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Prince Ferdinand of Liechtenstein

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Prince Ferdinand Andreas
Born(1901-01-18)18 January 1901
Salzburg
Died7 July 1981(1981-07-07) (aged 80)
Neuilly-sur-Seine
Spouse
Shelagh Salome Houston Brunner
​
​
(m. 1925; div. 1934)​

Brita Christina Nordenskiöld
​
​
(m. 1940; div. 1948)​

Dorothy Haydel Oelrichs
​
​
(m. 1950, divorced)​

Nadine Georgette Maria Ansay
​
​
(m. 1968)​
IssueChristopher, Graf von Rietberg
Elisabeth, Gräfin von Rietberg
Prince Johannes
Names
Ferdinand Aloys Andreas Joseph Anton Maria
HouseLiechtenstein
FatherPrince Eduard of Liechtenstein
MotherCountess Olga of Pückler-Limpurg

Prince Ferdinand Aloys Andreas Joseph Anton Maria of Liechtenstein (18 January 1901 – 7 July 1981) was a Prince of the House of Liechtenstein and nephew of Franz I, Prince of Liechtenstein and cousin of Franz Joseph II, Prince of Liechtenstein. Prince Ferdinand was an internationally known banker, athlete and big game hunter.

Early life

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He was the second son of Prince Eduard Viktor Maria (1872–1951) and the former Olga, Gräfin von Pückler und Limpurg (1873–1966). His brother, Prince Johannes, married an American and moved to a ranch near Weatherford, Texas.[1][2][3]

His paternal grandparents were Prince Eduard Franz (a son of Johann I Joseph and Landgravine Josepha of Fürstenberg-Weitra) and the former Honoria Hrabina Choloniowa-Choloniewska.[4][5]

Career

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In 1932,[6] he was a captain of the Austrian Olympic team that competed in Los Angeles, California.[7][8] He shared a bungalow with a butcher, a policeman, and a chauffeur, all members of the team.[9] Later that year, he qualified as a parachutist.[10]

In 1935, thirty-four year old Prince Ferdinand left Vienna for Addis Ababa to offer his services to Haile Selassie, the Emperor of Abyssinia (modern day Ethiopia).[11]

In 1939, Prince Ferdinand try to join Finnish army. Finnish official knew that he was German spy (Finland was in war against German ally Russia) and rejected him at the medical examination. When he was sent out of Finland he made fake news article about him fighting in Finnish army as one of the first foreign volunteers in unit called "ghost patrol" what didn`t exist [12][13]

In 1943, he was falsely reported to have been murdered by the Gestapo in Austria. The alleged murder, reported by his aunt, was apparently in revenge for Prince Ferdinand's help in saving fortunes of friends in Vienna. When the Nazis moved into Central Europe, he helped his friends deposit their funds in Swiss banks, a move which the Germans charged, was instrumental in the decline in the value of the mark.[2]

Personal life

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Prince Ferdinand was married four times and had issue with his first two wives. He morganatically married firstly Shelagh Salome Houston Brunner (1900–1983) in London on 14 January 1925,[14] in what was reportedly the first marriage of a member of the House of Liechtenstein history and a commoner.[15] Shelagh was the daughter of Roscoe Brunner, chairman of Brunner Mond, and granddaughter of Sir John Brunner, 1st Baronet.[16] A little more than a year after their marriage, her father killed her mother in a murder-suicide at Green Cottage, Roehampton, the London home of the Liechtensteins.[17] After their divorce, she was created Gräfin von Rietberg on 5 December 1951. Together, they were the parents of:[4]

  • Christopher Richard Francis, Graf von Rietberg (1926–2005), who married Kathleen Hamilton Mahan in 1955, a daughter of Alfred Thayer Mahan of New York City.[18]
  • Ethel Elisabeth Olga Mary, Gräfin von Rietberg (1928–1999), who married Klaus Bruno von Brehm in 1953. They divorced in 1961 and she married Richard Douglas Loftus Onslow in 1968.[4]

While in Los Angeles for the 1932 Summer Olympics, he met actress Ina Claire. In 1934, Ferdinand and Ina bought tickets for the Italian ocean liner Vulcania bound for Cannes.[7] His second marriage was to Brita Christina Nordenskiöld (1919–1971) in Stockholm on 7 September 1940. Brita was the daughter of Bengt Nordenskiöld and Dagmar Werner. Before divorced, they were the parents of:[4]

  • Johannes (Hanno) Eduard Bengt Henrik Andreas Maria, Graf von Rietberg (1941–2003), who married Kerstin Lundberg, the daughter of Carl Gustaf Lennart Lundberg, Commanding General of the Royal Swedish Air Force, and Tyra Elisabet Felldin in 1968. They were created Prinz und Prinzessin von und zu Liechtenstein on 11 May 1974.[4]

