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{{Infobox royalty
{{Infobox royalty
| name = Archduchess Xenia
| name = Xenia
| title = Archduchess Rudolf of Austria<br>Countess Czernichev-Besobrasov
| title = Countess Czernichev-Besobrasov
| image =
| image =
| caption =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1929|06|11}}
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1929|06|11}}
| birth_place = [[Paris]], [[French Third Republic]]
| birth_place = [[Paris]], [[French Third Republic]]
Line 10: Line 10:
| spouse = {{marriage|[[Archduke Rudolf of Austria (1919–2010)|Archduke Rudolf of Austria]]|1953}}
| spouse = {{marriage|[[Archduke Rudolf of Austria (1919–2010)|Archduke Rudolf of Austria]]|1953}}
| full name =
| full name =
| issue = Archduchess Maria Anna, Princess Galitzine<br> Archduke Karl Peter<br> [[Archduke Simeon of Austria|Archduke Simeon]]<br> Archduke Johannes Karl
| issue = [[Maria-Anna Galitzine]]<br>Karl Peter von Habsburg<br> [[Simeon von Habsburg]]<br> Johannes Karl von Habsburg
| house = Czernichev-Besobrasov (by birth)<br> [[House of Habsburg|Habsburg]] (by marriage)
| house = [[Chernyshyov|Chernyshyev-Besobrasov]] (by birth)<br> [[House of Habsburg|Habsburg]] (by marriage)
| father = Count Sergei Czernichev-Besobrasov
| father = Count Sergei Czernichev-Besobrasov
| mother = Countess Elizabeta Dimitrievna Sheremeteva
| mother = Countess Elizabeta Dimitrievna Sheremeteva
}}
}}


'''Countess Xenia Czernichev-Besobrasov''' (Chernysheva-Besobrasova {{lang-ru|графиня Ксения Сергеевна Чернышёва-Безобразова}}; 11 June 1929 Paris{{spaced ndash}}20 September 1968, Casteau, Belgium) was the first wife of [[Archduke Rudolf of Austria (1919-2010)|Archduke Rudolf of Austria]], the youngest son of the last reigning Emperor of Austria-Hungary, [[Karl I of Austria|Charles I]].
'''Countess Xenia Czernichev-Besobrasov''' (Chernysheva-Besobrasova; {{langx|ru|графиня Ксения Сергеевна Чернышёва-Безобразова}}; 11 June 1929, Paris{{spaced ndash}}20 September 1968, Casteau, Belgium) was the first wife of [[Archduke Rudolf of Austria (1919-2010)|Archduke Rudolf of Austria]], the youngest son of the last reigning Emperor of Austria-Hungary, [[Karl I of Austria|Charles I]].


