Her father, a grandson of Archduke Charles of Austria who had led the Austrian army against Napoleon Bonaparte, was a brother of Queen Maria Christina of Spain.

At age fifteen, Archduchess Eleanore fell in love with Alfons von Kloss, a sailor who worked as the captain of her father's yacht.

Archduke Charles Stephen had wished to marry his eldest daughter to a Polish aristocrat, but he was touched by the couple's true love and persistence.

Emperor Franz Joseph was inflexible on family matters, but he was a good friend of Archduke Charles Stephen of Austria and gave his permission.

Alfons von Kloss worked as Corvette Captain in the Imperial navy, and served with distinction during World War I. Eleanore and her husband stayed in Austria after the fall of the monarchy and lived in Baden bei Wien, in a large villa Eleanore had inherited from her childless uncle Archduke Rainer of Austria.