Franz I, Prince of Liechtenstein

Franz I
Prince of Liechtenstein
Reign	11 February 1929 – 25 July 1938
Predecessor	Johann II
Successor	Franz Josef II
Born	(1853-08-28)28 August 1853 Schloss Liechtenstein, near Vienna
Died	25 July 1938(1938-07-25) (aged 84) Valtice, Czechoslovakia
Burial	Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, Brno
Spouse	Elisabeth von Gutmann
Full name Franz de Paula Maria Karl August
House	Liechtenstein
Father	Aloys II
Mother	Franziska Kinsky

Franz I, Prince of Liechtenstein, born Franz de Paula Maria Karl August (28 August 1853 – 25 July 1938), was the Prince of Liechtenstein between 1929 and 1938. He was the younger son of Aloys II of Liechtenstein and his wife Countess Franziska Kinsky. Franz succeeded his older brother Johann II, as Prince of Liechtenstein on February 11, 1929.

Franz I served as the Austro-Hungarian ambassador at the Court of Tsar Nicholas II in St. Petersburg between 1894 and 1899. As Prince of Liechtenstein, he continued the economic reforms initiated by his brother.

Like his brother Johann II, Franz I had no children. His nephew Prince Aloys was heir presumptive, but Aloys removed himself from the line of succession in favor of his son, Franz Josef, in 1921.

Franz I married Elisabeth von Gutmann (8 January 1875, in Vienna – 28 September 1947, in Vitznau), a noblewoman of Jewish descent, on 22 July 1929 in Vienna, without issue.

He was the 1,204th Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece in Austria.

In March 1938 the elderly Franz I named Franz Joseph the country's regent. Although he cited old age as his reason for relinquishing his duties, it is widely believed that it was because he had no desire to be ruling if Nazi Germany invaded his small Principality. Franz I died on 25 July 1938, and was formally succeeded by his grandnephew, Franz Joseph II.

In 1937, on the anniversary of his marriage, Franz founded the Order of Merit of the Principality of Liechtenstein.^[1]

Ancestry

References

External links

• Princely House of Liechtenstein