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THE HUNGARIAN PRINCESS: MARIE VALERIE
Káli-Rozmis Barbara 2015.04.26. 19:05
 THE HUNGARIAN PRINCESS: MARIE VALERIE
Why was an Austrian Archduchess forced to talk in Hungarian and use this language as a mother tongue?
Born by a Bavarian mother and an Austrian father Marie Valerie was brought up as a Hungarian princess. Although her mother tongue was German, her first language was Hungarian and it was the language which she used to talk with her mother, Queen Elisabeth and her father, King Francis Joseph.
Archduchess Marie Valerie of Austria (22 April 1868 – 6 September 1924) was the fourth and last child of Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria and Elisabeth of Bavaria. Her given name was Marie Valerie Mathilde Amalie but she was usually called Valerie.
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The Hungarian Princess: Marie Valerie
by Barbara Káli-Rozmis
 "Only now do I understand what bliss a child means. Now I have finally had the courage to love the baby and keep it with me. My other children were taken away from me at once. I was permitted to see the children only when Archduchess Sophie gave permission. She was always present when I visited the children. Finally I gave up the struggle and went upstairs only rarely."
/Empress Elisabeth - via Brigitte Hamann/
Photo right: Valerie with her best friend and cousin, Amelie.
Marie Valerie, Sisi’s fourth child was born in Hungary in 1868. She was deliberately called the “Hungarian Princess” by Queen Elisabeth. The Viennese also called Valerie like this but they did it ironically. The girl, of course, according to Elisabeth’s instruction, was allowed to speak to her parents in Hungarian and she could learn to speak her mother tongue, the German, only later. The Queen had hoped for giving birth to a son and being able to give a king to the Hungarians that is why she decided to have her labour in our country. However, to the greatest relief of the Viennese, Elisabeth gave birth to a little girl, who she named Marie Valerie. Not only in Gödöllő but also in the Viennese Imperial Court in Austria, the little princess was taught in Hungarian. She received Hungarian education from the Hungarian Countess Korniss and bishop Hyacinth Ronay, the latter was also asked to pray with Valerie in Hungarian. Due to all these facts the girl was called both by the Viennese and our people the “Hungarian Princess”.
Marie Valerie liked to donate from her early childhood. In the Royal Palace of Gödöllő a lot of sweets were waiting for her on the table after dinner, and she could take as much as she wanted to. Of course, Valerie took a lot from them. The Queen was said to tell her daughter the following words: "Thus, took aside half of it, and in the afternoon when you go for a walk, give them to the poor children you meet. You'll see how much they will like it!" Valerie did so, and the children in Gödöllő were accustomed to receiving delicious sweets from the little princess. Whenever they saw Valerie, they ran happily towards her carriage shouting: "Here comes Valerie!" It also happened at a Christmas that Marie Valerie asked money instead of presents saying that she would give that to the Hungarian children. So at Christmas small bags containing new silver forint coins were hanging down the branches of the royal Christmas tree. The children were gathering as usual at Christmas (on 24th), which was Queen Elisabeth's birthday too, hoping to get from the royal sweets. The greater the joy was when they saw that Valerie was not only handing out sweets but also money bags! Royal dainties and gifts were given to the children when the Queen and her daughter stayed in Gödöllő. Elisabeth’s nameday (in Hungary, each person has a “nameday” but not everyone celebrates their ones, however, most of us celebrate that) was held in Gödöllő at the time, and it was a celebration for the whole small town.
However, Marie Valerie might not have dared to admit even to her leather-bound diary how much she wanted to speak to her parents in her own mother tongue! Later, secretly she asked her father to speak to her in German. However, she never dared to talk about her desire with her beloved mother.
 The photos show the young Archduchess Marie Valerie sitting near to and on one of the chairs in the Tapestry Room (Gobelinsaal) of Schönbrunn Palace. The third photo shows the same chair nearly 150 years later.
Source of the photo:
Bobby's Collection of Austrian History
Later, as an adult, Princess Valerie tried to get rid of her image as a Hungarian Princess, and she preferred to identify herself as German and not as Austrian or Hungarian. However, she continued the charity work even towards the Hungarians until her death. After her marriage she took the complete conceptual furniture from her bedroom in the Royal Palace of Gödöllő to her new home in the German Wallsee. The people in Gödöllő believed that this reflected the princess’s love towards them and their town. The truth is much simpler. The reason must have been rooted more in her love towards her mother, Queen Elisabeth than in the Hungarians. This anecdote, however, still has been living in the memory of our people.
Left: Princess Valerie at the age of 22
The anecdote (about the sweets and silver coins) was written by using Ferenc Ripka, Queen Elisabeth in Gödöllő, memorial book (1901) .
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