Stéphanie, Countess Lónyay, died on 23 August 1945. Despite her modest title, she was born a Princess of Belgium and, through her marriage to Rudolf, son of Emperor Francis Joseph, became Crown Princess of Austria-Hungary.
The extremely unhappy marriage produced one daughter and ended with Rudolf’s scandalous suicide at Mayerling in 1889. For the 25-year-old widow, a quiet decade followed. She withdrew from her representative duties at the Viennese court, where she had never truly adapted, and travelled extensively across Europe – much like her mother-in-law, Sisi.
In 1900, Stéphanie obtained the Emperor’s consent to remarry Count Elemér Lónyay, “the Hungarian sheepherder”, as her father Leopold II of Belgium angrily put it. Despite the spiteful comments, this second union proved to be a happy and harmonious partnership. Over the following decades, Stéphanie dedicated herself to managing their estates in Hungary – organising social events, practising horticulture, welcoming artists and writers, visiting relatives, and nursing the wounded during the First World War.
And she wrote her memoirs. When they were finally published in 1935, Stéphanie’s personal account of her years at the Viennese court caused a stir in Europe’s noble circles and ultimately estranged her from her only daughter.
Nevertheless, these hardships did not disturb her marital happiness. After 45 peaceful years together, Stéphanie passed away at the age of 81, followed by her husband only a year later.
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