Prince Edouard de Lobkowicz

Lobkowicz was the elder son of Prince Edouard Josef von Lobkowicz (1899–1959) and of his American wife, Anita Lihme (1903–1976). Since he was born in the United States, he held American citizenship. He was baptised with the names Maria Eduard August Joseph Wilhelm Ignatius Patricius Hubertus Kaspar.[1]

Lobkowicz was educated at the Lycée Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague in Paris.[2] From 1944 to 1947, he served in the United States Army. He then completed his tertiary education at the University of Paris and at Harvard University.[2]

From 1951 to 1958, Lobkowicz worked at Chase Manhattan Bank in New York.[2] In 1960, he became assistant to the director of the investment firm A. L. Stamm, and in 1963, delegate for Europe and the Middle East of the same firm.[2] In 1969, he transferred to Coleman and Co.[2] From 1972 to 1989, he worked for Stralem and Co.[2]

The couple on their wedding day

On 11 December 1959, at Besson, Allier, France, Lobkowicz was married civilly to Princess Marie-Françoise of Bourbon-Parma, eldest daughter of Prince Xavier of Bourbon-Parma and of his wife, Madeleine de Bourbon-Busset. A religious wedding followed on 7 January 1960, in Notre Dame de Paris;[1] this was the first marriage of a member of the House of Bourbon at Notre Dame since the 1816 wedding of Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry, to Princess Caroline of Naples and Sicily.

Lobkowicz and his wife had four children:[1]

• Prince Edouard-Xavier Ferdinand Auguste Gaspard (18 October 1960, Paris – 27 April 1984, Ivry-sur-Seine); murdered.[3]
• Prince Robert Emanuel Joseph Michel Benoît Melchior (31 December 1961, Paris – 29 October 1988, Bhannes, Lebanon); died of a brain tumor.[4]
• Prince Charles-Henri Hugues Xavier Benoît Michel Edouard Joseph Balthazar (born 17 May 1964, Paris).
• Princess Marie Gabrielle Anita Olga Thérèse Lisieux Gaspara (born 11 June 1967, Paris); a member of the Little Sisters of the Poor.

Lobkowicz was an active member of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. He entered the order as a Knight of Honour and Devotion, but later became a Knight in Obedience.[1] Eventually, he advanced to the degree of a knight grand cross.[1]

In 1980, Lobkowicz was appointed the Order's ambassador to Lebanon, a position he held until 1990.[5] In 1981, he set up the Order's Lebanese Association.[6] In 1987, Lobkowicz and his wife founded the Association Malte Liban. Under Lobkowicz’s leadership, the Order’s medical centres increased from one to thirteen.[7]

Lobkowicz died on Friday, 2 April 2010, in Paris. His funeral mass was celebrated in the Église Saint-Thomas-d'Aquin.

•  France: Commander of the Legion of Honour (from 14 July 2005) [8]
•  Holy See: Commander of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre[2]
•  Holy See: Commander of the Order of St. Gregory the Great[2]
•  Ivory Coast: Grand Officer of the National Order of the Ivory Coast[2]
•  Italy: Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic[2]
•  Lebanon: Grand Cordon of the National Order of the Cedar[2]
•  Sovereign Military Order of Malta: Grand Cross with Swords of the Order pro merito Melitensi[2]

• Fred Ferretti, "He Is a Prince in Many Worlds", New York Times (28 April 1981), B16.
• "For One, A Wedding in Royal Splendor", Life (8 February 1960), 134-136.

Media related to Édouard de Lobkowicz at Wikimedia Commons