It is not often that a royal represents a republic. But Hungary’s new ambassador to Monaco is actually a prince.
The Hungarian Ambassador to France, His Imperial Highness Georg of Habsburg-Lorraine, Archduke of Austria and Hungary, has also just been appointed to be Hungary`s ambassador to the Principality of Monaco. Soon after his appointment, he was welcomed to an audience with Monaco’s Sovereign Prince, Albert II. And their two European dynasties maintain historical ties.
Archduke Georg of Habsburg-Lorraine was appointed to the post of ambassador to the Principality of Monaco on March 8, 2022 and was personally received by Prince Albert II so that he could give him his new credentials. The Habsburg family are now Hungarian ambassadors in three nations. Archduke Georg is an ambassador to both France and Monaco, while his relative Archduke Eduard of Austria and Hungary is ambassador to the Vatican for the Republic of Hungary.
Diplomatic ties maintained by the royal families of Monaco and Austria-Hungary go back to the reign of Emperor Charles V. It was in 1524 that Prince Honore of Monaco decided to place his principality under the protection of the Spanish Habsburgs who also dominated part of the Italian peninsula. The principality of Monaco also paid tribute to this event 450 years later by issuing official stamps.
His Imperial Highness Georg of Habsburg-Lorraine, Archduke of Austria and Hungary has been the Hungarian ambassador to France since January 2021. It was the current Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban’s decision to place Archduke Georg in Paris in January 2021, calling him “an excellent diplomat”.
For the sake of simplicity, he is often referred to as Georg von Habsburg. He was born in Germany as Paul Georg Maria Joseph Dominikus, and is the second son, and seventh and youngest child of Otto von Habsburg, who was the last Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary, and his wife Regina.
