Archduke Charles of Austria (1771-1847), facing left in the white uniform of the Third Infantry Regiment, frilled cravat and black stock, wearing the breast star and badge of the Order of the Teutonic Knights and the breast-star and moiré sash of the Imperial Austrian Order of Maria Theresia; cloudy sky background

Archduke Charles of Austria, the third son of the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II, was adopted by his childless aunt Maria Christina and her husband Albert of Saxe-Teschen after the death of his father in 1792. A brilliant military commander, he could not avoid conflicts with his elder brother, Roman Emperor Francis II. Charles was High-master of the Order of the Teutonic Knights between 1801 and 1804, a period he spent intermittently in Bohemia, suspended from his commando. Reinstated as a field marshal in 1805, he successfully commanded the Austrian forces against Napoleon whom he defeated at the Battle of Aspern in 1809. In 1810, he retired from military service. He married Princess Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg in 1815 and they had six children. He was left a huge fortune by his adoptive parents Saxe-Teschen which included the Albertina Collection.