württemberg-Hohenzollern Württemberg-Hohenzollern was a West Germany, West German state created in 1945 as part of the French Allied Occupation Zones in Germany, post-World War II occupation zone. Its capital was Tübingen. In 1952, it was merged into the newly founded ...

during the allied occupation of Germany. Her husband was the eldest child and heir of

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 ...

, head of the

and his first wife

Irina Mikhailovna Raievskya Irina Mikhailovna Raievskya (; 18 August 1892 – 22 January 1955), was a Russian and German noble. She was Duchess of Mecklenburg by her marriage to her second husband, George, Duke of Mecklenburg (), who was the head of the House of Mecklenburg ...

. On 6 July 1963, following the death of her father in law her husband became the new head of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Ilona and Georg Alexander had three daughters and a son before divorcing on 12 December 1974. Ilona died in the morning of 12 January 2011 in

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, aged 83.

Children

Ancestry

References

External links

House of Meklenburg-Strelitz website
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ilona Of Austria, Archduchess 1927 births 2011 deaths House of Habsburg-Lorraine House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Austrian princesses German royalty Hereditary grand duchesses of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Knights of Malta Austrian Roman Catholics Hungarian Roman Catholics 20th-century Roman Catholics 21st-century Roman Catholics Nobility from Budapest