Franz, Count of Meran
Life and career
Life and career
---------------

His father having eloped with his mother (the daughter of a postmaster at [Bad Aussee](/wiki/Bad_Aussee "Bad Aussee")) in defiance of Archduke Johann's brother, [Emperor Francis](/wiki/Francis_II%2C_Holy_Roman_Emperor "Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor"), Franz was entitled to inherit none of his father's positions or [entailed](/wiki/Fee_tail "Fee tail") possessions. However, the esteem in which his father was held by both emperor and nation as a general and patron of the arts shielded Franz from some of the scandal and consequences of the circumstances of his birth.

He was born legitimate but a commoner, and thus he was not permitted to bear the [Habsburg\-Lorraine](/wiki/House_of_Habsburg-Lorraine "House of Habsburg-Lorraine") surname of his father's dynasty. His mother had been ennobled by the emperor five years after her marriage to the archduke, becoming Baroness (*[Freifrau](/wiki/Freifrau "Freifrau")*) von Brandhofen on 4 July 1834, and Franz shared in her title after his birth. He was raised to [comital](/wiki/Count "Count") rank as Count (*[Graf](/wiki/Graf "Graf")*) von [Meran](/wiki/Meran "Meran") on 29 April 1844 ([letters patent](/wiki/Letters_patent "Letters patent") issuing 30 December 1845, Vienna).

While still a child, he had been designated a *Landmann* in Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, Tyrol and Austria, and was accorded a seat in the Austrian House of Lords on 24 November 1842\. After his father's death in 1859 at *Palais Meran* in [Graz](/wiki/Graz "Graz"), the manors of [Schenna](/wiki/Schenna "Schenna"), [Stainz](/wiki/Schloss_Stainz "Schloss Stainz") and Gut Brandhof (near [Mariazell](/wiki/Mariazell "Mariazell")) were combined into a *[fideicommis](/wiki/Fideicommis "Fideicommis")* for him and his future descendants.

He served the Habsburg emperors as [Imperial and Royal](/wiki/Imperial_and_Royal "Imperial and Royal") [Chamberlain](/wiki/Chamberlain_%28office%29 "Chamberlain (office)"), member of the [Aulic Council](/wiki/Aulic_Council "Aulic Council") and as a general in the Imperial army, becoming in 1868 a knight of the [Order of the Golden Fleece](/wiki/Order_of_the_Golden_Fleece "Order of the Golden Fleece").

He died at [Opatija](/wiki/Opatija "Opatija"), on 27 March 1891, aged 52\.


How was his mother ennobled and what title did she receive?