William Albert, 1st Prince of Montenuovo

William Albert, 1st Prince of Montenuovo (8 August 1819 – 7 April 1895) was an Italian prince and Field Marshal Lieutenant of the Austrian Empire.

Early life

Count William Albert of Neipperg was born in 1819 at Parma, Duchy of Parma. He was the son of Adam Albert, Count of Neipperg (1775–1829), illegitimately (prior to his marriage in 1821) by his second wife, Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma (1791–1847). She was the daughter of Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, and Princess Maria Teresa of Naples and Sicily.

His mother Marie Louise was the second wife and Empress consort of Napoleon I from 1810 to 1814. She subsequently reigned in her own right as Duchess of Parma from 1817 onward.

After the death of her husband Napoleon I, who died on St. Helena in 1821, she married morganatically to Adam Albert von Neipperg. As a result, William Albert was the half-brother of Napoleon II

Military career

In 1838, he joined the ranks of the Austrian army and took part in the counterinsurgency battles of 1848 in Italy and Hungary, earning in 1854 the title of Second Lieutenant field marshal.

In 1859, he took part in the disastrous Battle of Magenta, where the Austrian army was defeated by the Franco-Sardinian army. In 1860, he became commander of a regiment, and he was moved in 1866 to Bohemia. In 1867, he was promoted to General of Cavalry, remaining in office until 1878.

Prince of Montenuovo

In 1864, he was elevated to the status of Prince of Montenuovo, which is the Italian translation of Neipperg.

Marriage

William Albert married on 22 February 1861 in Vienna to Countess Juliana Batthyány-Strattmann (1827–1871), youngest daughter of Count János Baptist Batthyány-Strattmann and his wife, Countess Marie Esterházy de Galántha.

They had three children:

• Princess Albertine of Montenuovo (30 June 1853 – 13 November 1895), married in 1873 to Count Zygmunt Wielopolski, Marquis Gonzaga-Myszkowski, had issue.
• Alfred, 2nd Prince of Montenuovo (16 September 1854 – 6 September 1927), married in 1879 to Countess Franziska Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau, had issue.
• Princess Marie of Montenuovo (14 October 1868 – 17 April 1932), married in 1878 to Count Antal Apponyi de Nagy-Appony, had issue.

Honours

Parma

• Knight Grand Cross of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George
• Commander Order of Merit under the title of St. Louis

Austria

• Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece
• Knight of the Military Order of Maria Theresa
• Knight of the Order of Leopold
• Medal of War

Other

• Knight of the Order of the Red Eagle
• Knight of the Order of St. Anna
• Knight of the Order of Saint Stanislaus
• Knight 3rd class of the Order of St. Vladimir
• Knight of the Nichan Iftikhar
• Knight of Honour and Devotion of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta

Ancestry

Notes and sources

• thePeerage.com - Wilhelm Albrecht Fürst von Montenuovo
• Genealogics - Leo van de Pas - Wilhelm Albrecht, 1.Fürst von Montenuovo
• The Royal House of Stuart, London, 1969, 1971, 1976, Addington, A. C., Reference: 60 ; III 10
• Jaromir Shepherd Field: The Military Maria Theresia Order and its members, Vienna 1857, S.1672-1676
• P. Broucek: Montenuovo Wilhelm Albrecht Fürst von . P. Broucek: Monte Nuovo Wilhelm Albrecht Fürst von . In: Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). In: Austrian Biographical Dictionary 1815-1950 (ÖBL). Band 6, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien 1975, ISBN 3-7001-0128-7, S. 361 f. Volume 6, published by the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 1975, ISBN 3-7001-0128-7, p. 361 f. (Direktlinks auf S. 361, S. 362 ) (Direct-on p. 361, p. 362 )
• Montenuovo, Wilhelm Albrecht Fürst von . Monte Nuovo, Wilhelm Albrecht Fürst von . In Constantin von Wurzbach : Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich, 19. In Constantin von Wurzbach : Biographical Encyclopedia of the Empire of Austria, 19 Band, 1868 Band, 1868
• Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon, Sechste Auflage, 1904–1911 Meyers Big Conversation Dictionary, Sixth Edition, 1904–1911