by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Archduke Leopold Franz of Austria was the Pretender to the former Grand Ducal throne of Tuscany from 1984 until renouncing his rights in favor of his son in 1993.

Archduke Leopold Franz Peter Ferdinand Maria Joseph Gottfried Georg Karl Otto Rudolf Michael was born at Leutstetten Castle, near Starnberg, Bavaria, on October 25, 1942. He was the only son of Archduke Gottfried of Austria and Princess Dorothea of Bavaria. He had three sisters:

• Archduchess Elisabeth (1939) – married Friedrich Edler von Braun, had issue
• Archduchess Alice (1941) – married Baron Vittorio Manno, had issue
• Archduchess Marie Antoinette (1950) – married Baron von Proff zu Irnich, had issue

Leopold Franz married Laetitia de Bezunce d’Arenberg in a civil ceremony on June 19, 1965 and religious ceremony on July 28, 1965. The couple had two children:

• Sigismund (1966) – married Elyssa Edmonstone, had issue
• Gontran (1967) – married Debora de Sola, had issue

He studied engineering in Munich and later lived in Uruguay from 1965 until 1973 when he moved to Austria. He and his wife divorced in 1981. Twelve years later, he married for a second time, in June 1993, to Marta Julia Perez Valverde. At that time, Leopold Franz renounced his rights as head of the House of Tuscany in favor of his son, Sigismund. The couple later divorced in 1998.

Archduke Leopold Franz died on June 23, 2021 at the age of 78.

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