She worked as a teacher, lived in Hawaii, and died of asthma, no children. Heeresgeschichtliches Museum / Militrhistorisches Institut (Hrsg. Each time, however, the real Baroness Schraeder wanted to delay things a little. Georg, far from being the detached, cold-blooded patriarch of the family who disapproved of music, as portrayed in the first half of, The family did not secretly escape over the Alps to freedom in Switzerland, carrying their suitcases and musical instruments. Their honeymoon is cut short by the unification of Austria and Germany (the Anschluss) bringing Austria into the Third Reich. See Photos. In 1895, he accompanied Archduke Louis Victor as a member of the imperial legation during the coronation of Tsar Nicolas II in Saint Petersburg. Princess Yvonne. [41] However, Stphanie related that Rudolf was suspicious when she accompanied him. FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. The Captain had a pension available to him in Italy which allowed the family to live comfortably while they determined their next moves before they travelled to America with the aid of their new concert manager. [26] They were married on 26 November 1927 when he was 47 and she was 22. Georg Ludwig Ritter von Trapp was born in Zara, Dalmatia, then a Crown Land of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (present-day Zadar, Croatia). The names of the Trapp children were changed for the musical, along with their ages. Maria did not marry Georg von Trapp because she was in love with him. He and Maria fall in love much to the Baroness chagrin and she engineers for Maria to return to the convent in secret. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); You can support me and join me for historical tidbits and other behind the scene facts at my Patreon. 20, 1666, paris), queen consort of king louis xiii of france (reigned. [56] To Stphanie, Rudolf had left an undated letter: "Dear Stphanie, you are delivered from my fatal presence; be happy in your destiny. After the recovery of their daughter, Lopold II and Marie Henriette took her and her sister to make her convalescence in Biarritz, making a stopover in Paris.[7]. Set in 1930s Salzburg, the film tells the story of Maria, would-be nun and nature lover, sent by her Reverend Mother to work as a governess for the seven children of a stern, widowed sea captain, the Baron Georg von Trapp, winning their hearts through the songs she teaches them to sing. Trapp sought to help a friend in the banking business, Auguste Caroline Lammer (18851937), so he withdrew most of his money from London and deposited it in an Austrian bank. Austria was under economic pressure from a hostile Germany, and Austrian banks were in a precarious position. Upon her return, the Captain realizes he cannot be without her, breaks it off with the Baroness, and proposes to Maria. She also acknowledged in her book that, like most men of the period, he was a heavy smoker. The children. It was during this conversation that she also revealed to Maria that the Captain was in love with her. Though medical help was called, Sisi soon died of internal bleeding. She married in Vienna on 10 May 1881, Crown Prince Rudolf, son and heir of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. The doctor recommended the removal of the uvula and performed this surgery before his young patient went to Ostend to recover. Upon their refusal to sing at a celebration of Adolf Hitlers birthday party, the family realised their position was untenable and von Trapp decided it was time for them to leave. The territory of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was divided among seven countries, with the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes keeping most of the seacoast. Italian citizens were, for the moment, beyond the jurisdiction of the Third Reich. She lived with her family in, Married 1969 to Lynne Peterson and has one son, Sam von Trapp, and one daughter, Kristina von Trapp-Frame. Sometimes they joined the King and Queen at breakfast time. This page was last edited on 18 February 2023, at 10:53. The consequences of this lie were dramatic: when the couple tried to conceive another child, Stphanie, who was not yet 22 years old, found it that she was sterile. [3] In 1902, he passed the final officer's examination, and was commissioned a Fregattenleutnant (frigate lieutenant, equivalent to sub-lieutenant) in May 1903. Maria is a young nun who is frequently on the nerves of her fellow sisters. Yvonne at an event hosted by the AAOE. The story is set in 1938 and follows Maria, a novice at an Austrian convent who is hired as a governess for the seven children of Captain Georg von Trapp. [45], On 8 August, Queen Marie Henriette visited her daughter in anticipation of her childbirth. [8][27][bettersourceneeded] They had three children: Rosmarie, born on 8 February 1929,[28] Eleonore (called Lorli), born 14 May 1931, and Johannes, born 17 January 1939 in Pennsylvania. Maria and Georg's children Rosmarie - Born 1929. The oldest von Trapp daughter, Agathe, later penned that the Princess was not only a Vienesse countess, but actually a cousin of Georg's first wife! She has studied the Trapp family's history for years and has heard Rosmarie von Trapp in concert describe what is was like to flee from Austria and settle in the United States. But you may have wondered, Was there a real Baroness Schraeder, and if so, what wasshe like?. He chose that of indifference, infidelity, she had to accept that of resignation, loneliness and pain". Their understanding was real; Stphanie described Rudolf as "a model husband" and added that they understood each other admirably, which made her happy. In her biography, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers, Maria describes her potential rival as the Princess Yvonne. But as matters moved along between the Princess and Captain von Trapp, he realized that he loved Maria and not the Viennese countess. [31] Engaged, Stphanie was dispatched to Vienna to be taught Imperial court etiquette in preparation for her marriage, and