He chose that of indifference, infidelity, she had to accept that of resignation, loneliness and pain". The legendary story of this musical family's escape from Nazi Austria is one of the best-loved tales in recent history. The young descendant of the last Austrian emperor lost her life to an aneurysm in her heart.. [72] Stphanie and her sisters discovered that their father had left as main beneficiary of his will his chief mistress, the French prostitute Caroline Lacroix, as well as the Royal Trust,. [34] In The Story of the Trapp Family Singers (1949), Maria von Trapp pointed out that there was a high incidence of lung cancer among World War I U-Boat crews, due to the diesel and gasoline fumes and poor ventilation, and that his death could be considered service-related. Sources conflict on whether the marriage took place in January 1911 or January 1912. I loved, I lived/I wandered through the world, she wrote, but never reached what I strove for.. The preparations for a princely birth obeyed protocol: prayers in churches and the exhibition of the Blessed Sacrament in the churches of the imperial palaces. During the summer of 1888, Stphanie noticed a disturbing change in the general condition of the Crown Prince: his increasingly angry character led him to continued public outbursts of extreme violence. Countess Marie Larisch von Moennich, niece of Empress Elisabeth, had declared about Rudolph's future fiance: "In advance, we had pity on the poor princess who would have the honor of being chosen".[30]. Helene had a very happy life, though, but perhaps her only problem was everyone around her dying . Concerned that her sudden removal might stir the Captains affections for her, Princess Yvonne convinced Maria to stay at least until the wedding and the start of the school term. [] Our dresses were as simple as our hairstyles. Leopold II and Marie Henriette hoped to marry their second daughter to a reigning sovereign or a crown prince. [15] Louise and Stphanie had to dust their room themselves. Works at Soffy tasty chops and baking services. -- Copyright notice by Blog Copyright. However, the King of Belgium refused to see his daughter marry a man of lower rank. [28] The family decided to leave Austria. While I was preparing this piece, the question I was asked most by the people around me was is Maria von Trapp a real person? Indeed, she is! [12] Stphanie benefitted schooling by teachers who provided her with various courses: French, English, German, Dutch and Hungarian for languages, while mathematics lessons, horsemanship, history, history of art, religion, botany, and rhetoric were also taught. In contrast to paparazzi shows but she never took indiscreet or derogatory photos: "I always photographed my friends as friends. After his death in 1947, the family home in Stowe, Vermont, became a ski lodge, the Trapp Family Lodge. Additionally, Maria was hired to tutor just one of the Trapp daughters who, having suffered a bout of scarlet fever, was too weak to make the forty five minute walk to school and so she had little to do with the other children who were themselves altered as characters for the musical. [49], In order to take care of himself, Rudolf left to stay on the island of Lokrum, where he took Stphanie. Maria and Georg's children Rosmarie - Born 1929. By the time Maria arrived on the scene, both von Trapp and Princess Yvonne were planning towards an imminent marriage, though they were not yet officially engaged. Then they were invited to sing on the radio, then came an invitation from the chancellor of Austria, followed by their first European tour. Trapp hired Maria Augusta Kutschera to tutor one of his daughters and married Maria in 1927. [71] Her sister Louise returned to Belgium as well, and the dying sovereign also refused to see her. Firstly, the Captain felt obligated to continue his courtship with Princess Yvonne, the real life "Baroness Schrader" who was a distant cousin of his deceased wife. I saw the tears trickling down the faces of the men., The empress was fascinated with new innovations in the treatment of the insane, and even toyed with the idea of opening her own psychiatric hospital. Stphanie did not dare talk about her marital problems with her mother. From her first marriage, Elisabeth Marie had had four children:[91]. However, in May, Stphanie (suffering from heart disease) and her husband left their residence to take refuge in the Pannonhalma Archabbey, protected by the International Committee of the Red Cross. Subsequently composed (musical/film only, not by original group): On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The territory of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was divided among seven countries, with the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes keeping most of the seacoast. Though medical help was called, Sisi soon died of internal bleeding. In the years following the end of the World War I, Elisabeth Marie (who resided with her family in Schnau an der Triesting, Lower Austria) and her mother still had strong feelings for each other. She married in Vienna on 10 May 1881, Crown Prince Rudolf, son and heir of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. In 1949, she married Jean Dupiere (died before 1998). Or at least they are until that evening, when the Captain tells her to politely jog on and proposes to Maria. [47] At the beginning of 1886, the Crown Prince fell seriously ill. Several diagnoses included cystitis and stomach disease. [88], In July 1944, Stphanie drew up her will. Katrina Casey is the owner of Edelweiss Patterns, a company that specializes in patterns for Sound of Music costumes. (Credit: DeAgostini/Getty Images). His older sister was the Austrian artist Hede von Trapp, and his