Prince Maximilian Egon I of Fürstenberg

He was born at his family's Princely Palace in Donaueschingen, in the Grand Duchy of Baden, German Empire, on 29 March 1822. He was the second son of Charles Egon II, Prince of Fürstenberg and Princess Amalie of Baden. Among his siblings were Princess Marie Elisabeth, Charles Egon III, Prince of Fürstenberg, Princess Maria Amalia (who married Viktor I of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, Duke of Ratibor), Prince Emil Egon, and Princess Pauline Wilhelmine (who married Hugo, Prince of Hohenlohe-Oehringen).^[1]

His father was the only son of the Austrian General Karl Aloys zu Fürstenberg (a grandson of Joseph Wilhelm Ernst, Prince of Fürstenberg) and Princess Elisabeth von Thurn und Taxis (a daughter of Alexander Ferdinand, 3rd Prince of Thurn and Taxis). His maternal grandparents were Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Baden, and his second wife, Louise Caroline of Hochberg. As his grandparents' marriage was morganatic, his mother was born without princely status and excluded from the dynastic line of the House of Zähringen. She was accorded her mother's baronial status until 1796, when her mother was made Countess of Hochberg, at which time she assumed comital rank.^[2]

He inherited a number of manorial rights and possessions, the Secundogeniture in Pürglitz, and became a member of the Austrian House of Lords. The Fürstenbergs owned the town until 1929, when it was sold to the Czech Republic.^[3]

In 1860, Prince Maximilian was married to Countess Leontine Antonie Marie von Khevenhüller-Metsch (1843–1914), a daughter of Richard, 5th Prince of Khevenhüller-Metsch and Countess Antonia Maria Lichnowsky (a daughter of Prince Eduárd Lichnowsky).^[4] Before his death, they were the parents of:^[5]

• Maximilian Egon II, Prince of Fürstenberg (1863–1941), who married Countess Irma von Schönborn-Buchheim, a daughter of Erwein, 4th Count of Schönborn-Buchheim, and Countess Franziska von Trauttmansdorff-Weinsberg, in 1889.^[6][7]
• Prince Karl Emil of Fürstenberg (1867–1945), who married Maria Festetics de Tolna, a daughter of Prince Tasziló Festetics de Tolna and Lady Mary Douglas-Hamilton (the former wife of Albert I, Prince of Monaco, Lady Mary was the only daughter of William Hamilton, 11th Duke of Hamilton and Princess Marie Amelie of Baden).^[8]

Prince Maximilian died in Bohemia on 27 July 1873. After his death, his widow married his younger brother, Prince Emil Egon, in 1875.^[9] In 1896, his eldest son, Maximilian Egon II, became the Head of the House of Fürstenberg, inheriting territorial titles in Prussia, Austria, Hungary, Württemberg and Baden, and by virtue of them had a seat in the House of Lords in each of the five states.^[10] Until the First World War, he was vice-president of the Prussian House of Lords.^[11]