Check Please, Your Highness: The Story of Head-Waiter Baron von Wallburg, Son of a Habsburg Archduke

Archduke Ernst of Austria (1824–1899), a cousin of Emperor Franz Joseph, is recorded in the official genealogies as having died unmarried and without issue. This is not true. He fathered four children with the lovely Laura Skublics de Bessenyö, a noblewoman from rural western Hungary. Did Ernst and Laura ever marry? What became of their children?

Those questions have remained, at best, only partially answered ... until now. In this first in-depth look into the lives and actions of all of the family members involved, Dr. Peter Buza, tackles those questions and so many more. With previously unparalleled access to archives, and living relatives, he is able to paint a complete portrait for this family that was largely forgotten by history for over a century. While the main focus is on Baron von Wallburg, the Archduke’s son, Check Please, Your Highness tells of the true nature of Ernst and Laura’s relationship, each of their backgrounds, and all of the elements at play as the Wallburg children tried to claim their rightful inheritance.