Archduke Rudolph dead at 90

HI & RH Archduke Rudolph Syringus Peter Karl Franz Joseph Robert Otto Antonius Maria Pius Benedikt Ignatius Laurentius Justiniani Marcus d'Aviano of Austria died on May 15 in Switzerland. He was 90 years old.

Archduke Rudolph was the sixth of eight children of Emperor Karl and Empress Zita of Austria. He was born in exile at Villa Prangins, near Nyon, in Belgium on September 5, 1919.

On June 22, 1953 in Tuxedo Park, New York, Archduke Rudolph married Russian Countess Xenia Tschernyschev-Besobrasow. Rudolph's older brother, Archduke Otto, as head of the house, decreed that the marriage was equal, although Xenia did not come from a royal or mediatized house.

The family settled in Brussels, where the Archduke worked in banking. The couple's first child, Archduchess Maria-Anna was born in 1954. She married Prince Peter Galitzine, and they now live in Moscow.

Rudolph and Xenia's second child, Archduke Carl Peter, was born in 1955 in what was then the Belgian Congo. He is married to Princess Alexandra of Wrede. They live in Luxembourg.

Archduke Simeon, who is married to Princess Maria of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, also works in finance and is based in Vaduz, Liechtenstein.

Archduchess Xenia was killed in a car accident in Belgium on September 20, 1968.
Three years later, Archduke Rudolph married for a second time. His new wife was Princess Anna Gabriele of Wrede, who is the aunt of her stepson, Carl Peter's wife.

Rudolph and Anna Gabriela were the parents of one daughter, Archduchess Catharina, who is married to Count Massimiliano of Secco d'Aragona. They live in Italy, where the count works in banking.

Archduke Rudolph last appeared in public at the funeral of his sister-in-law, Archduchess Regina, the wife of Archduke Otto.

He is survived by his second wife, four children, Archduchess Maria Anna, Archduke Carl Peter, Archduke Simeon and Archduchess Catharina, and 15 grandchildren. Another son, Archduke Johannes, who was born in in 1962, died in 1975. He is oldest survived by numerous grandchildren, and his two brothers, Otto and Felix.

The third photo shows Archduke Rudolph and Archduchess Anna Gabriela with Archduchess Catharina and Archdukes Carl Peter and Simeon. This photo was taken in 1994.

The black and white photos of Rudolph and Xenia were taken in 1967. These photos may not be copied or downloaded at all. Thanks.