Archduke Joseph of Austria (Palatine of Hungary)

[21][22] The appointment of a governor instead of the election of a palatine was an important win for the reactionary party of the Hungarian nobility led by Baron József Izdenczy, and seen by others as a step back on the road of constitutional development.

The Hungarian is very fiery and very sensitive in his privileges, besides being distrustful, but by a strict observance of our laws one can easily get along with him.The first issue Joseph needed to settle was the case of eight university and secondary school teachers who had allegedly been associated with Imre Martinovics and freemasonry.

While previously he had mostly relied on the opinions and decisions of Izdenczy's ultra-conservative party and supported the removal of progressive teachers accused of corrupting the youth,[29] he now realised that their investigation lacked proof and was not properly conducted.

[45] In early September, while the sovereign continued to demand soldiers and ammunition from Hungary for the ongoing war, the Palatine relayed the nobility's wish for another diet, which was fervently opposed by the court.

[52] On 9 June 1801, he wrote a referral to his brother asking him to release the remaining political prisoners of the Martinovics uprising, including author and language reformer Ferenc Kazinczy.

[63] During the French Revolutionary Wars, Archduke Charles, Joseph's brother and leader of the Imperial Army, planned a major reform of military training and service, and demanded recruits and money from Hungary.

He also suggested that the sovereign resolve some of the grievances the Hungarian nobility ahead of the diet, such as re-attaching Dalmatia to Hungary, or allowing a free export of grain (which had been forbidden to keep the enemy French from acquiring it) to boost the economy.

[68] Despite tragedies in his personal life (the death of his infant daughter and his wife in early 1801), as well health concerns, the Palatine prepared thoroughly for the assembly, struggling with the reluctance of the Emperor and his ministers who were unwilling to compromise.

[71] In his opening speech, Joseph aligned himself more with Hungarians than with his own family, promising to protect the country's rights if the Emperor-King tried to infringe upon them,[58] but emphasised the importance of 'complete trust' in the sovereign.

[71] The Emperor is my brother; but if he should violate the least of your rights, I would forget the ties of blood to remind myself that I am your palatine.The main goals of the deputies was to pass legislation to support the agricultural and industrial development of Hungary, stifled by the customs regulations of Maria Theresa [hu] and Joseph II.

Cities, towns, and guilds compiled proof and wrote explanations of why the existing system was unjust and unsustainable, asking for an equal treatment of all parts of the Habsburg monarchy in economic regulations.

He wrote a detailed thesis endorsing the deputies' recommendations, including rebuttals against accusations by the Viennese government who claimed that it was the 'laziness' and 'primitiveness' of Hungarians that made the country less useful than it could have been to the Habsburg monarchy.

[84] However, conservative and anti-constitutional circles in Vienna raised concerns about the assembly debating the Emperor-King's proposals in any way, and while negotiations were peaceful and well-intentioned, both parties remained unwilling to compromise.

[84] During the following talks, Joseph played the role of mediator and calmed the Hungarians,[85] who worried that the Viennese court wanted to introduce continuous recruitment to render diets unnecessary.

He described how determined the envoys were to achieve their goals and that they represented the general opinion of Hungary; he openly told the King that if Vienna insisted on the content of the letter of 12 July, the situation would deteriorate beyond help.

[104] Eventually, after the imperial family tried to pressure him into marrying Princess Amalia, he decided to leave in June,[105] and spent his last few weeks in Pavlovsk as the Empress Dowager's personal guest.

In 1835, he participated in founding of The Royal Hungarian Ludovica Defense Academy (today Zrínyi Miklós National Defence University [hu]) to provide training for cadets.

Joseph appointed Hungarian-German architect József Hild to oversee the works, and in October 1808, the Pesti Szépítő Bizottság, 'Beautifying Committee of Pest', headed by the Palatine himself, was established.

[2] In 1798, Joseph was instructed by Emperor-King Francis to marry a member of the Russian imperial family in order to secure Emperor Paul I's support in the French Revolutionary Wars.

[41] I cannot thank Your Majesty's graciousness enough that it has appointed her for me as partner in life and I am convinced that with this marriage my domestic bliss is assured for the entirety of my life.Until the age of thirteen, Alexandra Pavlovna's education had been supervised by her grandmother Catherine the Great.

[110] She enjoyed Hungarian folk music and talked to delegations of tóts (old name for Roman Catholic South Slavs living in Hungary) in a mix of Russian and Slovak.

[110][130] According to Joseph's biographer Domanovszky, the child was called Alexandra,[129] but Hankó and Kiszely, who exhumed and examined the body of the infant, state that she was registered as Paulina in her death certificate, and her casket displayed the same name.

Alexandra was buried on 12 May at noon in the Capuchin Church, her clothes were remade for clerical usage and Joseph gifted her mineral collection the Royal University of Pest eight years later.

[98] Part of the reason for the invitation was to arrange a new marriage for him: Empress Elizabeth Alexeievna wanted him to wed her older sister, Princess Amalia of Baden,[98] a plan supported by the new emperor, Alexander I.

[101] Some time later, the Palatine considered marrying Princess Charlotte of Saxe-Hildburghausen after her engagement to Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich of Russia had been broken off; there is no information on why this plan never materialised.

In November 1803, there were signs that the Emperor might agree to the marriage between his sister Catherine and the Palatine, who asked Empress Dowager Maria and received a final negative answer.

[133] The Archduke saw Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna two more times: first, in 1809, when she travelled through Hungary on her way to marry Duke George of Oldenburg, the Palatine escorted her through the country.