brother Werner died in 1915 during World War I. During an official visit to Hungary in May 1881,[39] she was given a standing ovation and began to see the advantages of her situation. In April 1911, Louise initiated a second lawsuit concerning the French companies created by Leopold II. However, King Leopold II was still so furious with his daughter's unequal marriage that he forbade Stphanie to attend the funeral service,[69] and she was finally forced a few days later to return to London. Princess Ariana Maria-Gobertina of Sayn-Wittgenstein Berleburg (b.23 August 1985) [daughter of late Prince Richard of Sayn-Wittgenstein Berleburg (1952-2010) & his first wife, Countess Louise Batthyany de Nemet-Ujvar (b.1956)] married Zachary Wendkos this year. To allow her to truly see if the convent is where she wishes to be, Mother Abbess sends her away to a nearby family that. The oldest von Trapp daughter, Agathe, laterpenned that the Princess was not only a Vienesse countess, but actually a cousin of Georgs first wife! Princess Yvonne was apparently so outraged to have lost her prospective husband that she telephoned everyone she knew that night and told them that Captain von Trapp had gotten the twenty one year old Maria pregnant out of wedlock. The latter considered that the manuscript was not complete enough and that its publication would be detrimental to the author. In the summer, he seemed to recover, but his cough persisted. [26] They were married on 26 November 1927 when he was 47 and she was 22. A member of the House of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg by birth, she became a member . She arrives to find a stern and unyielding man keeping his home as he would one of his ships. [9] Stphanie relates about her parents: "It is sad and discouraging to think that these two beings [] could not live better together and create a home. 2012-2023 Edelweiss Patterns All Rights Reserved. Stphanie worked as a nurse in her residence.[78]. And, thats where the similarities to The Sound of Music end. We always forget about Helene: it's much easier to remember an Empress than a Princess of Thurn and Taxis. The von Trapps were momentarily safe but determined not to draw attention to themselves which proved difficult when the Nazi party insisted on extending them invitations. Perhaps the largest departure from history was that Maria took up her position in 1928, a decade before the setting of the musical. Princess Stphanie was the second daughter of King Leopold II of Belgium and Marie Henriette of Austria. Marie Valerie, the one child on whom Sisi doted, wrote of finding her mother laughing hysterically in a bathtub. But how much? A particularly stern letter from Maria to the Captain had him break things off with the Princess and return home. She also exercised for hours every day. In 1889, her beloved son, Crown Prince Rudolf, was found dead with his 17-year-old mistress, Mary Vetsera, at the Mayerling hunting lodge, sending Sisi into a steep decline. This tenderness was expressed especially in their correspondence because it was difficult to travel to Rusovce. He married Erika Klambauer in 1948 and had four sons and two daughters, including. In 1912, Louise and Stphanie, who had now become her ally, were defended by Henri Jaspar and Paul-mile Janson, and Louise persevered in her legal actions. [65] The Belgian sovereigns, offended that Stphanie did not primarily speak to them about her matrimonial projects, severed any relationship with their daughter and forbade her to return to Belgium. Social Security Death Index as "Rupert Vontrapp" 1 November 1911 22 February 1992; 05672 (Stowe, Lamoille, VT); 127-14-1082; Social Security issued in New York, Barry Monush: The Sound of Music FAQ: All That's Left to Know About Maria, the Von Trapps, and Our Favorite Things, 2015, p. 20, Electronic mail from Carla Campbell von Trapp Hunter from August 2010, The Villa Trapp is at Pina Budicina 11 at, "Tribute to Baron von Trapp Joined by Country He Fled", "Korvettenkapitn Georg Ritter von Trapp", National Archives and Records Administration, "Linenschiffleutnant Friedrich Schlosser", "Korvettenkapitn Georg Ritter von Trapp - German and Austrian U-boats of World War One - Kaiserliche Marine - uboat.net", Georg & Agathe FOUNDATION Honoring the von Trapp and Whitehead Heritage, "Movie vs. The inclusion of the Captains whistle was also a point of consternation for the family. In his diary, a servant recalled walking in on her mid-exercise, as recorded in medical historian Louise Foxcrofts Calories and Corsets: A History of Dieting Over 2,000 Years: When I saw her, she was just raising herself on the hand-rings. Horseback riding, fencing, fast-paced hikes and exercises adapted from the circusunusual for the timeconsumed her days. This was after all, the 30s, and the stage came with connotations that werent exactly suited to either a Baron or a distinguished naval officer. Stephanie writes: "My education began at the age of ten; I immediately understood that from that moment books and notebooks would take the place of my toys, that a more orderly life would begin". In her biography, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers, Maria describes her potential rival as the Princess Yvonne. [50] From that moment, feeling betrayed by her own husband, Stphanie harbored resentment and bitterness towards Rudolf. Stphanie and her daughter Elisabeth Marie attended the funeral, which took place nine days later. A doctor was of the opinion that Maria would benefit from some time in the mountains, though not as far up as she had once been. She married in Vienna on 10 May 1881, Crown Prince Rudolf, son and heir of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. In return, the Benedictines were