Princess Melanie Marie Pauline Alexandrine von Metternich-Zichy (27 February 1832 in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

– 16 November 1919 in Vienna) was an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...

aristocrat The aristocracy (''from Greek'' ''ἀριστοκρατία'' ''aristokratía'', "rule of the best"; ''Latin: aristocratia'') is historically associated with a "hereditary" or a "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the ...

Biography

A member of the

House of Metternich The House of Metternich was an old German nobility, German noble family originating in the Rhineland. The most prominent member was Prince Klemens von Metternich, who was the dominant figure at the Congress of Vienna (1814–1815). As a former re ...

, she was the daughter of

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

Prince

Klemens von Metternich Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar, Prince of Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein ( ; 15 May 1773 – 11 June 1859), known as Klemens von Metternich () or Prince Metternich, was a German statesman and diplomat in the service of the Austrian Empire. ...

and his third wife, Countess Melanie Zichy-Ferraris (1805–1854). She married Count József Zichy de Zich et Vásonkeő (1814–1897), brother of

Antónia Zichy Countess Antónia Erzsébet Valburga Zichy de Zich et Vásonkeő (Cífer, Kingdom of Hungary, 14 July 1816 – Dáka, Kingdom of Hungary, 25 September 1888) was a Hungarian noblewoman best known as the wife of Lajos Batthyány, the first Prime ...

, on 20 November 1853. Not a traditional conservative like her father, Princess Melanie Metternich-Zichy played a role in founding the

Christian Social Party (Austria) The Christian Social Party (, CS or CSP) was a major conservative political party in the Cisleithanian crown lands of Austria-Hungary and under the First Austrian Republic, from 1891 to 1934. The party was affiliated with Austrian nationalism t ...

. For example, in 1888, her palace was the site of a meeting of politicians who would eventually found the Christian Social Party; that meeting was attended by, among others,

Karl Lueger Karl Lueger (; 24 October 1844 – 10 March 1910) was an Austrian lawyer and politician who served as Mayor of Vienna from 1897 until his death in 1910. He is credited with the transformation of Vienna into a modern city at the turn of the 20th c ...

and

Karl Freiherr von Vogelsang Karl Freiherr von Vogelsang (3 September 1818 – 8 November 1890), a journalist, politician and Catholic Church, Catholic social Reform movement, reformer, was one of the mentors of the Christian Social Party (Austria), Christian Social mov ...

. French journalist Dominique Paoli claimed to have found evidence that

Maxime Weygand Maxime Weygand (; 21 January 1867 – 28 January 1965) was a French military commander in World War I and World War II, as well as a high ranking member of the Vichy France, Vichy regime. Born in Belgium, Weygand was raised in France and educate ...

was the illegitimate offspring of Belgian general Alfred van der Smissen and Mélanie Zichy-Metternich, lady-in-waiting to

Empress Carlota Charlotte of Mexico (; ; 7 June 1840 – 19 January 1927), known by the Spanish version of her name, Carlota, was by birth a princess of Belgium and member of the House of Wettin in the branch of House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Saxe-Coburg ...

. Paoli further claimed that Weygand had been born in mid-1865, not January 1867 as is generally claimed.“Maxime ou le secret Weygand”, Domnique Paoli, Racine, Collection “Les racines de l’Histoire”, 2003

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Metternich-Zichy, Melanie 1832 births 1919 deaths Austrian princesses People from Austria-Hungary House of Metternich