Archduke Peter Ferdinand of
Austria, Prince of Tuscany (1874-1948)
Born 12 May 1874 Salzburg
Died 8 November 1948 Sankt Gilgen
Married 8 November 1900 Cannes
Princess Maria Cristina of The Two Sicilies, daughter of
Prince Alfonso of The Two Sicilies, Count of Caserta and
Princess Maria Antonietta of The Two Sicilies
Born 10 April 1877 Cannes
Died 4 October 1947 Sankt Gilgen
A member of the Grand Ducal House of Tuscany, he was born and grew up
in Salzburg. On 8 November 1900 in Cannes, he married Princess Maria Cristina
of The Two Sicilies and they became the parents of four children. Having
entered a military career, in 1914 he was appointed a
Feldmarschallleutnant. However, in June 1914, he asked to be taken
off his commando and later General Auffenberg, in his memoirs, accused
him of having made bad tactical decisions and therefor it had not been
possible to surround "Einkesselung", the Russian 5th Army led by
Komarow. Archduke Peter Ferdinand was a first cousin of Empress Zita
and, in 1917, Emperor Karl made him a General of the Infantry and he went
to the Tyrolian westfront. In 1918, after the fall of the Austrian monarchy,
he moved with his family to Switzerland but went back to Austria under
Schuschnigg, where the former Archduke received a very small honorary pension.
On 8 November 1948, aged seventy-four, he died at Sankt Gilgen.
Source: Leo van de Pas
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