==Background==
==Background==
She was the younger daughter of Count Sergei [[:ru:Чернышёвы|Czernyshev-Besobrasov]] (later of New York City) by his wife Countess Elisabeth Dmitrievna [[Sheremetev]]a, and has descended from two prominent Russian comital families.<ref name=petit>de Badts de Cugnac, Chantal. [[:fr:Guy Coutant de Saisseval|Coutant de Saisseval, Guy]]. Le Petit Gotha. Nouvelle Imprimerie Laballery. Paris. 2002. pp. 175, 196-197 (French) {{ISBN|2-9507974-3-1}}</ref> Xenia's father, Count Sergei, was a czarist courtier whose father was made a Russian count in 1908 as the son-in-law of the last Count Chernyshev-Kruglikov (that family, now extinct, itself rose to comital status in 1832, by marriage to the heiress of the extinct [[:ru:Чернышёвы|Chernyshev]] family, counts in Russia since 1742).<ref name=enache>Enache, Nicolas. ''La Descendance de Marie-Therese de Habsburg''. ICC, Paris, 1996. pp. 47, 52. (French). {{ISBN|2-908003-04-X}}</ref> Count Sergei fled Russia after the Revolution, and settled in the United States with his wife Elizabeth, his son Alexander, and two daughters Irina and Xenia. In 1949, his older daughter Irina married Prince [[Teymuraz Bagration]] (1912-1992) as his second wife, without issue. Teymuraz's mother was [[Princess Tatiana of Russia]].
She was the younger daughter of Count Sergei [[Chernyshyov|Chernyshyev-Besobrasov]] (later of New York City) by his wife Countess Elisabeth Dmitrievna [[Sheremetev]]a, and has descended from two prominent [[Russian nobility|Russian noble families]].<ref name=petit>de Badts de Cugnac, Chantal. [[:fr:Guy Coutant de Saisseval|Coutant de Saisseval, Guy]]. Le Petit Gotha. Nouvelle Imprimerie Laballery. Paris. 2002. pp. 175, 196-197 (French) {{ISBN|2-9507974-3-1}}</ref> Xenia's father, Count Sergei, was a czarist courtier whose father was made a Russian count in 1908 as the son-in-law of the last Count Chernyshev-Kruglikov (that family, now extinct, itself rose to comital status in 1832, by marriage to the heiress of the extinct [[:ru:Чернышёвы|Chernyshev]] family, counts in Russia since 1742).<ref name=enache>Enache, Nicolas. ''La Descendance de Marie-Therese de Habsburg''. ICC, Paris, 1996. pp. 47, 52. (French). {{ISBN|2-908003-04-X}}</ref> Count Sergei fled Russia after the Revolution, and settled in the United States with his wife Elizabeth, his son Alexander, and two daughters Irina and Xenia. In 1949, his older daughter Irina married Prince [[Teymuraz Bagration]] (1912-1992) as his second wife, without issue. Teymuraz's mother was [[Princess Tatiana of Russia]].


Xenia was an alumna of [[Miss Hall's School]] in [[Pittsfield, Massachusetts]].<ref name=beeche>{{cite book | title=The Gotha, Volume 1 | publisher=Kensington House Books | author=Beeche, Arturo | year=2009 | location=California, US | pages= 31–32 | isbn=978-0-97-719617-3}}</ref> She then attended [[Smith College]] for two years,<ref name=beeche/> but did not graduate.<ref name=Nytimes1968-09-27/> At the time of her engagement, she worked for [[Air France]], and was based in New York City.<ref name="Marlene E. Koenig">Marlene E. Koenig.</ref>
Xenia was an alumna of [[Miss Hall's School]] in [[Pittsfield, Massachusetts]].<ref name=beeche>{{cite book | title=The Gotha, Volume 1 | publisher=Kensington House Books | author=Beeche, Arturo | year=2009 | location=California, US | pages= 31–32 | isbn=978-0-97-719617-3}}</ref> She then attended [[Smith College]] for two years,<ref name=beeche/> but did not graduate.<ref name=Nytimes1968-09-27/> At the time of her engagement, she worked for [[Air France]], and was based in New York City.<ref name="houston">{{Cite web |title=Imperial show at MFAH has royal Houston connection |last=Glentzer |first=Molly |work=Houston Chronicle |date= 15 June 2015|access-date=1 June 2024 |url= https://www.houstonchronicle.com/entertainment/theater/article/Imperial-show-at-MFAH-has-royal-Houston-connection-6324253.php}}</ref>


