She was member of the Tuscan branch of the Imperial House of Habsburg-Lorraine, an Archduchess of Austria and Princess of Tuscany by birth.

Her education emphasised languages, and in addition to her native German, she learned French, Spanish, Hungarian and Italian.

During World War I, Archduchess Dolores's father and two eldest brothers fought with the Austro-Hungarian army.

[3] Her two eldest brothers, Archdukes Rainer and Leopold, decided to remain in Austria and recognized the new republic.

While in Wilhelminenberg the family employed no less than 80 servants to attend their large household,[4] by contrast in Barcelona, Dolores her mother and sisters had to fend for themselves doing the house chores.

With income from her father's military patents in France and with the sale of some of her mother jewels they were able to buy a house in Barcelona.

The convulsed political situation in Spain during the Second Spanish Republic made the family return to Austria.

As the situation there became increasingly dire due to the war, Archduchess Dolores her mother, her youngest brother, Archduke Karl, and his family moved back to Barcelona.