Stephanie von Belgien

Princess Stéphanie of Belgium was born on 21 May 1864 at the Palace of Laeken as the third daughter of Leopold II, the future King of Belgium, and Marie Henriette, who came from the Austrian imperial family. Her parents had an unhappy marriage arranged for political reasons. Leopold was chiefly interested in affairs of state and economic projects, while Marie Henriette was religious and closely connected with nature. Stéphanie had two older siblings, Louise and Leopold, and a younger sister, Clémentine. The early death of her brother Leopold in 1869 shaped her childhood, as did the emotional distance between her parents. In 1871, Stéphanie fell seriously ill with typhus but survived. Her education was strict and included several languages, history, religion, music, painting, mathematics and riding, though by her own later recollection it remained rather superficial. From her youth, Stéphanie was drawn into European marriage plans. Leopold II and Marie Henriette hoped to marry their daughter to a reigning monarch or a crown prince. During a visit by Empress Elisabeth of Austria to Brussels, Stéphanie came to the attention of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria. Rudolf, the only son of Emperor Franz Joseph I, was seeking a Catholic bride under pressure from his parents. After visiting the Belgian court in March 1880, he declared that he had found in Stéphanie what he was looking for. The engagement was announced a few days later, although Stéphanie was not yet sixteen. The wedding finally took place on 10 May 1881 at the Augustinian Church in Vienna. Stéphanie thereby became Crown Princess of Austria, Hungary, Bohemia and Croatia. The ceremony was an international dynastic event attended by numerous European princes. At first, the marriage was based on mutual respect and a degree of affection. Stéphanie soon assumed representative duties at the Viennese court and increasingly stood in for the withdrawn Empress Elisabeth at receptions and official occasions. On 2 September 1883, the couple had a daughter, Elisabeth Marie, known within the family as Erzsi. Rudolf had hoped for a son, but eventually accepted his role as a father. The marriage nevertheless began to break down. Rudolf was dissatisfied with politics, suffered from severe mood swings and maintained numerous extramarital relationships. At the beginning of 1886, he contracted a sexually transmitted disease and passed it on to Stéphanie. The illness and its consequences left Stéphanie infertile, making further children impossible. She felt betrayed by her husband and increasingly withdrew from him. She later formed a relationship with the Polish Count Artur Potocki, who remained close to her during the difficult years after Rudolf’s death. Potocki died of laryngeal cancer in 1890. Stéphanie became deeply concerned by Rudolf’s depression and his increasingly violent and unpredictable behavior. In autumn 1888, she warned Emperor Franz Joseph, but he considered her fears exaggerated. On 30 January 1889, Rudolf and his young mistress, Mary Vetsera, were found dead at the Mayerling hunting lodge. Their deaths were interpreted as a joint suicide and became one of the great tragedies of European high society. Stéphanie was widowed at the age of twenty-four. Rudolf left her a farewell letter in which he asked her to care for their daughter. After his death, Stéphanie wanted to leave Vienna, but at Emperor Franz Joseph’s request she had to remain with her daughter. She initially led a secluded life, traveled extensively and devoted herself, among other pursuits, to watercolor painting. Her relationship with Elisabeth Marie remained difficult and grew increasingly distant over the years. Stéphanie also felt more and more isolated at the Viennese court. The death of Empress Elisabeth in 1898 deeply affected her, although Stéphanie had never truly been accepted by her mother-in-law. After eleven years of widowhood, Stéphanie married Count Elemér Lónyay, a Hungarian nobleman, on 22 March 1900. He was of lower rank and originally Protestant, but converted to Catholicism for the marriage. The union defied the expectations of both the Belgian and Austrian courts. Stéphanie consequently lost her Austrian court titles and was excluded from the House of Habsburg. Her father, Leopold II, was so angered by the marriage that he broke off contact with her and even refused to allow her to return to Belgium. Nevertheless, the second marriage proved happy. In 1917, Elemér was raised to the Hungarian princely rank. From 1906, Stéphanie and her husband lived mainly at Rusovce Mansion, an extensive estate in what is now Slovakia. They renovated the residence, created several gardens and welcomed artists, writers and members of European ruling families. During the First World War, Stéphanie established a temporary dispensary in her home and worked as a nurse. After the end of the Habsburg monarchy, she and her daughter were able to remain in their properties because their marriages had removed them from the House of Habsburg. In 1935, Stéphanie published her memoirs under the title Ich sollte Kaiserin werden, or I Was To Be Empress. In the book, she described her life at the Viennese court and presented Rudolf’s death and that of Mary Vetsera as a suicide pact. The memoirs first appeared in German and were later published in French, although they were temporarily banned in Austria. In old age, Stéphanie and her husband withdrew increasingly from public life and devoted themselves to religious practices. In 1944, she disinherited her daughter, who after divorcing had begun living with the Social Democratic politician Leopold Petznek. Stéphanie left most of her property to the Benedictines. Toward the end of the Second World War, Rusovce Mansion was first occupied by German troops. In spring 1945, the fighting forced Stéphanie and Elemér to flee to Pannonhalma Archabbey in Hungary. Stéphanie died there of a stroke on 23 August 1945, aged eighty-one. She was buried in the abbey’s crypt; her husband died the following year and was laid to rest beside her.