==Marriage==
==Marriage==
The engagement between Archduke Rudolf and Countess Xenia Czernichev-Besobrasov was announced on 30 April 1953. The couple were married on 23 June 1953 at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Roman Catholic Church at [[Tuxedo Park, New York|Tuxedo Park]], New York,<ref name=petit/> where Rudolf and his mother the [[Zita of Bourbon-Parma|Dowager Empress Zita]] were said to live on a "large estate". The wedding, officiated by Bishop [[Fulton J. Sheen]], was attended by over 100 guests, including Dowager Empress Zita.{{ref}} The press reports claim that this was the first imperial marriage in the United States, but the first such marriage was actually between Napoleon's younger brother [[Jérôme Bonaparte]] and an American heiress [[Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte|Elizabeth Patterson]] (Betsey Patterson).{{ref}}
The engagement between Archduke Rudolf and Countess Xenia Czernichev-Besobrasov was announced on 30 April 1953. The couple were married on 23 June 1953 at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Roman Catholic Church at [[Tuxedo Park, New York|Tuxedo Park]], New York,<ref name=petit/> where Rudolf and his mother the [[Zita of Bourbon-Parma|Dowager Empress Zita]] were said to live on a "large estate". The wedding was officiated by Bishop [[Fulton J. Sheen]].<ref name="houston"/> Press reports claimed that this was the first imperial marriage in the United States.<ref name="houston"/>

On the bride's side, the guests included [[Princess Vera of Russia]] (her brother-in-law [[Teymuraz Bagration|Prince Teymuraz]]'s maternal aunt), Count Hilarion Woronzow-Dashkow, a distant cousin, the bride's brother Alexander Czernichev-Besobrasov, and his wife.


Countess Xenia Czernichev-Besobrasov was one of the first non-royal brides to marry into the former Imperial House of Austria in what would be accepted as an equal marriage, despite the relative obscurity of her father's family and the recentness of his title. The [[House of Habsburg|Habsburg]] [[house law]]s had been changed by former [[Otto von Habsburg|Crown Prince Otto of Austria]] in 1953 to permit archdukes to marry outside ruling and formerly reigning houses for the first time, permitting [[cadet (genealogy)|cadet]] archdukes to marry into increasingly minor noble houses.<ref name=beeche/>
Countess Xenia Czernichev-Besobrasov was one of the first non-royal brides to marry into the former Imperial House of Austria in what would be accepted as an equal marriage, despite the relative obscurity of her father's family and the recentness of his title. The [[House of Habsburg|Habsburg]] [[house law]]s had been changed by former [[Otto von Habsburg|Crown Prince Otto of Austria]] in 1953 to permit archdukes to marry outside ruling and formerly reigning houses for the first time, permitting [[cadet (genealogy)|cadet]] archdukes to marry into increasingly minor noble houses.<ref name=beeche/>

She was the second Russian Orthodox royal bride to become an [[archduchess]] of Austria, the first being Grand Duchess [[Alexandra Pavlovna of Russia]], first wife of [[Archduke Joseph, Palatine of Hungary]].


==Subsequent life==
==Subsequent life==
Line 36: Line 32:


All three of Xenia's children who lived to adulthood made princely marriages:<ref name=beeche/><ref name=petit/>
All three of Xenia's children who lived to adulthood made princely marriages:<ref name=beeche/><ref name=petit/>
* Archduchess Maria Anna (born 19 May 1954) on 24 November 1981 in [[Brussels]] married Prince Peter Dimitrovich [[House of Golitsyn|Galitzine]] (born 1955), and has issue:
* [[Maria-Anna Galitzine]] (born 19 May 1954) on 24 November 1981 in [[Brussels]] married Peter Dimitrovich [[House of Golitsyn|Galitzine]] (born 1955), and has issue.<ref name="berk">{{cite news |title=Archduchess Xenia |work=The Berkshire Eagle |date=28 September 1968 |page=11}}</ref>
⚫
* Karl Peter von Habsburg (born 13 October 1955) married on 2 May 1998 at Ellingen Castle in [[Bavaria]] Alexandra von [[Wrede]] (born 1970), a niece of his father's second wife, and has issue.<ref name=berk/>
**Princess Xenia Petrovna Galitzine (23 May 1983 in [[Summit, New York]]).
⚫
* [[Simeon von Habsburg]] (born 29 June 1958) married on 13 July 1996 María of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (born 1967), daughter of [[Infante Carlos, Duke of Calabria]], claimed Head of the defunct Royal House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and first cousin to [[Juan Carlos I]] of Spain, and of his wife, Anne d'Orléans (daughter of the Count of Paris, pretender to the defunct throne of France). They have five children.<ref name=enache/>
**[[Tatiana Galitzine|Princess Tatiana Petrovna Galitzine]] (16 August 1984 in [[Santa Clara, California]]).
**Princess Alexandra Petrovna Galitzine (7 August 1986 in [[San Jose, California]]).
**[[Maria Galitzine|Princess Maria Petrovna Galitzine]] (11 May 1988, [[Luxembourg City]] – 4 May 2020, [[Houston]]).<ref>[https://www.zola.com/registry/mariaandrishi Zola]</ref>
**Prince Dimitri Petrovich Galitzine (11 June 1990 in [[Luxembourg City]]).
**Prince Ionn Teimouraz Petrovich Galitzine (27 May 1992 in [[Luxembourg City]]).
⚫
* Archduke Carl Peter (born 13 October 1955) married on 2 May 1998 at Ellingen Castle in [[Bavaria]] Princess Alexandra von Wrede (born 1970), a niece of his father's second wife, and has issue:
**Archduchess Antonia (born 31 December 2000 in [[Munich]]).
**Archduke Lorenz (born 18 April 2003 in Munich).
⚫
* [[Archduke Simeon of Austria]] (born 29 June 1958) married on 13 July 1996 Princess María of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (born 1967), daughter of [[Infante Carlos, Duke of Calabria]], claimed Head of the Royal House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and first cousin to [[Juan Carlos I]] of Spain, and of his wife, born Princess Anne d'Orléans (daughter of the Count of Paris, claimant to the throne of France). They have issue, five children.
* Archduke Johannes Karl (1962-1975), died in a bicycle accident.<ref name=enache/>


Xenia was killed on 20 September 1968 when the car she was in with her husband collided with a truck.<ref name=beeche/> Her husband was seriously injured. She was buried on the grounds of the [[Chateau de Beloeil]] in Belgium.<ref name="Marlene E. Koenig"/><ref name=Nytimes1968-09-27/>
Xenia was killed on 20 September 1968 when the car she was in with her husband collided with a truck.<ref name=beeche/><ref name=berk/> Her husband was seriously injured. She was buried on the grounds of the [[Château de Belœil]] in Belgium.<ref name=Nytimes1968-09-27/>


Xenia's widower, Archduke Rudolf remarried Princess Anna Gabriele von Wrede in 1971 and had further issue.<ref name=enache/>
Xenia's widower, Archduke Rudolf remarried Anna Gabriele von Wrede in 1971 and had further issue.<ref name=enache/>

==Titles, styles and honour==
===Titles===
* 11 June 1929 – 23 June 1953: Countess Xenia Czernichev-Besobrasov
* 23 June 1953 – 20 September 1968: ''Her Imperial and Royal Highness'' Archduchess Xenia, The Archduchess Rudolf of Austria, Countess Czernichev-Besobrasov

===Honour===
* {{flagicon|Austria-Hungary}} [[House of Habsburg]]: Dame of the [[Order of the Starry Cross|Imperial and Royal Order of the Starry Cross, 2nd Class]]