On 21 August 1950, he married for the third time to Dorothy (née Haydel) Oelrichs (1893–1961), in East Hampton, New York.[19] Dorothy, a daughter of Harry Haydel of St. Louis, Missouri, was the widow of Hermann Oelrichs Jr. (the only child of Hermann Oelrichs and Theresa Fair Oelrichs).[20] She died Kitzbühel, Austria, on 11 April 1961.[21]

On 19 December 1968, he was married in Sucy-en-Brie for the fourth and final time to Nadine Georgette Maria (née Ansay) Alexandre (1916–2003). Nadine, the former wife of Pierre Alexandre and daughter of Hubert Ansay and Lucienne Legrand, was created Prinzessin von und zu Liechtenstein on 31 June 1975.[4]

Prince Ferdinand died on 7 July 1981 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France after a traffic accident.[22] His widow, Prinzessin von und zu Liechtenstein, died in Boulogne-sur-Mer on 5 November 2003.[4]

References

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  1. ^ "TEXAS GIRL IS WED QUIETLY TO PRINCE; Cattle Baron's Daughter Joins Liechtenstein Royalty in London Ceremony. COUPLE TO VISIT AMERICA Bride Educated in New York at Miss Spence's School and Columbia University". The New York Times. 30 July 1931. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Prince Ferdinand of Liechtenstein Is Reported Murdered by Gestapo". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. 23 July 1943. p. 1. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  3. ^ "ROYAL VISITORS HONORED.; Prince and Princess Johannes Liechtenstein Dinner Guests". The New York Times. 21 July 1934. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003. Vol. 1, p. 556.
  5. ^ "Prince Ferdinand Arrives". The New York Times. 23 August 1949. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  6. ^ "PRINCE'S $2,000 SAFE.; Austrian Olympic Leader Finds Wallet Where He Left It on Table". The New York Times. 28 July 1932. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  7. ^ a b "INA CLAIRE DELAYS SAILING OF LINER". The Burlington Free Press. 10 March 1934. p. 1. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  8. ^ "LATE BRIEFS --From the AP Wire--". The Berkshire Eagle. 10 June 1929. p. 1. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  9. ^ "PRINCE AND BUTCHER LIVE SIDE BY SIDE; In Strange Olympic Village Class Lines and Distinctions Are Obliterated". The New York Times. 30 July 1932. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  10. ^ "Prince Qualifies as Parachutist". The New York Times. 7 December 1932. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  11. ^ "PRINCE TO BE SOLDIER". The Birmingham News. 23 December 1935. p. 5. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  12. ^ "Prince Fights". The Times. 8 March 1940. p. 33. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  13. ^ "Natsiprinssi yritti värväytyä vakoojaksi talvisotaan – "Osana kuuluisia suomalaisia aavepartioita" – Päivän Lehti".
  14. ^ "LICHTENSTEIN PRINCE WEDS; Ferdinand Marries Englishwoman at Brompton Oratory". The New York Times. 15 January 1925. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  15. ^ "Wedding In London Brilliant Ceremony". The Province. 4 February 1925. p. 10. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  16. ^ Times, Wireless To the New York (5 November 1926). "ENGLISH CAPITALIST KILLS WIFE AND SELF; Roscoe Brunner, Former Head of Big Chemical Firm, Was Ignored in Huge Merger. LOST IN BUSINESS DEALS His Wife Visited London Newspaper Tuesday to Complain of His Being Shelved. HE HAD BEEN IN ILL HEALTH Murder and Suicide Occur in the London Home of Daughter, Princess of Lichtenstein". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  17. ^ "The Fatal Bullet Pierced Her $500,000 Pearl Necklace Mystery of Exactly What Was Said and Done When Roscoe Brunner, Multi-Millionaire British Capitalist, Shot His Wife as She Stood in Full Evening Dress Before Her Mirror". The San Francisco Examiner. 19 December 1926. p. 111. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  18. ^ Times, Special to The New York (9 May 1955). "KATHLEEN H. MAHAN ENGAGED TO MARRY". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  19. ^ "LIECHTENSTEIN PRINCE WEDS MRS. OELRICHS" (PDF). The New York Times. August 22, 1950. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  20. ^ "EX-ST. LOUIS WOMAN MARRIED TO PRINCE Mrs. Hermann Oelrichs and Ferdinand of Liechtenstein Wed on Long Island". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 23 August 1950. p. 25. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  21. ^ "PRINCESS DOROTHY" (PDF). The New York Times. April 12, 1961. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  22. ^ "Deaths". Calgary Herald. 11 July 1981. p. 10. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
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