Figure 1.-- Here we see Archduke Ludwig Victor about 1860. He was the youngest brother of Emperor Franz Josef.

Archduke Ludwig Viktor Joseph Anton was born in Vienna (1842). He was the youngest brother of Emperor Franz Josef and Emperess Sophie. He grew up surrounded the by the grandeur and strict conservative values of the Austrian court. As a teenager he defied the societal norms of his age and as a young adult openly embraced his homosexuality. He was educated as a Hapsburg Pribnce with a heavy infkluence on politics, but unlike his brothers was primarily interested in the arts. He collercted fine art and emersed himself in literature. His personal salon attracted creative minds of the Empire. They duiscussed music, literature, and culture. Emperess Sophia attempted arrange a marriage with Duchess Sophie Charlotte in Bavaria to no avail. He showed no interest. He also rejectd efforts to convince him to marry Isabel, daughter and heir presumptive of Emperor Pedro II of Brazil. Here his brother Maximillian intervened, wanting him tommarry Isabel. He had become the short-lived Emoperor of Mexico and he thought '“such a marriage might found yet another Habsburg dynasty in Latin America.' Maximilian even wrote to Franz Joseph that Ludwig Viktor was ‘anything but pleased with the idea,’ and asked Franz Joseph to order Ludwig Viktor to marry her. The Emperor refused. Ludwig Viktor remained a confirmed bachelor. He had no interest in abandoning his homosexuality and did not try to hide it. The Emperor ordered him to remain out of Vienna. Ludwig Viktor lived at the Klessheim Palace near Salzburg. He died there shortly after World War I (1919).

Created: 11:49 PM 7/27/20231
Last updated: 11:49 PM 7/27/2023