Alfred III, Prince of Windisch-Grätz (German: Alfred August Karl Maria Wolfgang Erwin Fürst zu Windisch-Grätz; 31 October 1851, Prague – 23 November 1927, Tachov) was a Bohemian and Austrian nobleman, an Austro-Hungarian statesman who served as 11th Minister-President of Austria between 1893 and 1895, replacing the Count of Taaffe, who previously held this position for 14 straight years.
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Early life and ancestry
Born into an old House of Windisch-Grätz, one of the most prominent Austrian noble families, he was the only child of Alfred II, Prince of Windisch-Grätz (1819-1876), Lieutenant field marshal in the Imperial Austrian Army, and his wife, Princess Hedwig of Lobkowicz (1829-1852), the eldest daughter of Prince August Longin Josef of Lobkowicz (1797-1848), Governor of Lombardy, and his wife, Princess Bertha of Schwarzenberg (1807-1883).
Biography
His branch of the Windisch-Grätz family owned large estates in the Western Bohemia, German-populated area near the border with Germany. Alfred and his family resided in Tachov palace, Plzeň Region, which stayed in their possession until the beginning of WWII in 1939. His grandfather, Alfred I had begun to transform an old Tachov castle into a town palace, but his plans remained partly unfulfilled.
Alfred III, Prince of Windisch-Grätz served as the 11th Minister-President of Austria and was President of the Imperial Council from 1895 to 1918. He was also Hereditary Master of the Horse in the Duchy of Styria and Standesherr in Württemberg.
Personal life
He was married to Princess Marie Gabrielle Eleonore von Auersperg (1855-1933), the eldest daughter of Prince Vincenz Karl Joseph Gabriel Heinrich von Auersperg (1813-67) and his wife, Countess Wilhemine Josephine von Colloredo-Mannsfeld (1826-1898). Together, they had seven children, two sons and five daughters:
Hereditary Prince Alfred Ludwig of Windisch-Grätz (1879-1880); died as a baby
Hereditary Prince Vincenz Alfred Wilhelm Maria Gabriel of Windisch-Grätz (1882-1913); never married
Princess Maria Hedwig Anna Bertha Wilhelmine Christiane Elisabeth Rositta of Windisch-Grätz (1878-1918); who married an Austrian ambassador to St. Petersburg, Count Frigyes Szapáry de Szapár, Muraszombat et Széchy-Sziget at the outbreak of World War I. They were maternal grandparents of Princess Michael of Kent (formerly Baroness Marie Christine von Reibnitz).
Princess Christiane Maria Wilhelmine Eleonore Gabriele Juliana Aloysia of Windisch-Grätz (1881-1895); died as a teenager
Princess Agnes Mathilde Maria Bertha Eleonore Valentine Juliana of Windisch-Grätz (1884-1969); married Count Adolf Maria von Thun und Hohenstein (1880-1957)
Princess Wilhelmine of Windisch-Grätz (1885-1886); died as a baby
Princess Maria-Aglaë Christiane Hedwig Gabriele Wilhelmine Hygina Ernestine of Windisch-Grätz (1887-1961); married Count Karl Apponyi de Nagy-Appony (1878-1959)
Death
Alfred III died at his residene in Tachov on 23 November 1927, aged 76. Both he and his wife, Marie Gabrielle, were laid to rest in the Marienkirche at Kladruby Abbey.
Honours
Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece, 1884
Grand Cross of the Order of St. Stephen, 1895