New-York tribune., 1912-02-09
REN0UNCE2 HER RIGHTS
emory To-day Preceding
ArChduCheSS'S Marriage.

,,orvrigre 1912. bv the Brentwood C'ompany,l
Archduchc=s Isabella OF Austria, the
twenty-fcur-vear-o daughter Of Arch
duke Frederick Duke of Teschen. will to-
day solemnly renounce at the Hofburg, in
the presence Of tn" entire court OF Vienna.
ror rights Of succession 10 the throne OF
Austria and Of Hungary. in view Of her
impending marriage tomorrow to Prince
George o. Bavaria. the favOrite grandson
of the Prince Regent Of Bavaria and Of
the Emperor Of Austria. Prince George
viii be remembered as having spent sew
oral months n this country, with his
Younger brother Prince Conrad under the
strjctest incrsnito, IL rs true.
These acts Of rcnmCiaGon, which are
sworn 10 on the Gospels, before a cruci1X,
In the presence Of the Emperor, Of the
members Of the imperial family, Of tn"
ministers and the greatest dignitaries d
the two realms. are exacted Of each arch
duchess when she weds, no matter whether
her fance he a foreign prince or an Aus
trian archduke. and constitute the most
convincing evidence of tho faiSity of the
assertion contained in most histories deal
i7c with Austria. that the latter's success
sion 10 the throne is regulated by the
SaHc law The SaHC law ABSOLUTELY oA-
cludes women. whereas the Austrian Ia"
of succession merely eliminates women un-
iii there are no archdukes left to succeed
to the crown
This act Of renunciatiOn means that the
ladies Of the imperial house should he coi-
tent to share the rank Of their husbands
and 10 subordinate any rights Of preCe-
dence which they might have by birth to
those lesser cres which become theirs by
marriage As an illustration OF what
mean 7 need only cite the case Of the En-
pcr5r's Younger daughter, Valerie. Up TO
the 4D,o Of her marriage she ranked i'm
nediately next to her father. whose con-
slant cor7panion she has always been, eS-
pccially since her mothers murder She
b,oame the wife Of Archduke Francis SAL
,atcr. a distant cousin and remote klnS-
man Of the Emperor. belonging to the Tus-
can branch of the house Of HansbnrE' 'h
tho da, before her marriage she renounced
su her precedence. rank and rights as
daughter Of the roicninE sovereign In or
der ~ share those Of her husband, and
NOW on state occasions comes near the tail
md of the imperial procession, instead OF
Immediately next 10 her father.
Perbaps the most notable act OF renuncia-
lion Of this kind. although its importance
was little understood by the general pubic
~ the time. was that Of Young Archduch'
o-s Elizabeth. the only child of the untortu-
ato crown Prince Rudolf As long As she
was unmarried there was very great dan
-er that the HunEariaus, especially those
i'm favor Of sundering the remaining ties
with Austria. would proclaim her then
.uoer regraut as the only child ana
noir Of their dead and deeply mourned
crown prince The likelihood ~ this was
increased by the unpopularty Of the En-
pe-or.s nephew. Archduke Francis Ferdi-
raud. who. according to The laws of Aus
t~ia and to tho family statutes OF the
House of Hapshurg stands next I'm tn" Inc
NJ succession to the Austrian throne. When
tho young arcbduchess married Prince otto
Nyiudiscncraetz she put an end To this
Ganger by -olemulv reuouucinE her rights
IN the thrones OF Austria and of Hungary
pu zinc understanding that not until the
house OF HapsburE had becom" extinct ih
tho male line direct would her claims ami
those Of her descendants enter into con
-Idarstiou She has not ceased to be an
a-chdu.hess Nor Will Archduchcss Isabella
forfeit her rank as such to-day. She mere
ry rcnounces her place IN the line OF sue
.ogsiou and ON the table Of precedence. 10
o.curr one much more remote.