Dominic von Habsburg

Dominic Habsburg-Lothringen, also known as Dominic von Habsburg (born 4 July 1937, Sonnberg, Lower Austria) is a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, also known by his ancestral titles as Archduke Dominic of Austria, Prince of Hungary, Bohemia, and Tuscany.

Dominic Habsburg-Lothringen
Born (1937-07-04) July 4, 1937
Sonnberg Castle, Lower Austria, Austria
SpouseVirginia Engel von Voss
Emmanuella (Nella) Mlynarski
IssueSandor Habsburg-Lothringen
Gregor Habsburg-Lothringen
Hadas Jacobi (adopted stepdaughter, 2014)
Full name
Archduke and Imperial Prince of Austria, Royal Prince of Hungary and Bohemia, Prince of Tuscany
HouseHabsburg-Lorraine
FatherArchduke Anton of Austria
MotherPrincess Ileana of Romania

Early life

Dominic was born in 1937 in Sonnberg Castle (Hollabrunn, Austria), where he was baptized Dominic Habsburg-Lothringen.[1] Into the family he is named Niki. In 1942, after spending the first few years of his childhood at Sonnberg Castle, he moved with his parents, his brother, and his four sisters to Romania. In Romania, Dominic resided with his parents at Bran Castle, Braşov. After his first cousin, King Michael I of Romania, was forced to abdicate the throne in 1947, Dominic and his family were exiled by the Communist regime and sought refuge in Switzerland and Argentina before ultimately settling in the United States.

Personal life

In 1956, the Comunión Carloctavista y Círculo Carlos VIII courted Dominic as the legitimate Carlist claimant and heir to the Spanish throne to counter Generalísimo Francisco Franco's choice of Juan Carlos as king of Spain. In 1975 the Comunión Carloctavista y Círculo Carlos VIII affirmed his legitimacy as Domingo I. Archduke Dominic never pursued the claim.

Dominic returned to Austria in 1961 and resided there until 1976, when he moved to the Dominican Republic, Antigua, and Italy, and finally settled in New York. Dominic was naturalized as a United States citizen in 2004, he married to the Israeli born Emmanuela, former El Al flight attendant and former wife of Gad Yaacobi.

In 2012 Senator Iñaki Anasagasti of the Basque County proposed the idea of creating a Catalan-Basque-Navarrese monarchy with Archduke Dominic as its king.[2]

Dominic gained International renown in 2006 following the restitution of Bran Castle (commonly known as Dracula's Castle) in Transylvania, Romania, which had been appropriated by the Communists in 1948.[3]

His elder son, Sandor, has a son, Constantin von Habsburg-Lothringen, by his first wife, Priska Maria Vilcsek.

Professional life

Dominic is an alumnus of the Brooks School and the Rhode Island School of Design, graduating from RISD in 1960 with a BFA in Industrial Design. In 1962, he established his own design and marketing consultancy firm in Austria, which covered a variety of companies and products throughout Europe and the United States. In 1969, he founded and directed the department for Product Research, Development and Design, at Semperit AG (later Continental Tire).[4]

Between 1974 and 1978, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and the World Bank enlisted him as an expert in Central America and Africa for small and medium-size industries. He was also an arts instructor in the Piesting grade school in Austria (1974–75) and a professor of industrial engineering and management at CEAT-INTEC in the Dominican Republic.[4]

In 1976, he established a silk-screen printing studio for tropical fashions in Antigua, West Indies. At the request of the Antiguan W.I. Ministry of Education, he conducted courses for educators in hand-crafts and fine arts.

Today, Dominic is retired and living in New York. He continues to pursue art and design as well as running Bran Castle.

References
  1. Patrick W. Montague-Smith (1 June 1980). Debrett's peerage and baronetage: with Her Majesty's Royal Warrant Holders 1980 : comprises information concerning the Royal Family, the peerage, Privy Counsellors, Scottish Lords of Session, baronets, and chiefs of names and clans in Scotland. Debrett's Peerage. ISBN 978-0-905649-20-7.
  2. ""Navarra, Sovereign State. ironically: Since 1936 the Crown and Crown Spanish Navarra are separated."". Inaki Anasagasti website. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
  3. Lucy Mallows (26 November 2012). Transylvania. Bradt Travel Guides. pp. 118–. ISBN 978-1-84162-419-8.
  4. Tulga Beyerle; Karin Hirschberger (1 January 2006). A Century of Austrian Design: 1900-2005. Walter de Gruyter. pp. 165–. ISBN 978-3-0346-0889-3.
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