Grand Duke to Attend Funeral

The Grand Duke Henri will attend the requiem for Archduke Otto of Austria and his wife Archduchess Regina, also known as Otto and Regina von Habsburg, in Vienna next Saturday. The couple will be laid to rest at the Imperial Crypt in Vienna en famille, prior a requiem will be held at the St. Stephen's Cathedral. Archduke Otto died on July 4th at the age of 98, while Archduchess Regina, a born Princess of Saxe-Meiningen, died about a year ago.

Archduke Otto's mother Empress Zita was a born Princess of Bourbon-Parma and the sister of Prince Félix, the husband of Grand Duchess Charlotte. Therefore, Archduke Otto is the cousin of Grand Duke Jean. I think, that we can also expect some other family members to be in Vienna on Saturday; among them Princess Marie-Astrid and Archduke Carl-Christian, who is the nephew of the deceased.

I extend my deepest condolences to the family of Archduke Otto. He was a truly remarkable man who lived through almost 100 years of European history and was a part of it, starting with being the Crown Prince of Austria, Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia to being one of the organisers of the Pan-European Picnic and a member of the European Parliament. He certainly had a long and fulfilled life. May he rest in peace.

Source: Kathnews