Archduchess Yolande of Austria

Archduchess Yolande of Austria (nee Princess Yolande Marie Jeanne Charlotte Ligne; born 6 May 1923)is the widow of Archduke Carl Ludwig of Austria.

Family

Yolande was born in Madrid as the second daughter of Eugene, 11th Prince Ligne and his wife Philippine Noailles (1898-1991). Her father was the Belgian ambassador to India from 1947 to 1951, ambassador to Spain from 1951 to 1958, and the head of one of Belgium's historically most influential noble families. He died in 1960.

Each of Yolande's two brothers became the Prince Ligne (Baudouin, 12th Prince of Ligne and Antoine, 13th Prince of Ligne). Antoine is the father of Michel, 14th Prince of Ligne and Princess Christine, wife of Prince Antonio of Orleans-Braganza (second in-line to the Brazilian throne). Antoine's youngest daughter is named after Yolande.

Biography-Marriage and Issue

On 17 January 1950 at the Chateau Beloeil, Belgium (the family seat of the House of Ligne), Yolande married Archduke Carl Ludwig of Austria (1918-2007).

The fifth child of Austria's last emperor, Charles I and his wife Zita of Bourbon-Parma, Carl Ludwig and Yolande were childhood sweathhearts. Wedding guests included Carl Ludwig's eldest brother Archduke Otto (claimant to the Habsburg throne) as well as members of half a dozen other royal families; representatives of the Belgium royal family did not, however, attend. The couple honeymooned in Florida, eventually setting in New York City, where Carl Ludwig worked for the Rockefeller Foundation.

They had four children:

-Archduke Rudolf (b.1950), married Baroness Helene Villenfagne Vogelsanck (b. 1954) in Brussels 3 July 1976,their family taking up residence in Belgium thereafter. On 29 May 1978 he and he and his children and male-line descendants were incorporated in the nobility of Belgium by royal letters patent with the style of Serene Highness and the hereditary title "Prince of Habsburg-Lorraine."

They have seven children:

-Archduke Carl Christian (born 1977) m. 2 June 2007 Estelle Saint-Romain:

-Archduchess Zita (born 2008)

-Archduchess Anezka (born 2010)

-Archduchess Anna (born 2012)

-Archduchess Paola of Austria (2014)

-Archduchess Priscilla (born 1979)

-Archduke Johannes (born 1981)

-Archduke Thomas (born 1983)

-Archduchess Marie Neiges (born 1986)

-Archduke Franz-Ludwig (born 1988)

-Archduke Michael (born 1990)

-Archduke Joseph (born 1991)

-Archduchess Alexandra (born 1952) married Chilean ambassador to the Holy See Hector Riesle Contreras. and they have three children.

-Archduke Carl Christian (born 1954) married Princess Marie of Luxembourg on 6 February 1982 in Luxembourg. They have five children:

-Archduchess Marie Christine (born 1983), who married Count Rodolphe Limburg-Stirum in Mechelen, Belgium, on 6 December 2008:

-Count Leopold Limburg-Stirum (born 2011)

-Count Constantin Limburg-Stirum (2013)

-Archduke Imre (born 1985) married Kathleen Elizabeth in Washington, DC, on 8 September 2012.

-Archduchess Maria Stella (born 2013)

-Archduchess Magalena of Austria (born 2016)

-Archduke Christoph (born 1988, married Adelaide Drape-Frisch in Nancy, France on 28 December 2012 (civil) and 29 December 2012 (religious).

-Archduchess Katarina (born 2014)

-Archduke Alexander (born 1990)

-Archduchess Gabriella (born 1994)

-Archduchess Maria Constanza (born 1957) married Franz Josef, Prince von Auersperg-Trautson. They have one adopted daughter, Anna Maria, and three biological daughters:

-Princess Alexandra Maria (1988-1998)

-Princess Ladislaya (born 1999)

-Princess Eleonora (born 2002)

Titles, Styles, and Honours

6 May 1923-17 January 1950: Her Highness Princess Yolande of Ligne

17 January 1950-present: Her Imperial and Royal Highness Archduchess of Austria

House: Ligne

Religion: Roman Catholic

(https://yamm.finance)