Franziska Kinsky
Franziska Kinsky in 1831
Princess consort of Liechtenstein
Tenure20 April 1836 – 12 November 1858
Regent of Liechtenstein
Tenure10 February 1859 – November 1860
Born(1813-08-08)8 August 1813
Vienna, Austrian Empire
Died5 February 1881(1881-02-05) (aged 67)
Vienna, Austria-Hungary
Burial
Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, Brno
SpouseAloys II, Prince of Liechtenstein
IssuePrincess Marie, Countess Ferdinand of Trauttmansdorff-Weinsberg
Carolina, Princess of Schönburg-Hartenstein
Sophie, Princess of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg
Princess Aloysia, Countess of Fünfkirchen
Ida, Princess of Schwarzenberg
Johann II, Prince of Liechtenstein
Princess Franziska
Princess Henriette
Anna, Princess of Lobkowicz
Theresa, Princess of Bavaria
Franz I, Prince of Liechtenstein
Names
Franziska de Paula Barbara Romana Bernharda
HouseKinsky
FatherCount Franz de Paula Joseph Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau
MotherCountess Therese of Wrbna und Freudenthal

Countess Franziska de Paula Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau (8 August 1813, Vienna – 5 February 1881, Vienna) was princess consort of Liechtenstein from 1836 to 1858 as the wife of Aloys II, Prince of Liechtenstein, and her son's regent from 1858 to 1860.

Biography

She was born as the younger daughter of Count Franz de Paula Joseph Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau (1784-1823) (younger brother of Ferdinand, Prince Kinsky) and his wife, Countess Therese Antonia Barbara von Würben und Freudenthal (1789-1874).

On 8 August 1831 she married Aloys II, Prince of Liechtenstein in Vienna. It was a double wedding as on the same day her elder sister Countess Maria Anna (1809-1892) married Prince Frederick Wilhelm of Solms-Braunfels (1801–1868), eldest surviving son of Prince Frederick William of Solms-Braunfels and Duchess Friederike of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

Franziska acted as regent during the reign of her son, Johann II, from 10 February 1859 to November 1860.[1][2] Her son ascended to the throne shortly after his 18th birthday, and as such his reign had been the longest precisely documented tenure of any European monarch since antiquity in which a regent (that is, a minor regency) was never employed, until the record was surpassed by that of Elizabeth II on 9 May 2022.[3]

Franziska Kinsky did act as his regent, but she did not function as the regent of a minor regency government, but was appointed by her son as his regent in his absence, because he had not been given time to finish his education before suddenly inheriting the throne, and he wished to do so before actually taking up his rule, and thus appointed his mother to rule in his stead while he focused on finishing his studies.[1] He officially appointed her 10 February 1859, and relieved her of her duties as regent when he finished his studies in November 1860.

Franziska Kinsky founded the first relief fund for orphans in Liechtenstein, as well as a school for girls, the Haus Gutenberg.

In 1854 she bought Gutenberg Castle, while in 1870 she also bought Burg Wartenstein and had it rebuilt in the fashionable Romantic style.

Issue

Her children were:

Ancestry

Notes

  1. ^ a b Peter Geiger: Geschichte des Fürstentums Liechtenstein 1848 bis 1866. In: Jahrbuch des Historischen Vereins für das Fürstentum Liechtenstein. Volume 70. Vaduz 1970, p. 242 ff. (in German)
  2. ^ "Fürst und Volk - eine liechtensteinische Staatskunde". Archived from the original on 2012-08-01. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
  3. ^ Worldstatesmen.org – Liechtenstein Retrieved 16 December 2007
Countess Franziska Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau House of KinskyBorn: 8 August 1813 Died: 5 February 1881 Liechtensteiner royalty Preceded byJosepha of Fürstenberg-Weitra Princess consort of Liechtenstein 1836–1858 VacantTitle next held byElisabeth von Gutmann
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