==Ancestry==
{{ahnentafel
|collapsed=yes |align=center
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
|1= 1. '''Countess Xenia Sergeievna Czernysheva-Besobrasova'''
|2= 2. Count Sergei Alexandrovich Czernyshev-Besobrasov
|3= 3. Countess Elizabeta Dimitrievna Sheremeteva
|4= 4. Alexander Fedorovich, 1st Count Chernyshev-Besobrazov<ref>Timothy Boettger. [http://www.wawrzak.org/tf_boettger/hrabiowie_boettger.htm#C Counts (Grafy)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120126042832/http://www.wawrzak.org/tf_boettger/hrabiowie_boettger.htm#C |date=2012-01-26 }} "Russian Empire: (IC) 10. Dec. 1908 - authorisation for Aleksandr Fedorovich Bezobrazov, husband of Countess Sofia Ippolitovna Chernysheva-Kruglikova, to take the name, arms, and title of the Counts Chernyshev." Retrieved 2013-01-01.</ref>
|5= 5. Countess Sophia Chernysheva-Kruglikova<ref>Timothy Boettger. [http://www.wawrzak.org/tf_boettger/hrabiowie_boettger.htm#C Counts (Grafy)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120126042832/http://www.wawrzak.org/tf_boettger/hrabiowie_boettger.htm#C |date=2012-01-26 }} "Russian Empire: (IC) 14 Jan. 1832 - authorisation for Ivan Gavrilovich Kruglikov to take the name, arms, and title of his father-in-law, Count Grigorii Ivanovich Chernyshev; confirmations: 19 Nov. 1852. Extinct, when the title passed to the Bezobrazov family..." Retrieved 2013-01-01.</ref>
|6= 6. Count Dimitri Sergeievich Sheremetev
|7= 7. Countess Irina Hilarionovna Vorontsova-Dashkova
|8=
|9=
|10= 10. Count Evgueni Ivanovich Chernyshev-Kruglikov<ref>Source: Ancestry table for [[Archduke Simeon of Austria]]</ref>
or: Ippolit Ivanovich, Count Chernyshev-Kruglikov (per Boettger)<ref>Timothy Boettger</ref>
|11=
|12= 12. Count Sergei Dmitrievich Sheremetev<ref>[http://www.wawrzak.org/tf_boettger/hrabiowie_boettger.htm#S Counts (Grafy) Russian Empire:] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120126042832/http://www.wawrzak.org/tf_boettger/hrabiowie_boettger.htm#S |date=2012-01-26 }} "SHEREMETEV (ШЕРЕМЕТЕВ) - Russia Russian Empire". Retrieved 2013-01-01.</ref>
|13= 13. Princess Ekaterina Pavlovna Viazemskaia
|14= 14. [[Illarion Ivanovich Vorontsov-Dashkov|Count Ilarion Ivanovich Vorontzov-Dashkov]]
|15= 15. Countess Elisaveta Andreevna Shuvalov
|16=
|17=
|18=
|19=
|20= 20. Count Ivan Gavrilovich Chernyshev-Kruglikov (cr. 1832)<ref>Timothy Boettger. [http://www.wawrzak.org/tf_boettger/hrabiowie_boettger.htm#C Counts (Grafy) Russian Empire:] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120126042832/http://www.wawrzak.org/tf_boettger/hrabiowie_boettger.htm#C |date=2012-01-26 }}. Previously Ivan Gavrilovich Kruglikov"(IC) 14 Jan. 1832 - authorisation for Ivan Gavrilovich Kruglikov to take the name, arms, and title of his father-in-law, Count Grigorii Ivanovich Chernyshev; Retrieved 2013-01-01.</ref>
|21= 21. Countess Sophia Gregorievna Chernysheva.<ref>Timothy Boettger. [http://www.wawrzak.org/tf_boettger/hrabiowie_boettger.htm#C Counts (Grafy) Russian Empire:] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120126042832/http://www.wawrzak.org/tf_boettger/hrabiowie_boettger.htm#C |date=2012-01-26 }} "(IU) 25 Apr. 1742 for Grigorii Petro[v]ich Chernyshev. Retrieved 2013-01-01.</ref>
|22=
|23=
|24= 24. Count Dmitri Nikolaievich Sheremetev
|25= 25. Anna Sergeievna Sheremeteva
|26= 26. Prince Pavel Petrovich Viazemsky
|27= 27. Maria Arkadievna Stolypina
|28= 28. Ivan Illarionovich Vorontsov, 1st Count Vorontsov-Dashkov <ref>[Timothy Boettger. [http://www.wawrzak.org/tf_boettger/hrabiowie_boettger.htm#W Counts (Grafy)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120126042832/http://www.wawrzak.org/tf_boettger/hrabiowie_boettger.htm#W |date=2012-01-26 }} Russian Empire:]. Retrieved 2013-01-01.</ref>
|29= 29. Aleksandra Kirillovna Naryshkina
|30= 30. Count Andrei Shuvalov<ref>[http://www.wawrzak.org/tf_boettger/hrabiowie_boettger.htm#S Counts (Grafy) Russian Empire:] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120126042832/http://www.wawrzak.org/tf_boettger/hrabiowie_boettger.htm#S |date=2012-01-26 }}. Retrieved 2013-01-01.</ref>
|31= 31. Princess Sophia Mikhailovna Vorontsova
}}


