Leopold von Österreich-Toskana

Leopold Maria of Austria-Tuscany was born on January 30, 1897, in Agram, the historical German-Austrian name for Zagreb. He was the fifth child and second son of Archduke Leopold Salvator of Austria-Tuscany and Princess Blanca of Bourbon, daughter of the Carlist claimant to the Spanish throne, Charles of Bourbon, Duke of Madrid. At birth, he was given the extensive name Leopold Maria Alfons Blanka Karl Anton Beatrix Michael Joseph Peter Ignatz von Habsburg-Lorraine. During the First World War, Leopold served alongside his older brother, Archduke Rainer, as an artillery lieutenant in the Austro-Hungarian army. His actions on May 25, 1917, during the Battle of Medeazza near Trieste, were commended. At the age of 19, he became the last person appointed a Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece by Emperor Charles. Leopold also took part in the fighting on the Piave Front. After the collapse of the Habsburg monarchy and the establishment of the First Austrian Republic, Leopold recognized the new political order and renounced his rights to the throne. This allowed him to remain in Austria and marry a woman from outside Europe’s royal and princely families. He was in love with the Croatian Baroness Dagmar Nicolics-Podrinska, who was born in Zagreb on July 15, 1898, and died in Lausanne on November 15, 1967. Leopold’s parents initially opposed the relationship because Dagmar did not belong to a royal family. The couple married in Vienna on April 12, 1919, in a morganatic marriage. Dagmar subsequently received the title Baroness von Wolfenau. The marriage produced one daughter, Gabrielle von Habsburg-Lorraine, who was born in Vienna on May 15, 1921, and died in Zurich in 1996. She was elevated to the rank of Countess of Wolfenau in 1922. In 1948, she married Johannes von der Mühll, a Swiss banker. They had two daughters and a son in Switzerland before divorcing in 1958. Through his mother, Leopold was connected to the Bourbon claims to the Spanish throne. After the death of his uncle Jacques, Duke of Anjou and Madrid, in 1931, some regarded Leopold as a possible heir to the Carlist claim. However, because he had renounced his princely rank through his morganatic marriage in 1919, he initially yielded these claims to his younger brother, Archduke Charles Pius of Austria. After Charles Pius died in 1953, Leopold resumed the claims. In 1930, Leopold became involved in a highly publicized fraud case. A couple calling themselves “Colonel Townsend” and “Princess Baronti” asked him to confirm their identities to Archduchess Marie Therese, a sister-in-law of Emperor Franz Joseph I. The two intended to act as intermediaries in the sale of the so-called Napoleon diamond necklace, a family jewel that Marie Therese had been trying to sell for several years. Leopold agreed to help them on the condition that he receive $20,000 if the sale succeeded. The couple sold the necklace for only $60,000, although it had been valued at $400,000, and paid Marie Therese just $7,270 from the proceeds. The ensuing lawsuit and public scandal led to Leopold’s indictment for aiding and abetting fraud and for misappropriating the sale proceeds. After surrendering to the authorities, he spent twelve days in The Tombs, a New York City jail, until a neighbor paid his bail. He was ultimately acquitted of the first charge, while his conviction on the second charge was overturned. After divorcing Dagmar in 1931, Leopold emigrated to the United States. There, he was known as “Mr. Leopold H(absburg) Lorraine.” In 1932, he entered another morganatic marriage, this time with the American Alicia Gibson Coburn. The marriage was childless and also ended in divorce. For a time, Leopold tried to establish a career in Hollywood and obtained several minor roles, including one in John Ford’s 1928 film drama Four Sons. He later settled with his second wife in Willimantic, Connecticut. He spent the rest of his life as a factory worker, living in a modest house. He became an American citizen in 1953. Leopold died in Connecticut on March 14, 1958. His ashes were interred in Grave 91 of the Imperial Crypt in Vienna.