Hungary. Franz Josef. Medal for the Visit of Archduke Rudolf and Crown Princess StÈphanie to Budapest, 1881. Silver. 65.3mm. By Friedrich Leisek. Hungarian legends. Conjoined heads of the princely couple right, signed below, rev. Cherub holding garlanded Arms of Austro-Hungary and Belgium, and torch in other hand, inscribed ribbon around. On May 10, 1881, a few weeks before her 17th Birthday, Princess StÈphanie of Belgium married Archduke Rudolf in St. Augustine's Church in Vienna. The couple visited Budapest a week later. Although a happy union at first, the marriage underwent many difficulties and fell apart. On the 30th of January 1889, Rudolf, the heir apparent, was found dead with his lover Baroness Marie Vetsera, an apparent murder-suicide, in his hunting lodge. Tiny rim bump. Lovely old toning, slate gray with lilac undertone and iridescent hues. Uncirculated.
($150-200)