Archduke Sigismund, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Archduke Sigismund of Austria, (Titular) Grand Duke of Tuscany (Sigismund Otto Maria Josef Gottfried Henrich Erik Leopold Ferdinand von Habsburg-Lothringen) Prince Imperial of Austria, Prince Royal of Hungary and Bohemia, (born 21 April 1966 in Lausanne) is the current head of the Tuscan branch of the Habsburg dynasty.
Biography
Sigismund is the son of Archduke Leopold Franz and his first wife Princess Laetitia of Arenberg, born Laetitia de Belsunce (and adopted by her stepfather Erik, 11th Duke of Arenberg). His father Leopold Francis renounced his rights as Head of the Grand Ducal House of Tuscany in favour of Sigismund because his second marriage (after a divorce) conflicted with the laws of the Roman Catholic Order of St. Stephen, of which he was then head. Since then, Sigismund has been the Head of the Grand Ducal House of Tuscany.
The Grand Duke has a deep and long-standing relationship with Uruguay. He was raised there by his mother. The Grand Duke and his maternal family are said to possess important businesses in Punta del Este and in the countryside.
Archduke Sigismund holds the Grand Magistery of two Orders of Knighthood, namely the Order of Saint Joseph and Order of Saint Stephen as it is the dynastic prerogative of the Head of the Grand Ducal House
Family
In 1999, Sigismund married Elyssa Juliet Edmonstone (born Glasgow, September 11, 1973), the only daughter of Sir Archibald Bruce Edmonstone, of Duntreath, 7th Baronet by his second wife Juliet Elizabeth Deakin. Archduchess Elyssa is a great-great-granddaughter of Marshall Field and a third cousin of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. The Edmonstone family is an old Scottish family that was only raised to a baronetcy on 20 May 1774; their best-known member was the royal mistress Alice Keppel.
The couple have three children:
- Archduke Amadeo, Grand Prince of Tuscany (b. 2001), heir apparent to the titular Grand Duchy of Tuscany
- Archduchess Tatyana of Austria, Princess of Tuscany (b. 2003)
- Archduke Maximilian of Austria, Prince of Tuscany (b. 2004)
External links
de:Sigismund Erzherzog von Habsburg-Lothringen it:Sigismondo d'Asburgo-Lorena