Many eulogised him, among them his then-ruling nephew Emperor-King Ferdinand I/V, who called him a 'most valued advisor who had always guarded the constitution of Hungary with vigilant care', and Lajos Kossuth, who depicted him as a patriarch whom all parties and factions respected.

On 25 April 1869, his statue by Johann Halbig was unveiled in the presence of the then-ruling imperial and royal couple, Franz Joseph I and Elisabeth, a demonstration of their trust and love of Hungary following the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867.

His three surviving children from his last marriage married and had issue; Archduke Joseph Karl continuing the Hungarian or Palatinal branch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, which had been founded by his father.

A family seated/stood towards the viewer. The women are wearing stays and hoop skirts with close-bodied, low-necked gowns. They wear their hair in high rolls, powdered white. The men are wearing coats, waistcoats and white breeches. On the laft stands a 9-year-old girl in blue, holding the hand of a 6-year-old by in bright red. Before them sits a 4-year-old boy in yellow, with a light blue belt, playing with a black dog. Behind them, in a golden-and-green chair sits a 2-year-old boy in a long, light pink dress. He and a 5-year-old girl in blue are playing with a white dove. Then, a middle-aged woman sits in a white dress, holding an infant in red, Joseph. Next to them is a man wearing black, standing, and two blonde boys, one in red silk, the other in light green, holding hands.
The grand ducal family of Tuscany in 1776 on Johan Zoffany 's painting. Left to right: Maria Theresa , Charles , Alexander Leopold , Maximilian, Maria Anna , the Grand Duchess, Joseph , the Grand Duke, Francis , and Ferdinand .
An elderly woman in a black dress and a black cap and weil, standing next to a table displaying the crowns and regalia of Hungary and Bohemia. With her right hand, she is pointing towards the crown, in the left, she holds a gilded fan.
Maria Theresa in 1772
Black-and-white portrait of an elderly man wearing a white powdered wig and the robes and cross of an archbishop.
Count von Hohenwart in 1794 on Josef Abel 's portrait.
Interior of a Catholic church. Before the altar, kneels a man in a golden robe. A bishop in gilded clothesand a layman in white are holding the Crown of Saint Stephen above his head. Around them stand many bishops and laymen in courtly clothes.
The coronation of Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor as king of Hungary on Johann Peter Krafft 's painting
Upper body of a young man wearing a white powdered wig. His eyes are light blue, almost gray. He's wearing a blue Hungarian-style coat lined with fur.
Archduke Alexander Leopold, Palatine of Hungary
Young woman wearing a white dress with a light blue belt and coat. A miniature of a woman hangs in her neck, and she's wearing the badge of the Order of Saint Catherine on her chest. Her long and curly hair is powdered with a wreath of roses in it.
Alexandra Pavlovna in 1796 on Vladimir Borovikovsky 's portrait
A family in a park. On the left, two young men in military uniforms sand next to a bust of Peter the Great. Then sits a woman in white, caressing a little boy in white with a blue belt. Then two girls in white, the second playing the harp, with the bust of a small girl above them. The father sits next in a military uniform, caressing a little girl in green, and a small boy sits next to his chair. Two young women, one in greenish yellow and the other in blue, stand on his right.
The Russian imperial family in 1800, who all grew to love Joseph. Alexandra Pavlovna stands on the right in a greenish yellow dress, caressing her favourite sister Elena Pavlovna (in blue). The others, left to right: Alexander , Konstantin , Nicholas , the empress, Catherine , Maria , Anna (above them a bust of Olga ), the emperor, and Michael .
A young woman in an ornate black-and-white Hungarian-style dress. Her hair, powdered white, is decorated with black ribbons and veil.
Alexandra Pavlovna on her wedding day [ 127 ]
A small, yellow neoclassicist building with a tower resembling a victory column or tombstone, topped with a golden cross. Stairs lead up to the door under a triangle-shaped tympanum.It has three windows on it visible side, all surrounded with light pink marble and fenced. It is surrounded with a park.
Alexandra Pavlovna's burial chapel in 2009.
Small chamber with white walls and pink marble floor. In the middle is a tomb on three small stairs from the same marble, covered with white silk and black velvet with embroidered golden Greek crosses. It is surrounded by candles and flowers.
Alexandra's tomb in the chapel's crypt.
Young woman in a simple white empire dress with a low neckline and a red cape on her shoulders. She is looking into the distance before the backdrop of the sky. Her hair is black in an updo with curls and her eyes are dark. Her skin is very light white, with blush on her cheeks.
Undated portrait of Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna of Russia, Archduke Joseph's sister-in-law whom she considered marrying.
Woman sitting in an elaborate wooden armchair, with its side towards the viewer. The woman herself has turned towards us, lifting a white lace veil from her face and smiling. She is wearing a simple, dark blue dress lined with white lace, a golden bracelet, and a long pearl in her visible ear. Her hair, mostly hidden under the long veil, is brown and curly with golden ribbons or straps in it, her eyes are blue.
Princess Charlotte of Saxe-Hildburghausen as Princess Paul of Württemberg, between 1815 and 1820, by Johann Philipp Bach. Joseph also considered her as a possible second wife.
Black and white portrait of a young woman in a dotted, white empire dress, wearing a coronet and veil on her dark, curly hair. In her neck are pearls. The picture bears the inscription "Hermine".
Joseph's second wife, Hermine.
Alcsút Palace
White marble tomb in a dark crypt depicting a sitting man with a moustache, his hat in one hand, his other hand extended over the Holy Crown of Hungary.
The tombstone of Palatine Joseph, inscribed in Latin: 'Joseph Anton John / Archduke of Austria / of the Kingdom of Hungary for half a century palatine / and lieutenant of the king / born 9 March 1776 / died 13 January 1847'.