Karel Schwarzenberg

The House of Schwarzenberg originates in Franconia, where the family still owns substantial property, but made Bohemia their primary seat in the 17th century, also maintaining residences in Vienna. The family had possessed fiefdoms in Bohemia as far back as the Middle Ages; it was one of the richest noble families of Bohemia and Austria-Hungary, and one of the largest land owners of Bohemia.

Karel Schwarzenberg was the eldest son of Prince Karel VI of Schwarzenberg of the junior line (Second Majorat of the House of Schwarzenberg), and his wife, Princess Antonie von Fürstenberg. He was the 1,322nd Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece of Austria. He was first cousin of Princess Ira and Prince Egon von Fürstenberg and second cousin of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco. By tradition, he held the style of Serene Highness (German: Durchlaucht).

Schwarzenberg was born in Prague and his family spoke both German and Czech. He was known for his "slightly archaic and often earthy Czech." Schwarzenberg and his parents had to leave the country after the Communist coup of 1948, and emigrated to Austria, with Swiss citizenship. He studied law and forestry at the University of Vienna, the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München and the University of Graz, but left studies prior to graduation. He had two sisters, Marie Eleonore von Bredow (born 1936) and Dr. Anna Maria Freiin von Haxthausen (born 1946), and one brother, Dr. rer. oec. Friedrich Prinz zu Schwarzenberg (born 1940).

On 22 April 1967, in Seefeld, Schwarzenberg married Countess Therese zu Hardegg (b. Vienna, 17 February 1940). The marriage ended in divorce in 1988. The couple married for a second time on 25 July 2008. His wife spends most of her time in Vienna and does not speak Czech.

Prince Johannes Nepomucenus Andreas Heinrich Joseph Karl Ferdinand Johannes Evangelist die Heiligen Drei Könige Achaz Michael Maria, Prince of Schwarzenberg (b. 13 December 1967) married firstly to Diana Orgovanyi-Hanstein (granddaughter of Baroness Maximiliane von Berg) on 20 March 2010. The couple divorced 7 years later and Johannes married Donna Francesca Riario-Sforza, the daughter of Duke of San Paolo, on 8 April 2017.

Princess Anna Carolina Antoinette Elisabeth Theresia Olga Adelheid Maria of Schwarzenberg (b. 16 December 1968). She married Peter Morgan on 28 July 1997 (civilly) and on 6 September 1997 (religiously). They have five children:

Gioia Maria Morgan (1999)

Robin Leopold Morgan (2001)

Karol Benjamin Morgan (2004)

Mr. Morgan (2006)

Lászlo Morgan (2011)

Prince Karl Philipp Ernst Ferdinand Alwig Kilian of Schwarzenberg (12 May 1979) adopted by Austrian industrialist and politician Thomas Prinzhorn by agreement 25 November 1987. He married Countess Anna Elisabeth Aline Henriette Maria Benedikta Stephanie Johanna Lidvine Walpurga Thekla von und zu Eltz genannt Faust von Stromberg on 3 October 2009.

After the fall of the communist regime, Schwarzenberg returned to Prague in 1990, although he still occasionally visited Austria, where part of his family lives. He held both Swiss and Czech citizenship.

Schwarzenberg was the second Czech Patron of The English College in Prague, succeeding the founding Patron Vaclav Havel after the latter's death. He was joint patron with King Charles.

Schwarzenberg's daughter (conventionally known as Lila Morgan-Schwarzenberg) co-directed and co-wrote a documentary about her father and their strained relationship ("Mein Vater der Fürst") which was released in 2022.

Exile, human-rights activism and career in Austrian politics

In the 1960s, Schwarzenberg was active in the conservative Austrian People's Party and contributed to reforming the party before the 1966 legislative election. Voices inside the party considered him a possible candidate for the position of Foreign Minister of Austria, the position he would occupy in the Czech Republic decades later.

Schwarzenberg soon became active in the resistance against the communist dictatorship in Czechoslovakia and became a prominent human-rights advocate, and a leading voice against the communist rule of his native country after the Prague Spring. From 1984 to 1991 he was chairman of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, and in 1986 he founded the Dokumentationszentrum zur Förderung der unabhängigen tschechoslowakischen Literatur in Scheinfeld, West Germany. In 1989, he accepted the European Human Rights Prize on behalf of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights.

Career in Czech politics

A long-time friend and close collaborator of Václav Havel, he served for two years as Havel's chancellor (from July 1990 to July 1992) during Havel's tenure as president.