Karel Kinsky

Prince Karel Andreas Kinsky (1858–1919) was the son of Prince Ferdinand Buonaventura Kinsky (1834–1904) the head of the princely line of the Kinsky dynasty and Marie Princess von und zu Lichtenstein (1835–1905).

Early life

Karel born into the family's great equine tradition, inherited a love of horses. A servant, the Kinsky's master of the horse, Roland Reynolds, who had two great loves, England and the Grand National steeplechase, was to prove a great influence on Karel, passing on his passions to the young Count.

Karel Kinsky first visited England as part of Elizabeth, Empress of Austria's retinue in the late 1870s. The Empress arranged to visit Liverpool and see the famous steeplechase, this provided Kinsky with his first opportunity to witness the event.

Ambitions

An ambitious man, he achieved his two greatest British goals in rapid succession. He was firstly made Austro-Hungarian ambassador to Britain, and secondly while in England riding his own horse Zoedone won the 1883 Grand National. He was distraught when Zoedone was poisoned on the race day two years later.

Relationship with Jennie Jerome

Kinsky was involved in an affair with Jennie Jerome, wife of Lord Randolph Churchill and American born mother of Sir Winston Churchill. Four years his senior, a famous socialite and one of the most beautiful women of the time, he was completely infatuated by her. Lady Churchill has been described as being a captivating woman, whose looks and demeanor made her almost irresistible to many who knew her. She was powerful, having social and romantic contacts that could make or break anyone wishing to climb in social status.

She later claimed that she would not have spent the time she did spend with Kinsky were it not for the unfounded rumours of an affair being spread by the society gossips, and her desire to spend time with him was simply for spite. However, all accounts from the time do indicate that the two were involved romantically, and the only motivation for quelling the rumours was that this affair was a semi-secret one.

Just as today, having affairs was not something unusual (as one famous actress of the day said, "as long as one doesn't scare the horses on the street you were free to do as you pleased" (paraphrase)), and in most cases she made no attempts to hide them. Her affairs with other men of the time included Edward VII of the United Kingdom. Like Kinsky, most were prominent well-connected and powerful men, with whom she had affairs with the full knowledge of her husband. As well, her affairs with these prominent men might have successfully assisted in her first husband's career, and his political and social standings. Ironically,and this must be noted, at the time of the affair, Jennie Churchill likely wielded more power behind the scenes than did Kinsky, and it would have been he who would have benefited from the affair, rather than she, which was not usual for her character. It should also be noted that while she certainly had friendships with many powerful men, it remains to be seen if every relationship was sexual. Although some certainly were, others may merely have been associations.

World War I and after

Kinsky remained in England until 1914 when Austria-Hungary went to war with Britain. Keen to do his duty, but unwilling to fight the country he regarded as his second home, Kinsky volunteered to fight on the dreaded Russian front. He survived but returned to a broken homeland and the knowledge that it was unlikely he would ever be welcome in England again. A broken man, shell shocked and likely suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, Karel Kinsky died in 1919.

ee also

*Count Kinsky
*Kinsky