Archduke Géza of Austria

Archduke Géza of Austria
Prince Imperial of Austria; Prince Royal of Hungary; Croatia, and Bohemia
Spouse	Monika Decker Elizabeth Jane Kunstadter
Issue
Franz Ferdinand Ferdinand Leopold Maximilian Philip Isabella Maria Luisa
Full name
German: Géza Ladislaus Euseb Gerhard Rafael Albert Maria
House	House of Habsburg-Lorraine
Father	Archduke Joseph Francis of Austria
Mother	Princess Anna of Saxony
Born	14 November 1940 (1940-11-14) (age 71)

Archduke Géza of Austria, Prince Imperial of Austria, Prince Royal of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia (given names: Géza Ladislaus Euseb Gerhard Rafael Albert Maria; born 14 November 1940, in Budapest), in Austria and Hungary only known by law as Géza von Habsburg,^[1] is the son of Archduke Joseph Francis of Austria (1895–1957) and his wife Princess Anna of Saxony (1903–1976) thus he is a grandson of King Frederick Augustus III of Saxony and great-great grandson (on his father's mother's side) of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria and his wife Elisabeth of Bavaria (Sissi). Géza is a Fabergé expert and has published many books and articles on the jewellers Peter Carl Fabergé and Victor Mayer. He is the curator of several major international Fabergé exhibitions.

Life

Monarchical styles of Archduke Geza of Austria-Hungary
Reference style	His Imperial and Royal Highness
Spoken style	Your Imperial and Royal Highness
Alternative style	Sir

Géza attended universities in Fribourg and Bern, Switzerland; Munich, Germany; and Florence, Italy, before earning his PhD degree from the University of Fribourg in 1965.

In 1966 he joined the staff of Christie, Manson & Woods Auctioneers as Chairman, Switzerland, overseeing a network of offices throughout Europe. In 1980 he became Chairman of European Operations for the company. Later in his career, he served for four years as Chairman, New York and Geneva, for Habsburg Fine Art International Auctioneers. At both organizations, his work specialized in silver and gold, objects of vertu and Russian art.

Géza is an internationally renowned author and leading authority on Fabergé. Much of his career has been devoted to organizing and curatorial work for exhibitions all over the world. He served as the curator and organizer for Fabergé, Jeweller to the Tsars (1986–87) at Kunsthalle in Munich. Also, while as a Board Member with the Fabergé Arts Foundation, he was Chief Curator of Fabergé, Imperial Court Jeweler (1993–94), which was shown in St. Petersburg, Paris and London. He also served as Guest Curator of Fabergé in America, which toured five cities in the United States (1996–97).

As an educator, Géza served as an adjunct professor for The New York School of Interior Design, The Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, and New York University. He is currently a lecturer for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Some of his topics include "Princely Collections," "The Habsburgs as Collectors and Patrons of the Arts," and "Celebrated Habsburg Women."

Fluent in seven languages, Géza joined Fabergé Co. in 1994 as a consultant, spokesperson and lecturer worldwide. He has authored seven and co-written two books on Fabergé and related topics, as well as 75 articles, which have been published in various art journals all over the world. In addition, he has been featured prominently in a Russian film (1994), a Japanese film and two biographies for the Arts & Entertainment Network (A&E), all in association with Fabergé.

Géza has also been featured in the A&E documentary, Treasures of the Habsburgs (1998), and Habsburgs Today on the Romance Channel (1999).

Marriage and children

His first marriage, in 1965, was to Monika Decker (Born 1939) produced three sons:

• Franz Ferdinand (Born 1967)
• Ferdinand Leopold (Born 1969) He is currently working for UNDP in Southern Sudan
• Maximilian Philip (Born 1974)

They were divorced in 1991.

His second marriage, in 1991, was to Elizabeth Jane Kunstadter (Born 1957) produced a daughter:

• Isabella Maria Luisa (Born 1996)

Ancestry

References

• faberge-exhibition
• thepeerage.com

1. ^ The Habsburg's titles are not recognised aymore in Austria or in Hungary, where he is referred to as Géza von Habsburg, which is his legal name. (See Austrian nobility)

External links

• Géza von Habsburg's homepage

Archduke Géza of Austria House of Habsburg-Lorraine Cadet branch of the House of Lorraine Born: 8 February 1933
Austro-Hungarian royalty
Preceded by Archduke Istvan of Austria	Line of succession to the Austro-Hungarian throne 79th position	Succeeded by Archduke Michael of Austria

Persondata
Name	Habsburg, Geza Von
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	14 November 1940
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death