Herbert von Bismarck

Herbert von Bismarck born in Berlin, the oldest son of Otto von Bismarck and his wife, Johanna, née von Puttkamer. He had an older sister, Marie (b. 1847), and a younger brother, Wilhelm (b. 1852). He fought in the Franco-Prussian War, sustaining a bullet wound through the left leg during a cavalry charge at the Battle of Mars-La-Tour. He joined the diplomatic service in 1874 on his father's wishes. Bismarck attempted to gain influence with the heir to the German throne, Prince Wilhelm, by appealing to his narcissism.[1] In June 1884, he wrote to thank Wilhelm for a portrait that Wilheln had given to him after they returned from a state visit to Russia:

I beg Your Royal Highness most subserviently graciously to permit me to lay at your feet my deeply reverent and heartfelt thanks for Graciously Granting me the beautiful picture.... Long it is since I have been so joyful as the joy which Your Royal Highness accorded me by granting me the portrait with your very own Highest signature. For me, the words beneath the picture render it the most valuable possession which I own, and I cannot find words to express how happy Your Royal Highness has made me. I am truly overwhelmed by the Good Grace of Your Royal Highness.... The few days which to my greatest joy I was able to spend directly at the service of Your Royal Highness will always be among the loveliest in my life and... it will be my sole ambition for all time to stand prepared to receive Your Highest orders and to serve you with all my meagre powers.[2]

Bismarck became Under-Secretary and acting head of the Foreign Office in 1885, and the following year, he was appointed the State Secretary for Foreign Affairs. He additionally was appointed Minister of State of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1888. He once said, "My father is the only person who can handle this business" In 1890, when Kaiser Wilhelm II called for the resignation of Otto von Bismarck as Chancellor, Herbert von Bismarck also resigned as State Secretary, despite Wilhelm attempts to retain him so that his de facto dismissal of his father would "look better in the eyes of the world".[3]

Bismarck had wanted to marry Princess Elisabeth von Carolath-Beuthen in 1881, but his father would not allow it, as she was a Catholic divorcée and was ten years older than Herbert. The Chancellor pressured his son with tears, blackmail and threats to disinherit him by getting Kaiser Wilhelm I to change the primogeniture statutes. That experience left Herbert a very bitter and alcoholic man. He once shot five bullets through a Foreign Office window, to be told he may have hit someone. He replied, "Officials have to be kept in a permanent state of irritation and alarm; the moment that ceases they stop working".

On 21 June 1892 in Vienna, he married Marguerite, Countess of Hoyos, a member of the originally-Spanish House of Hoyos from Hungary. She herself was half-English and a grand-daughter of Robert Whitehead, the inventor of the torpedo. They had five children:

• Countess Hannah Leopoldine Alice von Bismarck-Schönhausen (1893–1971), married Leopold von Bredow (1875–1933)
• Countess Maria Goedela von Bismarck-Schönhausen (1896–1981), married Hermann Graf Keyserling (1880-1946)
• HSH Otto Christian Archibald, Prince von Bismarck (1897–1975), married Ann-Mari Tengbom (1907–1999)
• Count Gottfried Alexander Georg Herbert von Bismarck-Schönhausen (1901–1949), married Melanie, Countess of Hoyos (1916–1947)
• Count Albrecht Edzard Heinrich Karl von Bismarck-Schönhausen (1903–1970), married Mona Travis Strader (1897–1983).

He was at his father's bedside when the latter died on 30 July 1898, at 10:57 p.m.

He died in Friedrichsruh.

The capital of the German colonial administration of German New Guinea was called Herbertshöhe (now Kokopo) in his honor.

• Regarding personal names: Fürst is a title, translated as Prince, not a first or middle name. The feminine form is Fürstin.
• Regarding personal names: Until 1919, Graf was a title, translated as Count, not a first or middle name. The female form is Gräfin. In Germany since 1919, it forms part of family names.