Archduke Karl Albrecht of Austria

Archduke Karl Albrecht of Austria-Teschen (Karl Albrecht Nikolaus Leo Gratianus von Österreich, later Karl Albrecht Habsburg-Lothringen, since 1919 – Karol Olbracht Habsburg-Lotaryński; (Pula, 18 December 1888 – Östervik, nr. Stockholm, 17 March 1951).

Early life and career

He was an Austrian Archduke, the oldest son of Archduke Charles Stephen and Archduchess Maria Theresia, Princess of Tuscany.

He was a landowner in Żywiec, Officer Colonel of Artillery in both the Imperial (k.u.k.) Austro-Hungarian Army (on Horse) and the Polish Army, and the 1,175th Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece in 1910, etc.^[1]

In 1918 and again in 1939 he volunteered to the Polish Army. He fought in the Polish–Soviet War.^[2] In 1920, he commanded the Grudziądz Fortress. During the German occupation of Poland, he declared Polish nationality and refused to sign the Volksliste. He was imprisoned^[2] in November 1939, kept in Cieszyn and tortured by the Gestapo.^[2] His wife was interned in Wisła. He left prison blind in one eye and half-paralyzed. In October 1942, Albrecht and his family were sent to a labor camp in Strausberg.^[2] After liberation, he moved to Kraków and then to Sweden. His estate was confiscated in 1939 by the invading Germans, and again in 1945 by the Polish People's Republic.^[2]

Family and children

On 8 November 1920 he married morganatically Alice Elisabeth Ankarcrona (Tullgarn, near Trosa, 18 December 1889 - Saltsjöbaden, near Stockholm, Sweden, 26 November 1985) in the Castle of Żywiec, Poland. Alice became the Princess von Altenburg (with the style Highness) on 15 December 1949, as a daughter of Oscar Carl Gustav Ankarcrona (10 June 1857 -), and his wife (m. 20 November 1886) Anna Elisabeth Aurora Carleson (5 November 1867 -).

Their children were:

• Karl-Stefan Maximilian Ferdinand Narcissus Maria Prince of Altenburg (b. Balice, Poland, 29 October 1921); married in Geneva, Switzerland, on 18 September 1952 his first cousin, Maria-Louise Victoria Katharina Elisabeth af Petersens (Stockholm, 4 November 1910 - Östervik, Sweden, 27 May 1998), daughter of August af Petersens and wife, Victoria (Vera) Ankarcrona, and had two children:
  • Maria-Christina Ninfa Renata Margarita Isabella Clara Eugenia Anselma Princess of Altenburg (b. Stockholm, 21 April 1953), unmarried and without issue
  • Karl-Albrecht Ferdinand Leopold Philipp Joseph Rafael Maria Prince of Altenburg (Stockholm, 24 October 1956 - Zürich, 26 May 1957)
• Maria-Christina Immaculata Elisabeth Renata Alice Gabriela Princess of Altenburg (Castle of Żywiec, Poland, 8 December 1923 – 2 October 2012, Żywiec, Poland), unmarried and without issue.
• Karl-Albrecht Maximilian Leo Maria Dominic Prince of Altenburg (Castle of Żywiec, Poland, 4 August 1926 - Castle of Żywiec, Poland, 19 December 1928)
• Renata Maria Theresia Alice Elisabeth Princess of Altenburg (b. Castle of Żywiec, Poland, 13 April 1931), married in Stockholm on 26 June 1957 Spanish Diplomat Eduardo de Zulueta y Dato (b. Paris, France 4 December 1923), and had four children.
  • Carlos Eduardo Zulueta y Altenburgo (b. New York City), 19 October 1958), married in Santillana del Mar on 4 July 1987 Anna Iturralde (b. Madrid, 17 December 1961), and had one child
    • Inez Zulueta y Iturralde (b. Madrid, 27 September 1989)
  • Ernesto Maria Zulueta y Altenburgo (b. New York City), 7 July 1961), married in Saudburg, Ontario, Canada, on 25 July 1987 Adriana de la Riva, and had one child
    • Cristina de Zulueta y de la Riva (b. Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, 16 April 1989)
  • Isabel Zulueta y Altenburgo (b. Madrid), 7 March 1965), married in Madrid, in June 1990, Juan Pedro Alcobia y Luz, and had one child
    • Gaetana Alcobia y de Zulueta (b. 11 June 1992)
  • Jaime Zulueta y Altenburgo (1971 - 15 February 1988), unmarried and no issues.

Ancestry

Titles, styles, honours, and arms

Awards

• Order of Polonia Restituta
• Cross of Valor

References