The Oldest Living Male Member of a Mediatized Family? The Count von Neipperg Has Turned 102.

Count Josef Hubert von Neipperg

Last week, on 22 July 2020, Count Josef Hubertus von Neippurg celebrated his 102nd birthday.

Countess Anna von Neipperg, born Countess von Silva-Tarouca

Count Maria Josef Hubertus Ernst Amadeus Vincenz Benediktus Antonius Konrad Apolinarius von Neipperg was born in 22 July 1918 at Schwaigern in the soon-to-be-gone Kingdom of Württemberg. His parents were Count Anton Ernst von Neipperg (1883-1947) and Countess Anna von Silva-Tarouca (1888-1971). Anton Ernst served in the Prussian Army during First World War. He was chairman of the Association of Catholic Noblemen in Southwest Germany. A member of the German Central Party, Anton Ernst von Neipperg was a deputy in the last state parliament of the Free People's State of Württemberg.

Countess Marie von Ledebur-Wicheln with her older brother Franz (1919-1944)

Countess Karoline von Ledebur-Wicheln, eventual Princess of Liechtenstein

Countess Eleonore von Ledebur-Wicheln, born Countess Larisch von Moennich

In the 1950s, Count Josef Hubertus von Neipperg married Countess Marie Franziska Rudolfine Eleonore von Ledebur-Wicheln (1920-1984), a daughter of Count Eugen von Ledebur-Wicheln (1873-1945) and Countess Eleonore Larisch von Moennich (1888-1975). Marie's eldest sister Countess Henriette von Ledebur-Wicheln married Count Ferdinand Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau; the couple had seven children, and one of their daughters, Countess Marie Agläe, married Prince Hans Adam II of Liechtenstein. Marie's next eldest sister Countess Karoline von Ledebur-Wicheln married Prince Johannes of Liechtenstein; the couple had four children: Princess Maya, Prince Eugen (married Countess Maria Theresia von Goëss), Prince Albrecht (married Tamara Nyman), and Princess Barbara (married Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia).

Count Karl von Neipperg marries Archduchess Andrea of Austria in 1977

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Josef Hubertus von Neipperg and Marie von Ledebur-Wicheln had eight children: Count Karl (b.1951; married Archduchess Andrea of Austria), Count Reinhard (b.1953), Countess Maria Anna (b.1955), Countess Franziska (b.1956), Count Stephan (b.1957), Count Christoph (b.1958), Countess Barbara (b.1960), and Count Johannes Alfred (b.1964).

Count Josef Hubertus and Countess Therese von Neippurg at the count's 80th birthday in 1998.
Photo (c) Seeger-Presse

Wilhelm I, Duke of Urach

Wilhelm II, Duke of Urach, with his wife Duchess Amelie and their eldest eight children.

In 1986, Count Josef Hubertus von Neipperg married Princess Therese Maria Gabriele Carola Hilda zu Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst (b.1938), a daughter of Fürst Friedrich Karl IV zu Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst (1908-1982) and Fürstin Mechtilde von Urach, Gräfin von Württemberg (1912-2001). Therese's maternal grandparents are Duke Wilhelm II von Urach, Graf von Württemberg (1864-1928) and Duchess Amalia in Bavaria (1865-1912). Her maternal great-grandparents are Duke Wilhelm I von Urach, Graf von Württemberg (1810-1869) and Princess Florentine of Monaco (1833-1897). 

The family of Josef Hubertus von Neipperg celebrates his 80th birthday in 1998.
Photograph (c) Seeger-Presse

From his eight children, Count Josef Hubertus von Neipperg currently has twenty-four grandchildren, who were born between 1978 and 2017. The count currently has eighteen great-grandchildren.