==References==
==References==
Line 109: Line 46:
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1968/09/27/archives/archduchess-xenia-of-habsburg-killed.html
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1968/09/27/archives/archduchess-xenia-of-habsburg-killed.html
| title = Archduchess Xenia of Habsburg killed
| title = Archduchess Xenia of Habsburg killed
| work = [[New York Times]]
| work =[[The New York Times]]
| date = 1968-09-27
| date = 1968-09-27
| page = 47
| page = 47
| accessdate = 2018-06-02
| accessdate = 2018-06-02
| url-status = live
}}
}}
</ref>
</ref>
Line 119: Line 55:


==External links==
==External links==
⚫
Article based on a wedding announcement from American newspaper reports (Sources not cited).
* {{cite news
| url = http://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.in/2010/05/archduke-rudolph-and-countess-xenia.html
| title = Archduke Rudolph and Countess Xenia
| work = [[Royal Musings]]
| author = [[Marlene Eilers Koenig|Marlene E. Koenig]]
| date = May 17, 2010
| archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20150711013057/http://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.in/2010/05/archduke-rudolph-and-countess-xenia.html
| archivedate = 2015-07-11
| accessdate = 1 January 2013
| url-status = live
⚫
}} Article based on a wedding announcement from American newspaper reports (Sources not cited).


{{authority control}}
{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Czernichev-Besobrasov, Countess Xenia}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Czernichev-Besobrasov, Countess Xenia}}
[[Category:1930s births]]
[[Category:1929 births]]
[[Category:1968 deaths]]
[[Category:1968 deaths]]
[[Category:Austrian princesses|Xenia]]
[[Category:Austrian princesses|Xenia]]
[[Category:Countesses]]
[[Category:Countesses of the Russian Empire]]
[[Category:Dames of the Order of the Starry Cross]]
[[Category:Princesses by marriage]]
[[Category:Road incident deaths in France]]
[[Category:Road incident deaths in France]]
[[Category:Smith College alumni]]

Latest revision as of 13:11, 2 January 2025

Xenia
Countess Czernichev-Besobrasov
Born(1929-06-11)11 June 1929
Paris, French Third Republic
Died20 September 1968(1968-09-20) (aged 39)
Le Gault-Soigny, Marne, Grand Est, France
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1953)​
IssueMaria-Anna Galitzine
Karl Peter von Habsburg
Simeon von Habsburg
Johannes Karl von Habsburg
HouseChernyshyev-Besobrasov (by birth)
Habsburg (by marriage)
FatherCount Sergei Czernichev-Besobrasov
MotherCountess Elizabeta Dimitrievna Sheremeteva

Countess Xenia Czernichev-Besobrasov (Chernysheva-Besobrasova; Russian: графиня Ксения Сергеевна Чернышёва-Безобразова; 11 June 1929, Paris – 20 September 1968, Casteau, Belgium) was the first wife of Archduke Rudolf of Austria, the youngest son of the last reigning Emperor of Austria-Hungary, Charles I.

Background

[edit]

She was the younger daughter of Count Sergei Chernyshyev-Besobrasov (later of New York City) by his wife Countess Elisabeth Dmitrievna Sheremeteva, and has descended from two prominent Russian noble families.[1] Xenia's father, Count Sergei, was a czarist courtier whose father was made a Russian count in 1908 as the son-in-law of the last Count Chernyshev-Kruglikov (that family, now extinct, itself rose to comital status in 1832, by marriage to the heiress of the extinct Chernyshev family, counts in Russia since 1742).[2] Count Sergei fled Russia after the Revolution, and settled in the United States with his wife Elizabeth, his son Alexander, and two daughters Irina and Xenia. In 1949, his older daughter Irina married Prince Teymuraz Bagration (1912-1992) as his second wife, without issue. Teymuraz's mother was Princess Tatiana of Russia.

