Maximilian Egon II, Prince of Fürstenberg

Maximilian Egon II, Prince of Fürstenberg (13 October 1863 – 11 August 1941) was a German landowner, investor and nobleman who was the head of the House of Fürstenberg from 1896 to 1941.

Background
Born as Prince Maximilian Egon Christian Karl Aloys Emil Leo Richard Anton zu Fürstenberg, he was the son of Prince Maximilian Egon zu Fürstenberg and his wife, Countess Leontina von Khevenhüller-Metsch. He had a younger brother, born in 1867, named Prince Karl Emil Egon zu Fürstenberg.

Life and career


A close friend and adviser of Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany, Max of Fürstenberg inherited territorial titles in Prussia, Austria, Hungary, Württemberg and Baden, and by virtue of them had a seat in the House of Lords in each of the five states. Until the First World War, he was vice-president of the Prussian House of Lords.

His principal residence was the Princely Palace in Donaueschingen, near the source of the Danube, where he owned large deer forests. Emperor Wilhelm II frequently visited him there, and Max invariably accompanied the Emperor on his hunting expeditions and Norwegian trips. As well as his vast ancestral forests, he also owned coal mines, hotels and breweries.

Although he was a member of the high Roman Catholic Uradel who had long stood aloof from party politics, after meeting Adolf Hitler and Ernst Roehm in November 1933, Max became enthusiastic about Hitler's leadership, commenting that "It was wonderful, to be able to meet such a great man".

The same year, 1933, he joined the Nazi Party and the SA. In 1938, he was appointed to the rank of Standartenführer.

Marriage and issue
By his marriage to Countess Irma von Schönborn-Buchheim, he had three sons and two daughters:


 * Karl Egon V zu Fürstenberg (1891–1973)
 * Leontina zu Fürstenberg (1892–1979)
 * Anna zu Fürstenberg (1894–1928)
 * Maximilian Egon zu Fürstenberg (1896–1959)
 * Friedrich Eduard zu Fürstenberg (1898–1916)

He also had an illegitimate daughter, Marie-Louise-Auguste von Almey, by a liaison with Baroness Marguerite von Almey.

He died in 1941, during the Second World War, and was succeeded by his son, Karl Egon V (1891–1973).

Honours and awards
• Kingdom of Prussia:

• * Knight of the Red Eagle, 1st Class, 27 January 1899

• * Grand Commander's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern

• * Knight of the Black Eagle, with Collar

•  Hohenzollern: Cross of Honour of the Princely House Order of Hohenzollern, 1st Class

•  Baden:

• * Knight of the House Order of Fidelity, 1896

• * Grand Cross of the Order of Berthold the First, 1896

•  Grand Duchy of Hesse: Grand Cross of the Ludwig Order, 29 August 1908

•  Württemberg: Grand Cross of the Württemberg Crown, 1896

•  Austria-Hungary:

• * Knight of the Golden Fleece, 1900

• * Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of Leopold, 1908

•  Holy See: Grand Cross of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem

•  Sovereign Military Order of Malta: Knight of Honour and Devotion

• 🇸🇪 Sweden: Knight of the Seraphim, 29 August 1911