Countess Maria Draskovich of Trakostjan


Countess Maria Draskovich von Trakostjan was the first wife of Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria, head of the House of Wittelsbach and claimant to the abolished throne of the Kingdom of Bavaria from 1955 to 1969, as well as the Jacobite pretender to the English throne.
For Wittelsbach loyalists, she was the rightful Queen Consort of Bavaria from 1955 until her death, and for Jacobites, she was also the rightful Queen Consort of England, Scotland, Ireland and France during the same period.

Early life

Countess Maria Franziska Juliana Johanna Draskovich von Trakostjan was born at Vienna, Austria-Hungary on 8 March 1904. She was the only daughter of the former Imperial and Royal Austro-Hungarian Chamberlain Count Dionys Maria Draskovich von Trakostjan and his wife, Princess Juliana von Montenuovo. Her father was also a member of the Hungarian House of Magnates and of the Croatian Landtag. He had inherited the Croatian estates of Güssing in Eisenburg and of Velikibukovecz in Kreutz.
Her family, the Draskovich von Trakostjan, belonged to the old Croatian nobility of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Through her mother she was a descendant of Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria, by her second marriage to Adam Albert, Count von Neipperg; Marie Louise was the Empress consort of Napoleon I of France from 1810 to 1814 and reigning Duchess of Parma in her own right from 1814 to her death. Through her father, Maria was a descendant of the infamous Hungarian Countess Elisabeth Bathory.

Marriage and family

Countess Marie married on 3 September 1930 in Berchtesgaden, Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria, son of Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria and his first wife, Duchess Marie Gabrielle in Bavaria, and grandson of Ludwig III, the last king of Bavaria.
They had four children:
She died in 1969 at the age of 65. Her husband later married in 1971 to Countess Marie-Jenke Keglevich von Buzin. They had no issue.

Honours