1) Any idea why some of the grandchildren of Crown Prince Otto (especially those of Archduke Paul Georg) seem more Hungarian than Austrian?
2) Is there any particular reason so many of the more recent Habsburgs have "Marcus d'Aviano" at the end of their strong of names? I realize Mark of Aviano was declared a saint by Pope John Paul II, and died in Vienna, but many of Blessed Karl I's children and later descendants seem to have this name.
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As far as I know:
Archduke Georg and Eilika live in Budapest. He is an ambassador to that country for different missions. He loves Budapest and plans to live there all his life there. He decided to name his children with Hungarian names, as to show his love to the country, certitude and permanence. He is one of the very few archdukes (Prince or Hungary to be correct) that fluently speak the language.
With respect to Marcus D'aviano there are different reasons, some historical, some political and all to do with faith.
Marcus D'aviano was a Capusin monk (1631 - 1699) lived in time of Kaiser Leopold and dedicated his life in protecting the members of the Habsburg Family. He promised to the Kaiser that when God would call him he would continue protecting all descendants of the family from heaven. He was politically a Pan- European. Fought with the Kaiser for a united Europe partially under the banner of the Catholic Church. He was present and had a decisive contribution to the battle of Vienna against the Turks in 1683. Later he got the assignment from the Kaiser to take care of the burial site of the family, the Kaisergruft. The burial place of most Habsburg Emperors and many archdukes is still guarded today by the Capusin Monks. At the Kaputzinergruft there are 138 Hapsburgs buried from 1611 until 1989 when Kaiserin Zita, the last Empress was brought to rest.
Many descendants of the family have the Marcus D'aviano name with the belief that he is having a watchful eye on thei descendants, as he promised centuries ago, but also as to asertain his Christian & Pan-European beliefs. Many more Archdukes do have the name Marcus D'aviano in their name than it is commonly known. This and other names are written in the baptism certificate where space for names is not an issue and where the names are written by hand. In the civil records of most courtiers there is a limited amount of space and certainly not enough for 8 to 12 different names including the Habsburg-Lothringen last name. So you will find that names in Genealogy books do not necessarily coincide between the civil and baptism certificate. This comment is valid for most Catholic Royal families in Europe.
If anybody has the opportunity to visit Vienna the Kaisergruft is an absolute must! And now a “Hot tip” After visiting the burial site, refer to the monk at the entrance and ask him that you would like to pay respect to Marcus D’aviano and would like to see his private chapel. He is buried there in a very small chapel away from the Habsburgs but in the same building, very cozy, and … no tourists!. If it is not rush hour he will do it gladly.
