| Archduchess Isabella | |
| Duchess of Teschen | |
| Spouse: | Archduke Friedrich, Duke of Teschen |
| Issue: | Maria Christina, Hereditary Princess of Salm-Salm Maria Anna, Princess of Bourbon-Parma Maria Henrietta, Princess Gottfried of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingfurst Archduchess Natalie Archduchess Stephanie Archduchess Gabriella Isabella, Princess Georg of Bavaria Maria Alice, Baroness von Bassenheim Archduke Albrecht Franz, Duke of Teschen |
| Full Name: | German: Isabella Hedwig Franziska Natalie |
| House: | Croÿ |
| Father: | Rudolf, 11th Duke of Croÿ |
| Mother: | Princess Natalie of Ligne |
| Birth Date: | 27 February 1856 |
| Birth Place: | Dülmen, Province of Westphalia, Kingdom of Prussia |
| Death Place: | Budapest |
| Burial Place: | Imperial Crypt, Capuchin Church, Vienna |
Princess Isabella Hedwig Franziska Natalie of Croÿ (27 February 1856 - 5 September 1931) was by birth member of House of Croÿ and by marriage member of House of Habsburg.
Princess Isabella was daughter of Rudolf, 11th Duke of Croÿ (1823–1902) and Princess Natalie of Ligne (1835–1863). Her paternal grandparents were Alfred, 10th Duke of Croÿ (1789–1861) and Princess Eleonore of Salm-Salm (1794–1861). Her maternal grandparents were Eugène, 8th Prince of Ligne (1804–1880) and Nathalie de Trazegnies (1811–1835).
She married Archduke Friedrich, Duke of Teschen on 8 October 1878. They had eight daughters and one son:
In the mid-1890s, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria began visiting Isabella and Friedrich's home. At first, it was assumed that he was there to court one of their many daughters. Eventually, it was discovered that in fact he was courting Countess Sophie Chotek von Wognin, lady-in-waiting to Archduchess Isabella and daughter of Austrian ambassador Bohuslav, Count Chotek of Chotkow and Wognin.[1]
Isabella became infuriated that Franz Ferdinand had not singled out one of her eight daughters as his bride and future empress; as a result she engaged in a crusade to thwart the marriage of Franz Ferdinand and Sophie. Sophie was dismissed from service, thus beginning an ongoing conflict between Friedrich and Franz Ferdinand, who married Sophie in 1900. The marriage was morganatic; Sophie was subjected to the indignities of a much lower rank at court than that of her husband, and none of their children could succeed to their father's dynastic honours—all chiefly as a result of Isabella's machinations.[1]
A decade later, Isabella created a similar furore when her nephew, Karl, 13th Prince von Croÿ, sought to marry Nancy Leishman, the charming young daughter of John George Alexander Leishman, United States Ambassador to Germany, the former president of Carnegie Steel. The Archduchess felt that Nancy, being an American and a commoner, was not an appropriate spouse for a prince of Croÿ. Karl and Nancy were wed, nonetheless, and their grandson became the Duke of Croÿ.[2]
Isabella received the following awards:[3]