Xenia was an alumna of Miss Hall's School in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.[3] She then attended Smith College for two years,[3] but did not graduate.[4] At the time of her engagement, she worked for Air France, and was based in New York City.[5]

Marriage

[edit]

The engagement between Archduke Rudolf and Countess Xenia Czernichev-Besobrasov was announced on 30 April 1953. The couple were married on 23 June 1953 at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Roman Catholic Church at Tuxedo Park, New York,[1] where Rudolf and his mother the Dowager Empress Zita were said to live on a "large estate". The wedding was officiated by Bishop Fulton J. Sheen.[5] Press reports claimed that this was the first imperial marriage in the United States.[5]

Countess Xenia Czernichev-Besobrasov was one of the first non-royal brides to marry into the former Imperial House of Austria in what would be accepted as an equal marriage, despite the relative obscurity of her father's family and the recentness of his title. The Habsburg house laws had been changed by former Crown Prince Otto of Austria in 1953 to permit archdukes to marry outside ruling and formerly reigning houses for the first time, permitting cadet archdukes to marry into increasingly minor noble houses.[3]

Subsequent life

[edit]

Archduke Rudolf worked at the time of his marriage in a New York City private banking firm. Rudolph and Xenia planned to make their home in New York, but their children were born in various countries, mostly the Belgian Congo.

All three of Xenia's children who lived to adulthood made princely marriages:[3][1]

  • Maria-Anna Galitzine (born 19 May 1954) on 24 November 1981 in Brussels married Peter Dimitrovich Galitzine (born 1955), and has issue.[6]
  • Karl Peter von Habsburg (born 13 October 1955) married on 2 May 1998 at Ellingen Castle in Bavaria Alexandra von Wrede (born 1970), a niece of his father's second wife, and has issue.[6]
  • Simeon von Habsburg (born 29 June 1958) married on 13 July 1996 María of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (born 1967), daughter of Infante Carlos, Duke of Calabria, claimed Head of the defunct Royal House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and first cousin to Juan Carlos I of Spain, and of his wife, Anne d'Orléans (daughter of the Count of Paris, pretender to the defunct throne of France). They have five children.[2]

Xenia was killed on 20 September 1968 when the car she was in with her husband collided with a truck.[3][6] Her husband was seriously injured. She was buried on the grounds of the Château de Belœil in Belgium.[4]

Xenia's widower, Archduke Rudolf remarried Anna Gabriele von Wrede in 1971 and had further issue.[2]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c de Badts de Cugnac, Chantal. Coutant de Saisseval, Guy. Le Petit Gotha. Nouvelle Imprimerie Laballery. Paris. 2002. pp. 175, 196-197 (French) ISBN 2-9507974-3-1
  2. ^ a b c Enache, Nicolas. La Descendance de Marie-Therese de Habsburg. ICC, Paris, 1996. pp. 47, 52. (French). ISBN 2-908003-04-X
  3. ^ a b c d e Beeche, Arturo (2009). The Gotha, Volume 1. California, US: Kensington House Books. pp. 31–32. ISBN 978-0-97-719617-3.
  4. ^ a b "Archduchess Xenia of Habsburg killed". The New York Times. 1968-09-27. p. 47. Retrieved 2018-06-02.
  5. ^ a b c Glentzer, Molly (15 June 2015). "Imperial show at MFAH has royal Houston connection". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  6. ^ a b c "Archduchess Xenia". The Berkshire Eagle. 28 September 1968. p. 11.
[edit]

Article based on a wedding announcement from American newspaper reports (Sources not cited).

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