then had to attend all official receptions and dinners until her wedding, which was scheduled for 15 February 1881; however the wedding had to be deferred because Stphanie had not yet reached puberty,[32] and the bride was returned home for a while. Some sources incorrectly credit Zdenko Hudeek with being the most successful Austro-Hungarian submarine commander of the war. [51] During a visit to the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria in 1887, Stphanie fell in love with the Polish Count Artur Wadysaw Potocki. Stphanie was the third child of the Duke (future King Leopold II) and Duchess of Brabant (born Archduchess Marie Henriette of Austria), an unhappy and mismatched couple. [2], Stphanie had two older siblings: Louise (born 18 February 1858), and Leopold, Count of Hainaut (born 12 June 1859). In this 1955 photograph, thirteen-year-old Princess Yvonne of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn in Germany is shown tipping back a bottle of Dry Sack sherry as her twelve-year-old brother Prince Alexander sits calmly by, his cigarette nearly finished. During our toilet, the most absolute silence was required; any breach of this rule resulted in severe punishment. Baroness Schraeder would be proud to wear this - she once noted, "I do have the finest couturier' in all Vienna!". She wished to go to her parents in Brussels, but neither Leopold II nor Franz Joseph I would allow Stephanie, who had become a Dowager Crown Princess, to abandon Austria. Inside the unhappy reign of Sisi, Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary. However, regardless of how the story played out, the Captain did not return home and whisk Maria off her feet. The first candidate mentioned was King Alfonso XII of Spain, but this possibility was almost immediately denied. From there, their opportunities grew. On 10 September 1898, Empress Elisabeth was assassinated in Geneva; even though she had never managed to get closer to her mother-in-law, Stphanie was very affected by this unexpected death. Stphanie died of a stroke in the abbey later the same year. The preparations for the wedding filled King Leopold II with pride. Thus, they downsized their living by moving the family onto one floor of the villa, dismissed the staff that they felt they could live without, and began renting out rooms of the villa to guests. She expected Captain von Trapp to look like an old, grizzled pirate captain rather than the distinguished gentleman that greeted her, and she herself was the latest in a long line of governesses. [71] Her sister Louise returned to Belgium as well, and the dying sovereign also refused to see her. This ladywas an Austrian noblewoman who had an abundance of wealth, and (apparently) a fondness for Captain von Trapp. Four thrones were arranged under a canopy for the Belgian and Austrian sovereigns, with the bride being walked down the aisle by her parents. According to Maria von Trapp's memoirs[citation needed], Georg von Trapp found himself in a vexing situation after the German takeover of Austria in 1938. [Map 3], On 3 September 1922, Agathe von Trapp died of scarlet fever contracted from her daughter Agathe. He even went so far as to write home to Maria, I wish I could see your eyes when you read the announcement of my engagement. Well, for some reason Maria was sincerely offended at the thought of his wanting to see her eyes, and responded with a fiery note saying that her eyes were none of his business. This letter was delivered to the Captain only moments before he planned to propose, and after reading it he knew that Yvonne was not the one he wanted to marry. Maria sought advice from the convent from which she was due to re-enter in just a matter of days and the conclusion was reached that she would be better served marrying the Captain and acting as mother to his children. One of their guests, Father Wasner, was experienced in musical direction and began teaching the family formal singing techniques and arrangements. In contrast to paparazzi shows but she never took indiscreet or derogatory photos: "I always photographed my friends as friends. Maria's physician advised that she seek a different lifestyle, and it just so happened that the Reverend Mother had received a request from a certain naval officer for an in-home tutor for his sickly daughter. She was persuaded by the arguments of the court of Vienna which encouraged the Crown Prince to marry young in order to quickly ensure descendants. In the first of a trilogy of movies about Elisabeth "Sissi" of Austria, the vibrant young princess catches the eye of her sister's fianc, Emperor Franz Josef. As the movie depicts, Maria Augusta Kutschera was a postulate at the Abbey who caused a few problems for the nuns, and also taught fifth grade to the Abbey's schoolgirls. Between April 1917 and October 1917, U-14 sank 11 Allied merchant ships under Trapp's command. Franz Joseph was crowned King of Hungary and Sisi became queen. After this announcement, the Crown Prince once again became considerate and attentive to his wife. August Ritter von Trapp died in 1884, when Georg was four. The Republic of German-Austria was landlocked and no longer had a navy, putting an end to Trapp's naval career. [28][33], In 1939 the family returned to Europe to tour Scandinavia, hoping to continue their concerts in cities beyond the reach of the Third Reich. At the start of her widowhood, Stphanie led a rather withdrawn life. Thereafter, mother and daughter did not see each other at all. [12] Stphanie benefitted schooling by teachers who provided her with various courses: French, English, German, Dutch and Hungarian for languages, while mathematics lessons, horsemanship, history, history of art, religion, botany, and rhetoric were also taught. Her new husband, for his part, had an annual income of 50,000 guilders. [14], If Stphanie's instruction was somewhat rudimentary, the discipline was strict: "We got up early in the morning: in summer, at five o'clock, in winter, at six o'clock. 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