Following graduation from the Schottengymnasium in Vienna, Prince Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst entered the army as a hussar in 1887. Promoted to lieutenant in 1889, he attended the War Academy from 1893 to 1895, followed by duty with the General Staff. In 1900, he was promoted to captain and was sent to St. Petersburg as military attaché in 1902. In 1906, he was promoted to the post of major, but retired the following year and transferred to the foreign service. However, he had to leave the service in 1908 due to his engagement with the Archduchess. On 2 February 1913, Emperor Franz Joseph I entrusted Prince Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst with a special mission to St. Petersburg designed to alleviate the strained relations arising out of the Balkan crisis in the winter of 1912–1913. In April 1914, he re-entered the diplomatic corps while his wife had to renounce her title 'Her Imperial and Royal Highness'.