Archduke Géza of Austria

Archduke Géza of Austria, Prince Imperial of Austria, Prince Royal of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia (given names: Géza Ladislaus Euseb Gerhard Rafael Albert Maria; born 14 November 1940, in Budapest), in Austria and Hungary only known by law as Géza von Habsburg,^[1] is the son of Archduke Joseph Francis of Austria (1895–1957) and his wife Princess Anna of Saxony (1903–1976) thus he is a grandson of King Frederick Augustus III of Saxony and great-great grandson (on his father's mother's side) of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria and his wife Elisabeth of Bavaria (Sissi). Géza is a Fabergé expert and has published many books and articles on the jewellers Peter Carl Fabergé and Victor Mayer. He is the curator of several major international Fabergé exhibitions.

Life

Monarchical styles of Archduke Geza of Austria-Hungary
Reference style	His Imperial and Royal Highness
Spoken style	Your Imperial and Royal Highness
Alternative style	Sir

Géza attended universities in Fribourg and Bern, Switzerland; Munich, Germany; and Florence, Italy, before graduating as a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Fribourg in 1965.

In 1966 he joined the staff of Christie, Manson & Woods Auctioneers as Chairman, Switzerland, overseeing a network of offices throughout Europe. In 1980 he became Chairman of European Operations for the company. Later in his career, he served for four years as Chairman, New York and Geneva, of Habsburg Fine Art International Auctioneers. In both companies, he specialized in silver and gold, objects of vertu and Russian art.

Géza von Habsburg is an internationally renowned author and leading authority on Fabergé. Much of his career has been devoted to organizing and curating exhibitions all over the world. He served as the curator and organizer for Fabergé, Jeweller to the Tsars (1986–87) at the Kunsthalle in Munich. Also, while a Board Member of the Fabergé Arts Foundation, he was Chief Curator of Fabergé, Imperial Court Jeweler (1993–94), which was shown in Saint Petersburg, Paris and London. He also served as Guest Curator of Fabergé in America, which toured five cities in the United States (1996–97).

As an educator, Géza von Habsburg served as an associate professor at the New York School of Interior Design, the Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, and New York University. He is currently a lecturer for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Some of his topics include "Princely Collections," "The Habsburgs as Collectors and Patrons of the Arts", and "Celebrated Habsburg Women".

Fluent in seven languages, Géza joined Fabergé Co. in 1994 as a consultant, spokesman and lecturer worldwide. He has written seven and co-written two books on Fabergé and related topics, as well as some 75 articles, which have been published in various art journals all over the world. In addition, he has been featured in a Russian film (1994), a Japanese film and two biographies for the Arts & Entertainment Network (A&E), all in association with Fabergé.

Géza has also been featured in the A&E documentary Treasures of the Habsburgs (1998), and in Habsburgs Today on the Romance Channel (1999).

Marriage and children

His first marriage, in 1965, was to Monika Decker (Born 1939) produced three sons:

• Franz Ferdinand (Born 1967)
• Ferdinand Leopold (Born 1969) He is currently working for UNDP in Southern Sudan
• Maximilian Philip (Born 1974) A teacher at Oundle School in England.

They were divorced in 1991.

His second marriage, in 1991, was to Elizabeth Jane Kunstadter (Born 1957) produced a daughter:

• Isabella Maria Luisa (Born 1996)

Ancestry

References

• faberge-exhibition
• thepeerage.com

External links

• Géza von Habsburg's homepage