Rudolf von und zu Liechtenstein

Prince Rudolf of Liechtenstein (18 April 1838 – 15 December 1908) was an Austrian aristocrat, a general in the Common Army and one of the highest officials in the court of Emperor Franz Joseph I.

Biography Rudolf was the youngest child and second son of Prince Karl Joseph of Liechtenstein and Countess Franziska von Wrbna-Freudenthal. His family was a cadet branch of the reigning Princely House of Liechtenstein, the Moravský-Krumlov line, which was descended from Prince Karl Borromäus, the younger brother of Franz Joseph I, Prince of Liechtenstein. Upon the death of his older brother Karl Rudolf – who was unmarried and childless – in 1899, Rudolf became head of the family.

After completing his education, Rudolf joined the military, eventually becoming General of the Cavalry in 1904. In 1862 he entered the service of the imperial court in Vienna, first as treasurer and later, privy councilor and Acting Minister of the Horse, as well as an honorary colonel of the Imperial Life-guards. In 1896 he was personally appointed by the Emperor as First Obersthofmeister (Lord High Steward), the premier official of the court, after the death of Prince Konstantin of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst. Rudolf's tenure at court was fraught with multiple events: the Badeni riots in Bohemia in 1897, the assassination of the Empress Elisabeth in 1898, and the morganatic marriage of Archduke Franz Ferdinand to Countess Sophie Chotek in 1900. He was also present during the state visits of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia in 1903.

An accomplished musician, Rudolf composed music for the texts of Walther von der Vogelweide and Heinrich Heine.

In the later years of his life, Rudolf was often plagued by illness; his duties were taken over by his deputy Alfred, 2nd Prince of Montenuovo. He eventually died unmarried in 1908, and was interred in the family crypt in Moravský Krumlov castle, Moravia. With his death, the Moravský-Krumlov line of the House of Liechtenstein became extinct.

Honours National orders and decorations Knight of the Golden Fleece, 1892 Grand Cross of the Royal Hungarian Order of St. Stephen, 1896 Grand Cross of Merit of the Bavarian Crown, 1896 Knight of St. Hubert, 1898 Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold (military) Grand Cross of St. Alexander, in Brilliants Ernestine duchies: Grand Cross of the Saxe-Ernestine House Order Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour Grand Cross of the Ludwig Order, 18 May 1893 Grand Cross of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Grand Cordon of the Rising Sun Bailiff Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion Grand Cross of the Red Eagle, 25 April 1896 Knight of the Black Eagle, in Brilliants Order of the Double Dragon, Class III Grade I Grand Cross of the Star of Romania Knight of St. Andrew, 1900 Knight of St. Alexander Nevsky Knight of the White Eagle Knight of St. Anna, 1st Class Knight of St. Stanislaus, 1st Class Grand Cross of the White Falcon, 1892 Grand Cross of the Albert Order, 1891 Knight of the Rue Crown, 1898 Cross of Honour of the House Order of Lippe, 1st Class Grand Cross of the White Eagle Siam: Grand Cross of the White Elephant Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III, with Collar, 19 October 1906 Sweden-Norway: Knight of the Seraphim, 25 February 1904 Tuscan Grand Ducal Family: Grand Cross of St. Joseph Honorary Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, 9 October 1903 Commander of the Friedrich Order, 2nd Class, 1866 Grand Cross of the Württemberg Crown, 1893

Ancestry