Prince Eugène de Ligne explained

Eugène
French: Prince de Ligne
Succession:11th Prince of Ligne
Reign:23 June 1937  - 26 June 1960
Reign-Type:Tenure
Predecessor:Ernest, 10th Prince of Ligne
Successor:Baudouin, 12th Prince of Ligne
Spouse:Philippine de Noailles
Issue:Baudouin, 12th Prince of Ligne
Princess Isabelle
Archduchess Yolande of Austria
Antoine, 13th Prince of Ligne
Full Name:Eugène Frédéric Marie Lamoral de Ligne
Noble Family:House of Ligne
Father:Ernest, 10th Prince of Ligne
Mother:Diane de Cossé-Brissac
Birth Date:10 August 1893
Birth Place:Breuilpont, France
Death Place:Château de Belœil, Belœil, Belgium
Religion:Roman Catholicism

Eugène de Ligne, 11th Prince of Ligne (Eugène Frédéric Marie Lamoral, prince de Ligne; 10 August 1893 – 26 June 1960) was a Belgian ambassador and the eldest son of Ernest, 10th Prince of Ligne, and his wife, Diane de Cossé-Brissac. He also held the titles of Prince of Épinoy and Prince of Amblise and was a Knight of the Golden Fleece.

Biography

After having carried out studies of philosophy and letters, Eugène completed in 1920 the diplomatic examination with distinction. He was sent to Bucharest, Paris, Madrid, London and Washington, D.C.

Eugène married Philippine de Noailles on 28 February 1917. She was a daughter of François Joseph de Noailles, Prince de Poix. They had two sons and two daughters:

  1. Baudouin, 12th Prince of Ligne (1918–1985)
  2. Princess Isabelle of Ligne (1921–2000)
  3. Princess Yolande of Ligne (1923–2023), who married Archduke Carl Ludwig of Austria
  4. Antoine, 13th Prince of Ligne (1925–2005)

Following the death of his father in 1937, Eugène became the 11th prince of Ligne. During the invasion of Belgium by the Germans in 1940, Eugène joined (near Antwerp) the motorized group at the vanguard. When Belgium was demobilized, he and his wife worked to provision the country and transformed the castle of Belœil into a hiding place for hundreds of Jewish children escaping the Holocaust, for which he and his wife received the honor of Righteous Among the Nations.[1]

After the Second World War, he was named ambassador of Belgium to India (1947 to 1951),[2] then to Spain (1951 to 1958).

Honours

Notes and References

  1. http://db.yadvashem.org/righteous/family.html?language=en&itemId=4042715 Prince Eugène de Ligne
  2. http://www.indembassy.be/pdf/Seech%20at%20BICCI%20lunch%20event%20-%2011%20SEP%2014.pdf Website of Indian Embassy in Brussels