Regina of Saxe-Meiningen – The would-be Empress of Austria

Regina of Saxe-Meiningen would have been Empress of Austria if the Austro-Hungarian Empire hadn’t been dissolved in 1918. She was born 6 January 1925 in Würzburg, the daughter of Georg, Prince of Saxe-Meiningen and Countess Klara Marie von Korff genannt Schmissing-Kerssenbrock. Her father was the titular Duke of Saxe-Meiningen as the duchy’s last Duke had abdicated in 1918, and the lands merged into the new state of Thuringia in 1920.

Regina was the youngest of four siblings. Her elder brother Anton Ulrich was killed in action in the Second World War, and her second brother Frederick Alfred renounced his succession rights to become a monk. Her only sister, Marie Elisabeth, had died in infancy. Her father, who had joined the Nazi party in 1933, would die in a prisoner-of-war camp in Russia in 1946.

Regina went on to study social work in Bamberg and began working at a refugee home in Munich. This is probably where she met her future husband in 1950. Crown Prince Otto of Austria (also known as Archduke Otto von Habsburg) came to visit some Hungarians who were being cared for in the refugee home.¹ Otto later said, “It was in the summer of 1950 at the camp refugee centre in Munich that I met Regina for the first time.”²

Regina and Otto were married on 10 May 1951 at the Eglise des Cordeliers in Nancy as Otto was still barred from entering Austria. Communists targeted the wedding procession by throwing eggs, which missed the couple. Regina wore a white satin gown and diamond tiara, the same which had been given to her mother-in-law by Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, and was escorted by her mother. Regina’s long face veil had been worn before by one of Empress Maria Theresa’s daughters at her wedding. The myrtle blossoms in her bridal bouquet came from the gardens of Schönbrunn.³ Otto was accompanied by his mother, Empress Zita. Zita wore a black dress and a long veil to her son’s wedding, with pearls, the Star Cross Order and the imperial sash. She had celebrated her 60th birthday the day before.

Pope Pius XII sent his blessing, which said, “To our dear son, Prince Otto of Habsburg-Lorraine. The awaited day will soon shine on the ceremony in which your Imperial and Royal Highness will marry Her Serene Highness the Princess Regina of Saxony-Meiningen. We do not wish this happy event to pass without giving your souls the joy of our good wishes and fatherly blessings.”⁴

The newlyweds went on a honeymoon, which began in Lequeitio. Upon their return home, they settled in Clairefontaine, France. In 1954, they moved to Pöcking near Starnberg. While Zita’s biographer Gordon Brook-Shephard noted that “Regina caused some concern by bearing five daughters in rapid succession…”, Regina and Otto went on to have seven children together: Andrea (born 1953), Monika and Michaela (born 1954), Gabriela (born 1956), Walburga (born 1958), Karl (born 1961) and Georg (born 1964).⁵ Regina was said to have been a devoted wife, and Otto once said that without her support, he would not have been able to have a successful political career.¹ In 1955, they had an audience with Pope Pius, who had sent them a blessing for the wedding. In 1961, Otto renounced all claims to the Austrian throne to be able to enter Austria again. He was finally able to visit Austria again in 1966.

For many years before her death, Regina suffered from heart problems. She suffered a stroke in 2005 but was able to recover. She died on 3 February 2010 at the age of 85. She was initially interred at Veste Heldburg before being moved to the Imperial Crypt in Vienna together with her husband’s remains in 2011. Her heart remains at Veste Heldburg.

1. The Telegraph
2. Imperial Requiem by Justin C. Vovk p. 495
3. Imperial Requiem by Justin C. Vovk p. 496
4. The New York Times
5. Imperial Requiem by Justin C. Vovk p. 497