Archduchess Yolande of Austria

Archduchess Yolande of Austria (née Princesse Yolande Marie Jeanne Charlotte de Ligne; born 6 May 1923) is the widow of Archduke Carl Ludwig of Austria.

Yolande was born in Madrid as the second daughter of Eugène, 11th Prince de Ligne and his wife Philippine de Noailles (1898-1991). Her father was the Belgian ambassador to India from 1947 to 1951, ambassador to Spain from 1951 to 1958, and the head of one of Belgium's historically most influential noble families. He died in 1960.

Each of Yolande's two brothers became the Prince de Ligne (Baudouin, 12th Prince de Ligne and Antoine, 13th Prince de Ligne). Antoine is the father of Michel, 14th Prince de Ligne and Princess Christine, wife of Prince Antônio of Orléans-Braganza (second in-line to the titular Brazilian throne). Antoine's youngest daughter is named after Yolande.

Marriage and issue

On 17 January 1950 at the Château de Beloeil, Belgium (the family seat of the House of Ligne), Yolande married Archduke Carl Ludwig of Austria (1918–2007). The fifth child of Austria's last emperor, Charles I and his wife Zita of Bourbon-Parma, Carl Ludwig and Yolande were childhood sweethearts. Wedding guests included Carl Ludwig's eldest brother Archduke Otto (claimant to the Habsburg throne) as well as members of half a dozen other royal families; representatives of the Belgian royal family did not, however, attend. The couple honeymooned in Florida, eventually settling in New York City, where Carl Ludwig worked for the Rockefeller Foundation.

They had four children:

• Archduke Rudolf (b. 1950), married Baroness Hélène de Villenfagne de Vogelsanck (b. 1954) in Brussels 3 July 1976, their family taking up residence in Belgium thereafter. On 29 May 1978 he and his children and male-line descendants were incorporated in the nobility of Belgium by royal letters patent with the style of Serene Highness and the hereditary title "Prince of Habsburg-Lorraine". They have seven children:
  • Archduke Carl Christian (born 1977) m. 2 June 2007 Estelle de Saint-Romain:
    • Archduchess Zita (born 2008)
    • Archduchess Anežka (born 2010)
    • Archduchess Anna (born 2012)
    • Archduchess Paola of Austria (2014)
  • Archduchess Priscilla (born 1979)
  • Archduke Johannes (born 1981)
  • Archduke Thomas (born 1983)
  • Archduchess Marie-des-Neiges (born 1986)
  • Archduke Franz-Ludwig (born 1988)
  • Archduke Michael (born 1990)
  • Archduke Joseph (born 1991)
• Archduchess Alexandra (born 1952) married Chilean ambassador to the Holy See Héctor Riesle Contreras. and they have three children.
• Archduke Carl Christian (born 1954) married Princess Marie Astrid of Luxembourg on 6 February 1982 in Luxembourg. They have five children:
  • Archduchess Marie Christine (born 1983), who married Count Rodolphe de Limburg-Stirum in Mechelen, Belgium, on 6 December 2008:
    • Count Léopold de Limburg-Stirum (born 2011)
    • Count Constantin de Limburg-Stirum (born 2013)
    • Count Gabriel de Limburg-Stirum (born 2016)
  • Archduke Imre (born 1985) married Kathleen Elizabeth Walker in Washington, DC, on 8 September 2012.
    • Archduchess Maria Stella (born 2013)
    • Archduchess Magdalena of Austria (born 2016)
  • Archduke Christoph (born 1988), married Adélaïde Drapé-Frisch in Nancy, France on 28 December 2012 (civil) and 29 December 2012 (religious).
    • Archduchess Katarina (born 2014)
  • Archduke Alexander (born 1990)
  • Archduchess Gabriella (born 1994)
• Archduchess Maria Constanza (born 1957) married Franz Josef, Prince von Auersperg-Trautson. They have one adopted daughter, Anna Maria, and three biological daughters:
  • Princess Alexandra Maria (1998 - 1998).
  • Princess Ladislaya (born 1999).
  • Princess Eleonora (born 2002).

• ^ Lundy, Darryl. "The Peerage: Princesse Yolande Marie Jeanne Charlotte de Ligne". Retrieved 4 August 2010. 
• Brook-Shepherd, p. 178.
• ^ "Princess de Ligne To Wed Today", The New York Times, Beloeil, Belgium, 16 January 1950 
• ^ "Archduke Charles of Habsburg Weds Princess Yolande of Ligne in Belgium", The New York Times, Beloeil, Belgium, 18 January 1950 
• Brook-Shepherd, p. 170.
• ^ de Badts de Cugnac, Chantal. Coutant de Saisseval, Guy. Le Petit Gotha. Nouvelle Imprimerie Laballery, Paris 2002, p. 193-198 (French) ISBN 2-9507974-3-1
• Luengo, Gonzalo. 2009. Nobles en Chile: Visión a través de uno de ellos. Retrieved July 10th, 2010.
• Full name
• Verliebt, verlobt, verlobt - website Tageblatt Online

Titles

• 6 May 1923 – 17 January 1950 Her Highness Princess Yolande de Ligne
• 17 January 1950 - Present Her Imperial and Royal Highness Archduchess Yolande of Austria

Honours

National dynastic honours

• House of Habsburg: Dame of the Imperial and Royal Order of the Starry Cross, 2nd Class

• https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/f4/1b/43/f41b43762918a886ea1726b30784bc21.jpg
• http://www.gettyimages.in/detail/news-photo/the-90th-birthday-of-otto-von-habsburg-in-vienna-austria-on-news-photo/124045010
• http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/otto-habsburg-publizist-politiker-csu-österreich-dsohn-news-photo/541472475