Emmanuel Graf von Mensdorff-Pouilly (24 January 1777 – 28 June 1852) was an army officer in the Imperial-Royal Army of the Austrian Empire, and vice-governor of

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

. He was the uncle of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

and the godfather of her husband,

Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Franz August Karl Albert Emanuel; 26 August 1819 – 14 December 1861) was the husband of Queen Victoria. As such, he was consort of the British monarch from Wedding of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, th ...

Life and career

The House of Mensdorff-Pouilly originated from the barony of Pouilly in Stenay, on the river Meuse in

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

. Albert-Louis, Baron de Pouilly et de Chaffour, Comte de Roussy (1731–1795) and his wife, Marie Antoinette de Custine (1746–1800) emigrated together with their children during the French Revolution. Their sons, Albert (1775–1799) and Emmanuel (baptised at Nancy on 24 January 1777), took the name Mensdorff from a community in the county of Roussy,

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

. The brothers entered military service against

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates for, a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective to describe something producing a major and sudden impact on society. Definition The term—bot ...

and

Napoleonic France The First French Empire or French Empire (; ), also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from ...

, and Albert was killed in battle in 1799. At the start of the

War of the Fifth Coalition The War of the Fifth Coalition was a European conflict in 1809 that was part of the Napoleonic Wars and the Coalition Wars. The main conflict took place in Central Europe between the Austrian Empire of Francis I and Napoleon's French Emp ...

, Emmanuel held the rank of major. On 13 April 1809, he was wounded while leading a company of the 8th Jäger in action near

Amberg Amberg () is a Town#Germany, town in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the Upper Palatinate about halfway between Regensburg and Bayreuth. History The town was first mentioned in 1034 with the name Ammenberg. It became an important trading c ...

. By 23 April, he had recovered enough to partake in the cavalry battles at the start of the Battle of Ratisbon. He was decorated with the

Military Order of Maria Theresa The Military Order of Maria Theresa (; ; ; ; ; ) was the highest military honour of the Habsburg monarchy, Austrian Empire and Austro-Hungarian Empire. History Founded on 18 June 1757, the day of the Battle of Kolín, by the Empress Mari ...

for his services in the war. In 1810, he was given command of the Galician regiment of

Uhlan Uhlan (; ; ; ; ) is a type of light cavalry, primarily armed with a lance. The uhlans started as Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army, Lithuanian irregular cavalry, that were later also adopted by other countries during the 18th century, including Polis ...

s „Erzherzog Carl“ Nr. 3. Serving as a commander of a cavalry brigade in

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

, Mensdorff-Pouilly became commander of the Fortress of Mainz. From 1829 to 1834, Mensdorff-Pouilly also served as vice-governor of Mainz. After again having served in Bohemia, Mensdorff-Pouilly became vice-president of the '' Hofkriegsrat'' in 1840. He retired from the army in 1848 with the rank of '' feldmarschallleutnant''. During the

Revolutions of 1848 The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...

, Mensdorff-Pouilly was sent as a commissioner to

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, where he tried in vain to impress on the Prince of Windisch-Grätz the necessity to avoid bloodshed.

Family

Emmanuel von Mensdorff-Pouilly married Princess Sophie of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, eldest daughter of Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, on 22 February 1804 at

Coburg Coburg ( , ) is a Town#Germany, town located on the Itz (river), Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Ernestine duchies, Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only ...

. Through this marriage, he was the brother-in-law of King

Leopold I of Belgium Leopold I (16 December 1790 – 10 December 1865) was the first king of the Belgians, reigning from 21 July 1831 until his death in 1865. The youngest son of Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Leopold took a commission in the Imperial Rus ...

and the uncle of both

and

Prince Albert Prince Albert most commonly refers to: *Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria *Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco Prince Albert may also refer to: Royalty * Alb ...

of the United Kingdom, and of King

Ferdinand II of Portugal ''Dom (title), Dom'' Ferdinand II (; 29 October 1816 – 15 December 1885), also known as Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and as "the King-artist" (), was King of Portugal from 16 September 1837 to 15 November 1853 as the husband and co-ruler ...

. Emmanuel and Sophie had six sons: * Hugo Ferdinand (1806–1847) * Alphons (1810–1894), Count von Mensdorff-Pouilly, ∞ 1. 1843 Countess Therese von Dietrichstein-Proskau-Leslie (1823–1856), ∞ 2. 1862 Countess Maria Thersia von

Lamberg The House of Lamberg is the name of an ancient Austrian noble family, whose members occupied significant positions within the Holy Roman Empire and later in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. History The family name first appeared during the 14th ce ...

(1833–1876), daughter of Count Franz Philipp von Lamberg. * Alfred Carl (1812–1814). *

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

(1813–1871), ''

Fürst ' (, female form ', plural '; from Old High German ', "the first", a translation of the Latin ') is a German language, German word for a ruler as well as a princely title. ' were, starting in the Middle Ages, members of the highest nobility who ...

'' von Dietrichstein zu Nikolsburg (1868), was Austrian Foreign Minister and Prime Minister of Austria in the 1860s, ∞ 1857 Countess Alexandrine Maria von Dietrichstein-Proskau-Leslie (1824–1906) * Leopold Emanuel (1815–1832) * Arthur August (1817–1904), ∞ 1. 1853 (div. 1882) Magdalene Kremzow (1835–1899), ∞ 2. 1902 Countess Bianca Albertina von

Wickenburg Wickenburg is a town in Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa and Yavapai County, Arizona, Yavapai counties, Arizona, United States. The population was 7,474 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, and was estimated to be 7,920 in 2022. H ...

(1837–1912) Emmanuel was created ''

Graf (; feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility and later also of the Russian nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title ...

'' (Count) von Mensdorff-Pouilly on 29 November 1818 in Vienna. In 1838, he purchased ''Schloss Preitenstein'' in the

Plzeň Region Plzeň Region or Plzeňský Region (also known as Pilsen Region; ) is an Regions of the Czech Republic, administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the western part of the historical land of Bohemia and named after the capital, Plz ...

of Bohemia, which remained the property of the Mensdorff-Pouilly family until 1945.

Honours

He received the following orders and decorations:

References

Literature

*Eddie de Tassigny: ''Les Mensdorff-Pouilly. Le destin d'une famille émigrée en 1790.'' Paris: Le Bois d’Hélène, 1998. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mensdorff-Pouilly, Emmanuel von 1777 births 1852 deaths People from Meuse (department) Austrian Empire military personnel Emmanuel Knights Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Fourth Degree Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Russia) Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath