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| Portrait of Princess Pauline de Metternich by Winterhalter, c1860. Image from Wikimedia Commons |
Princess Pauline Clémentine Marie Walburga von Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein was born into the Hungarian noble family of Sándor de Slavnicza on February 25, 1836 in Vienna, Austria. Her father was the passionate horseman Count Móric Sándor—known to many as “a furious rider.” Her mother, Princess Leontine von Metternich-Winneburg, was the daughter of Prince Clemens von Metternich, Austria’s state chancellor and dubbed as the architect of the Concert of Europe.
Pauline married her
uncle and her mother’s half-brother, Prince Richard von Metternich, in 1856. In
spite of Prince Richard’s philandering spree with opera prima donnas and
actresses, he and Pauline had a relatively happy conjugal life. They went on to
have three children: Princess Sophie von Metternich (1857–1941), Countess
Pascalina Antoinette von Metternich-Sandor Winneburg (1862–1890) and Countess
Klementina Marie von Metternich-Sandor Winneburg (1870-1963).
Princess Pauline accompanied her husband, who was an
Austrian diplomat, to the imperial courts in Dresden as well as in Paris, where
they stayed for more than 11 years. Her political ideas and her interest in the
fields of music and the sports made her a cross-cultural transmitter of a
number of trends, playing an important role in the social and cultural sectors
of both Dresden and Paris, and later on of Vienna.
Princess Pauline von Metternich, the Fashion Trendsetter
Princess Pauline was not considered a beauty. As one commentator had noted, "She is not beautiful - and was never young… but she is chic - and that's the worst of all.” Furthermore, an aristocrat described her as "ugly as a monkey, but she made a success of it. She was well-aware of her “plainness” that at one point she called herself "le singe à la mode", which translates to “the fashionable monkey”.
This, however, did
not deter her from becoming a trendsetter. She taught Czech and French
aristocrats to skate, and influenced women to smoke cigars without the fear of
losing their reputations. More than anything else, Princess Pauline was a
fashion trendsetter. She was credited for the fame of fashion designer Charles
Frederick Worth, who she introduced to Empress Eugénie in 1860.
At a time when Parisian women wore huge crinoline dresses
that made them look like "hot air balloons ready to take
flight"—occupying three pews in church that clergymen once debated if they
should charge them for eating up such massive space—Princess Pauline had Worth
design her a form-fitting dress with a train for an opera premiere, yet again
setting a fashion trend that became one of her famous eccentricities.
Princess Pauline von Metternich and the Music-Related Fiasco
Princess Pauline twisted Emperor Napoleon’s arm to get the
Paris Opéra stage Tannhäuser by his friend, Richard Wagner. The composer,
however, broke the Parisian operatic protocol, putting ballet at the beginning
of his first act instead of having it in the second act. Wagner did such
revision so the aristocratic Jockey Club, who rarely turned up before the
interval, could watch their favorite dancers who, interestingly, were also
their mistresses. True enough, the Jockey Club went early to the show, heckling
and whistling all throughout the performance, much to the outrage of other
audience members who respected the refinement of the French opera house.
Though the staging of Tannhäuser went on to become one of
the greatest music-related fiascoes of the 19th century, Princess Pauline
continued to spread the music of his friend Richard Wagner, who dedicated a
piano composition to her.
Princess Pauline von Metternich, An Empress’ Friend, An
Empress’ Rival
Pauline developed a close relationship with Empress Eugénie
of France. On one occasion, both ladies slipped out of the palace dressed as
men so they could fulfill the empress’ dream of seeing Paris on top of the
omnibus. Despite this, Pauline abhorred of the Parisian high society,
describing its fashionable women as “waxworks”, and calling the food at the
emperor’s summer residence as "a good restaurant of second class".
She stayed by the empress’ side during the Franco-Prussian war, helping the
latter’s escape from Paris to Great Britain by secretly sending her best
friend’s jewels to London via a diplomatic bag. However, Princess Pauline had
an infamous rivalry with another empress, Elisabeth of Austria, whose death in
1898 made Pauline and Princess Eleonora Fugger von Babenhausen the two leading
grand dames of the Vienna society.
Princess Pauline von Metternich and the Infamous Topless Duel
Princess Pauline was involved in a highly talked about
“emancipated duel” with Countess Anastasia Kielmannsegg in August 1892 in
Vaduz, Liechtenstein after fighting over the flower arrangements for the Vienna
Musical and Theatrical Exhibition. They fought topless—which meant they removed
their blouses but still had their corsets and chemises on--upon the suggestion
of Baroness Lubinska, who held a medical degree and who feared that even just a
tiny piece of clothing getting jammed into the wound might cause sepsis.
For the duel, Princess Pauline and Countess Anastasia both
intended to duel to the blood with the use of rapiers, all while abiding the
French rules. Anastasia drew the first blood by wounding Pauline on the nose; a
little while later, the latter also wounded the countess on the arm. Based on
the majority of historical records, Princess Pauline was said to have won the
duel as a stab to the arm was the better wound.
Princess Pauline von Metternich and her Lavish Parties
Princess Pauline threw the most ostentatious parties of her
time, converting gardens into ballrooms, "lighting up trees, houses and
people by Bengal fires, thus giving the scene the appearance now of a veritable
Eden, and anon the aspect of the realm of Lucifer", as described by one of
her guests, Colonel Verly. Her return to Vienna in the 1870s only meant more
lavish parties, organizing “fiacre festivals” that bore exotic names, such as
"The Spring Festival in a Futuristic Village", “The Japanese Cherry
Blossom Festival”, and “The Mars Festival”.
Princess Pauline’s most legendary party had to be the “Gold
and Silver Ball” held at Vienna’s Sophiensäle theater on January 27, 1902. The
theater was swarmed by gold and silver lights, with silvery gray muslin fully
embellished with golden stars hanging from the ceiling. Trees were also
installed, their trunks glistening in silver light. The theater boxes were also
line with, to make it even more obvious, gold and silver trinkets. The guests
all donned themselves with ensembles resembling the color of precious metals.
Princess Pauline von Metternich, the Author
Princess Pauline was also an author, writing two memoirs
that were posthumously published in the 1920s. Her first work, Gesehenes, geschehenes,
erlebtes, was written in German and was dedicated to her father and her
grandfather, Chancellor Metternich. Her second memoir, the French Éclairs du
passé, chronicled her life in the court of Emperor Napoleon III and her best
friend, Empress Eugénie.
Princess Pauline died on September 28, 1921 in Vienna,
Austria. She was 85 years old.
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