Eugen Alexander Franz, 1st Prince of Thurn and Taxis


Eugen Alexander Franz, 1st Prince of Thurn and Taxis, full German name: Eugen Alexander Franz Fürst von Thurn und Taxis was the first Prince of Thurn and Taxis, Postmaster General of the Imperial Reichspost, and Head of the House of Thurn and Taxis from 13 September 1676 until his death.

Early life

Eugen Alexander Franz was the second son of Lamoral II Claudius Franz, Count of Thurn and Taxis and his wife Countess Anna Franziska Eugenia of Horn. The date of his birth is unknown, but Eugen Alexander Franz was baptised on 11 January 1652 in Brussels.

Postmaster General

After the death of his father, Eugen Alexander Franz succeeded to the positions of Postmaster General of the Imperial Reichspost and the Spanish Netherlands. In 1681, the last Habsburg King of Spain Charles II appointed Eugen Alexander Franz from a count to a prince, and Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor made him an Imperial prince in 1695.
After the French occupation of the Spanish Netherlands during the War of the Spanish Succession, the new Spanish King Philip V, grandson of Louis XIV of France, deposed Eugen Alexander Franz as Post Master General of the Spanish Netherlands. In 1702, he moved his postal system's headquarters from Brussels to Frankfurt am Main where it originated.

Marriage and issue

Eugen Alexander Franz was married twice. He married first to Princess Anna Adelheid of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg, youngest daughter and child of Hermann Egon, Count of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg and his wife Countess Franziska of Fürstenberg-Stühlingen. Eugen Alexander Franz and Anna Adelheid had the following children:
After the death of his first wife, Eugen Alexander Franz married Countess Anna Augusta of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst, daughter of Ludwig Gustav, Count of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst and his second wife Anna Barbara von Schönborn. Eugen Alexander Franz and Anna Augusta had the following children: