Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza

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Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza

Born	April 2, 1921(1921-04-02) Scheveningen, Netherlands
Died	April 26, 2002 (aged 81) Catalonia, Spain
Spouse	Teresa, Princess of Lippe-Weissenfeld Nina Sheila Dyer Fiona Campbell-Walter Denise Shorto Carmen Cervera
Parents	Heinrich, Baron Thyssen-Bornemisza de Kászon Margit Bornemisza de Kászon

Hans Henrik (Hans Heinrich "Heini") Ágost Gábor Tasso Freiherr Thyssen-Bornemisza de Kászon et Impérfalva (2 April 1921 – 26 April 2002), a noted industrialist and art collector, was a Dutch-born Swiss citizen with a(n) (Austrian-)Hungarian title, a legal resident of Monaco for tax purposes, with a declared second residency in the United Kingdom, but in actuality a long-time resident of Spain, and son of a German father and a Hungarian and English American mother (related to Daniel M. Frost and John Kerry^[1]). His fifth and last wife, Carmen "Tita" Cervera, is a former Miss Spain.

He was born in Scheveningen, Netherlands, the son of Heinrich Baron Thyssen-Bornemisza de Kászon et Impérfalva (1875-1947) and his first wife, Baroness Margit Bornemisza de Kászon et Impérfalva (1887-1971). The Thyssen family's fortune was built upon a steel and armaments empire: Heinrich Thyssen had abandoned Germany as a young man and settled in Hungary in 1905. In Budapest, Heinrich married the daughter of the King's Chamberlain, who, having no sons of his own, adopted Heinrich and passed on his barony to him. The passing along of the title has raised numerous questions over whether Heinrich Thyssen could actually call himself Baron at all.

He married firstly at Lugano-Castagnola, 1 August 1946, Austrian aristocrat HSH Teresa (Theresia) Amalia Franziska Elisabeth Maria Prinzessin zur Lippe-Weissenfeld (b. Wien, July 21, 1925). Their only child was Georg Heinrich Alfred Gábor (b. Lugano-Castagnola, March 19, 1950). They divorced 14 May 1954, and she married at Kloten bei Zürich, April 9, 1960, as her second husband, Friedrich Maximilian, Prince of Fürstenberg (Schloss Wechselburg, July 26, 1926 – Wien, November 2, 1969), by whom she had issue. Their son had one son ex patre named Simon (b. Wien, December 1, 2001) by Catharina Eleonore Gräfin von Meran Freiin von Brandhofen (Klagenfurt, January 20, 1967) - former wife (married at Klagenfurt, June 17, 1989 and later divorced) of Alexander Kahane (Wien, May 1, 1955), an Austrian businessman of Jewish ancestry, by whom she had a son and a daughter Ludwig Kahane (b. Wien, 13 October 1991) and Alice Kahane (b. Wien, 1 July 1993) -, daughter of Maximilian Joseph Otto Johannes Graf von Meran Freiherr von Brandhofen (b. Csákberényi, 20 April 1930) and wife (m. Wien, 16 September 1961) HSH Colienne Ida Franziska Kathleen Eleonore Maria Prinzessin zu Schwarzenberg (b. Berlin, 16 February 1937).

He married secondly at Colombo, Ceylon or Paris, 23 June 1954, Anglo-Indian fashion model Nina Sheila Dyer (London or Sri Lanka, February 15, 1930 – Paris, July 3, 1965); they had no children and were divorced on 4 July 1956. She later married and divorced His Highness Prince Sadruddhin Aga Khan and committed suicide in 1965.

He married thirdly at Lugano-Castagnola, 17 September 1956, New Zealand-born British fashion model Fiona Frances Elaine Campbell-Walter (b. Takapuna, Prov. Auckland, June 25, 1932). She was a daughter of Rear-Admiral Keith McNeill Walter (later Campbell-Walter) (Hazaribagh, August 31, 1904 – April 24, 1976) and wife (married on December 16, 1930), Frances Henriette Campbell (Semarang, Dutch East Indies, November 30, 1904 – ?), paternal granddaughter of Alexander McNeill Walter, of Hazaribagh, India, Zemindari manager (Calcutta, May 12, 1875 – Hazaribagh, February 12, 1936), and wife Florence Ruth Gisella Downing (Purnesh, Bengal, October 5, 1879 – Holloway Sanitorium, Egham, Surrey, April 8, 1976), and maternal granddaughter of Sir Edward Taswell Campbell of Airds Bay, Argyll, 1st Baronet in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom (July 3, 1939), Member of Parliament for Bromley (1930-1945) (April 9, 1879 – Bromley, Kent, July 17, 1945) and wife (married on January 28, 1904) Edith Jane Warren (Surabaya, Dutch East Indies, December 7, 1880 – Stonycrest, Hindhead, Surrey, October 26, 1951). Their children were Francesca Anne Dolores (b. Lausanne, June 7, 1958 and now married at Mariazell, January 31, 1993 to Karl Habsburg-Lothringen, heir to the defunct Austrian Imperial Throne) and Lorne (b. Lugano, June 15, 1963), who converted to Islam and is unmarried and without issue. They divorced on January 20, 1965, and she went on to have a well-publicized relationship with Greek shipping heir Alexander Onassis, the only son of Aristotle Onassis.

He married fourthly at Lugano-Castagnola, 13 December 1967, Denise Shorto (b. Garça, São Paulo, São Paulo, December 23, 1942), a Brazilian banker's daughter. They had one son, Wilfried Alexander August (b. Zürich, November 20, 1974), and divorced in November 29, 1984.

He married, lastly, fifthly at Daylesford, Gloucestershire, on August 16, 1985, María del Carmen Rosario Soledad Cervera Fernández de la Guerra, popularly known as Carmen "Tita" Cervera, (b. Barcelona, April 23, 1943), who was Miss Spain of 1961, daughter of ... Cervera and wife María del Carmen Fernández de la Guerra, who died at Madrid, February 22, 1992. Hans Heinrich adopted her son, Borja (b. Madrid, 1980, father unknown). On March 6, 1965, she had married Lex Barker (1919-1973), an American actor and socialite best known for his portrayal of Tarzan. He had previously been married to Lana Turner and Arlene Dahl. Tita had won an out-of-court settlement in the mid-1970s which effectively left Barker’s youngest son, Christopher, disinherited. She later married secondly in 1975 to Espartaco Borja Santoni (Venezuela, 1932 – 1988), later divorced, without issue.

As part of an attempt to dissolve a trust and thereby gain control of her third husband’s assets, she cast doubt on the paternity of Georg Heinrich von Thyssen-Bornemisza, alleging that his father was actually Count Iván Batthyány de Német-Ujvár, the husband of Thyssen's sister, Margit von Batthyány. However, a settlement was reached between the parties before the baron's death in Sant Feliu de Guixols, Catalonia, Spain, which brought to a "peaceable" conclusion the wrangling over control of the vast Thyssen art collection, which will remain in Spain.

Hans Heinrich died in Sant Feliu de Guíxols, Catalonia, Spain. He is buried in the family vault of Landsberg Palace in the Ruhr valley near Essen, Germany.