Archduke Sigismund, Grand Duke of Tuscany

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Pretender
Archduke Sigismund of Austria
Born 21 April 1966 (1966-04-21) (age 42)
Lausanne, Switzerland
Title(s) Grand Duke of Tuscany
Throne(s) claimed Tuscany
Pretend from 18 June, 1993
Monarchy abolished 1860
Last monarch Ferdinand IV
Connection with great-great grandson
Royal House Habsburg-Lorraine
Father Archduke Leopold Franz
Mother Princess Laetitia of Arenberg
Spouse Elyssa Edmonstone
Predecessor Archduke Leopold Franz

Archduke Sigismund of Austria, (Titular) Grand Duke of Tuscany (Sigismund Otto Maria Josef Gottfried Henrich Erik Leopold Ferdinand von Habsburg-Lothringen) Prince Imperial of Austria, Prince Royal of Hungary and Bohemia, (born 21 April 1966 in Lausanne) is the current head of the Tuscan branch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Sigismund is the son of Archduke Leopold Franz and his first wife Princess Laetitia of Arenberg, born Laetitia de Belsunce (and adopted by her stepfather Erik, 11th Duke of Arenberg).[1] Sigismund was educated in Computer science and has worked as a banker.[2]

In 1993 Sigismund's father Leopold Franz renounced his rights as Head of the Grand Ducal Family of Tuscany in favour of Sigismund because his second marriage (after a divorce) conflicted with the laws of the Roman Catholic Order of St. Stephen, of which he was then head. Since then, Sigismund has been the Head of the Grand Ducal House of Tuscany.

Sigismund has a deep and long-standing relationship with Uruguay. He was raised there by his mother. He and his maternal family are said to possess important businesses in Punta del Este and in the countryside.[citation needed]

Sigismund is Grand Master of the Order of Saint Joseph and Order of Saint Stephen, the two orders of knighthood of the Grand Ducal House of Tuscany.

[edit] Family

In 1999, Sigismund married Elyssa Juliet Edmonstone (born Glasgow, September 11, 1973), the only daughter of Sir Archibald Bruce Edmonstone, of Duntreath, 7th Baronet by his second wife Juliet Elizabeth Deakin.[3] Archduchess Elyssa is a great-great-granddaughter of Marshall Field and a third cousin of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. The Edmonstone family is an old Scottish family that was only raised to a baronetcy on 20 May 1774; their best-known member was the royal mistress Alice Keppel.

The couple have three children:

  • Archduke Amadeo, Grand Prince of Tuscany (born 9 May 2001), heir apparent to the headship of the House of Tuscany
  • Archduchess Tatyana of Austria, Princess of Tuscany (born 3 March 2003)
  • Archduke Maximilian of Austria, Prince of Tuscany (born 27 May 2004)

Sigismund lives with his family in Livingston, West Lothian, Scotland.

[edit] Ancestry

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Arenberg Genealogy
  2. ^ Enders, Gaetana. ""Remembering Tuscany: H.I.R.H. Sigismund of Austria and Elissa Edmonstone"", Hello Magazine, 1999-07-31. 
  3. ^ "Archduke Sigismund of Austria and Miss E.J. Edmonstone", The Times (September 13, 1999), 20.

[edit] External links

Archduke Sigismund, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Born: 21 April 1966
Titles in pretence
Preceded by
Archduke Leopold Franz of Austria		 — TITULAR —
Grand Duke of Tuscany
1993-
Reason for succession failure:
Tuscany incorporated into the United Provinces of Central Italy		 Incumbent
Designated heir:
Archduke Amadeo,
Grand Prince of Tuscany
Line of succession to the Austro-Hungarian throne
45th position
Languages