responsible for meeting all the debts of the Lnyays and managing their estates. As the reprobation seemed insufficient to her, she preferred to stay away, pray for her daughter and ask priests to join their prayers to hers. Princess Manni was born in Salzburg in 1919, the daughter of Friedrich Baron Mayr-Melnhof and his wife Maria Anna Countess von Meran. A mischievous free spirit, Maria sang at inopportune times during the course of her day and wasnt sure if shed fit into life at the nunnery. The revelation of the Captains affections didnt quite invoke the romantic scenes of the musical where Maria flees to the abbey and is told to confront her problems (through song obviously). For she is their joy, their idol., Empress Elisabeth of Austria, known for her long hair. Trapp was the most successful Austro-Hungarian submarine commander of World War I,[b] sinking 11 Allied merchant ships totaling 47,653 GRT and two Allied warships displacing a total of 12,641 tons. The story is set in 1938 and follows Maria, a novice at an Austrian convent who is hired as a governess for the seven children of Captain Georg von Trapp. Leopold nourished the hope of having a second son and therefore resumed sexual relations with the Queen; but, after a miscarriage in March 1871,[8] another daughter was born on 30 July 1872: Clmentine, the last child of the royal couple. While its true that the Trapp childrens upbringing didnt give them the range of folk songs and tradition that Maria taught them, they were a musical family, playing a range of instruments between them. The villa theyd left behind was confiscated in their absence by the Nazi party and given to Heinrich Himmler to act as headquarters for the SS. One day, Princess Yvonne took Maria aside and alerted her to the fact that the Captain was in love with her. With Romy Schneider, Karlheinz Bhm, Magda Schneider, Uta Franz. [81] According to her granddaughter-in-law, author Ghislaine of Windisch-Graetz (ne d'Arschot Schoonhoven), Stphanie "was confused in devotion and even bigoted; she was convinced that her daughter was possessed by the demon and she could not tolerate the immorality of her love life. After meeting the 15-year-old Princess Stphanie, he wrote to his mother that "[he had] found what [he] sought", noting that she was "pretty, good, [and] clever". This category has only the following subcategory. Sometimes they joined the King and Queen at breakfast time. From her hands-on mother, Princess Ludovika, she developed a love of privacy and a fear of public dutiestraits that would not serve her well as empress. However, on 22 January 1914, an agreement was concluded between Louise, the Belgian State and some of her creditors: She received, like her two sisters, a little more than five million francs from their late father's fortune. Trembling and overcome with emotion, 16-year-old Elisabeth, known by her childhood nickname Sisi, was wed to the 23-year-old Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria, the absolute monarch of the largest empire in Europe outside of Russia. Finally, the Koehler & Amelang house in Leipzig agreed to publish the book and have it published simultaneously in Europe and New York. [40], As in any dynastic marriage where the political interest of the two sovereign houses takes precedence, the existence of romantic feelings within the couple has never been proven, but the relationship of the young spouses was based, at the beginning, on respect and a mutual attachment. She photographed celebrities from Maria Callas to Gianni Agnelli to Luciano Pavarotti and published travel reports. Truly like an angel of mercy she went from bed to bed, lady-in-waiting Marie Festetics wrote of one such visit, as recorded in The Reluctant Empress. Each time, however, the real Baroness Schraeder wanted to delay things a little. However this measure did not apply to Stphanie nor her daughter, who were excluded from the House of Habsburg following their marriages. The family was musically inclined before Maria arrived, but she did teach them to sing madrigals. Shes arrogant, shes snobbish, she plans to send the children away from home, and she does her best to get Maria out of the picture (no pun intended!) 20, 1666, paris), queen consort of king louis xiii of france (reigned. Secondly, Maria herself was not in love with the Captain and anticipated her return to her former life. The Broadway musical was first performed in 1959, based off Maria Trapps first book The Story of the Trapp Family Singers published in 1949. He should stay more with you; but have no fear!". Princess Stphanie was the second daughter of King Leopold II of Belgium and Marie Henriette of Austria. After the death of her father in 1909, Stphanie joined her older sister Louise to claim from the Belgian courts the share of the inheritance of which they both felt they had been stripped. He married Henriette Lajoie (1927) in 1947 and had two sons and four daughters; they later divorced. Katrina Casey| In 1998, Princess Alexandra married Count Jefferson von Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth, a member of the ancient House of Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth, and the couple had two children, Count Richard and Countess Alexandra, residing in Paris and later at Schloss Heidesheim until announcing their divorce in 2017. How does anyone know what to believe of the story Marias story cant really be backed up (not to say she is lying but there is little proof including proof she was a novice to become a num)I am glad for all the good that happened to their family but from what I read the children werent all that happy to continue per infinitum to stay at home, Most of them never married, the older children seem nervous and less than happy.