Mariano Hugo of Windisch-Graetz

Mariano Hugo
Prince of Windisch-Graetz
Coat of Arms of Prince Mariano Hugo as Head of the House of Windisch-Graetz.
Head of House of Windisch-Graetz
Period 1976 - present
Predecessor Prince Maximilian
Heir Prince Maximilian Hugo
Spouse Sophie von Habsburg (Archduchess of Austria)
Issue
Prince Maximilian Hugo
Prince Alexis (deceasd)
Princess Larissa
House Windisch-Graetz
Father Maximilian, Prince zu Windisch-Graetz
Mother Maria Luisa Serra di Gerace
Born 27 July 1955
Trieste
Occupation Ambassador
Religion Roman Catholic
Styles of
The Prince of Windisch-Graetz
Reference style His Serene Highness[1] /
His Excellency
Spoken style Your Serene Highness /
Your Excellency
Alternative style Sir

Mariano Hugo, Prince of Windisch-Graetz (German: Mariano Hugo, Fürst zu Windisch-Graetz, Italian: Mariano Ugo, Principe di Windisch-Graetz; born 27 July 1955) is the current head of the Austrian,[2] or Italian,[3] House of Windisch-Graetz. A former ambassador of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM) to the Republic of Slovakia, he is currently ambassador of the SMOM to Slovenia.[4]

Contents

Upbringing and family

Windisch-Graetz was born in Trieste[5] as the elder son of Maximilian, Prince zu Windisch-Graetz and Maria Luisa (Marlise) Serra di Gerace. [6] His mother was the legitimatised daughter of Gian Battista Serra, 12th Principe di Gerace by Donna Maria Grazia Carafa d'Andria.[3]

Windisch-Graetz was educated firstly in Rome at the school of the De La Salle Brothers and then in England at the University College of Buckingham, from which he graduated in 1975 with a degree in economics and political science.

When his father died in 1976, Windisch-Graetz succeeded as head of a cadet branch of the House of Windisch-Graetz,[2][7] a mediatised house whose members historically bear the style of Serene Highness.[1]

On 11 February 1990 in Salzburg, Austria, Windisch-Graetz married Archduchess Sophie of Austria, daughter of Archduke Ferdinand and Countess Helen zu Toerring-Jettenbach.[5][7]. The Countess was a grand niece of Queen Elisabeth of the Belgians and daughter of Princess Elizabeth of Greece and Denmark, making her a first cousin of the current Duke of Kent. The couple had three children: Prince Maximilian Hugo, Prince Alexis Ferdinand (who died at Sant'Angelo d'Alife in a car accident in 2010)[8]), and Princess Larissa Maria Grazia Helen Leontina Maria Luisa.[5] Windisch-Graetz and his family reside in Italy when he is not abroad on diplomatic appointment, maintaining a home in Rome and Il Palazzo in Sant'Angelo d'Alife.[5]

Activities and appointments

The business activities of Windisch-Graetz include the food production industry, notably biscuits and mozzarella cheese, and entrenprenuial finance.[3] In the early 1990s, he was a major shareholder in the Banco di Napoli and a holding company, Sogesco, of which he owned 82%, was capitalised at 10 billion lire.[9]

On December 19, 1987, Pope John Paul II appointed Windisch-Graetz a Gentleman of His Holiness,[10] a role which entails meeting visiting heads of state and ambassadors and escorting them to meet the pope.[11] He is also a Knight of Honour and Devotion in Obedience of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.[5]

In 2003 Windisch-Graetz was appointed Ambassador of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta to the Republic of Slovakia;[12] this appointment was renewed in 2006, until December 2009. In March 2009 he was appointed Ambassador of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta to the Republic of Slovenia.[13]

Honours and awards

References

  1. ^ a b Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser XIX, "Windisch-Graetz" (Limburg an der Lahn: C.A. Starke, 2011), 431.
  2. ^ a b Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser XIX, "Windisch-Graetz" (Limburg an der Lahn: C.A. Starke, 2011), 434.
  3. ^ a b c Les Manuscrits du CEDRE V, Le Royaume d'Italie I. Cercle d'Etudes des Dynasties Royales Europėennes (CEDRE), Paris, 1992, ISSN =0993-3964 p. 196-197
  4. ^ Embassy of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta to the Republic of Slovenia
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser XIX, "Windisch-Graetz" (Limburg an der Lahn: C.A. Starke, 2011), 436.
  6. ^ Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser XIX, "Windisch-Graetz" (Limburg an der Lahn: C.A. Starke, 2011), 435.
  7. ^ a b Willis, Daniel. The Descendants of Louis XIII, Chapter 6: The Imperial Family of Austria (Clearfield Co., 1999), 508-509.
  8. ^ "Nel Casertano Funerali Secondogenito del Principe d'Hasburg", Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata (11 February 2010)
  9. ^ "Grandi Battaglie tra ricchezza e nobilta", (in Italian), Corriere della Sera, 19 February 1994 (accessed 29 April 2011)
  10. ^ Annuario Pontificio 2011 (Città del Vaticano: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2011), 2320.
  11. ^ Hyginus Eugene Cardinale, The Holy See and the International Order (Gerrards Cross: Colin SMythe, 1976), 208.
  12. ^ Grand Master Greets the President of the Republic of Slovakia
  13. ^ Presentation of the Letters of Credencials
  14. ^ a b Leadership of the Savoy Orders
  15. ^ Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser XIX, "Windisch-Graetz" (Limburg an der Lahn: C.A. Starke, 2011), plate facing page 436.