Background
He married Archduchess Maria Henrietta, daughter of Archduke Friedrich who was the Supreme Commander of the Austro-Hungarian army during World War I, on 3 June 1908 in Baden.
He married Archduchess Maria Henrietta, daughter of Archduke Friedrich who was the Supreme Commander of the Austro-Hungarian army during World War I, on 3 June 1908 in Baden.
Promoted to lieutenant in 1889, he attended the War Academy from 1893 to 1895, followed by duty with the General Staff.
Following graduation from the Scottish gymnasium in Vienna, Prince Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst entered the army as a hussar in 1887. In 1900, he was promoted to captain and was sent to Saint St. Petersburg as military attaché in 1902. In 1906, he was promoted to major but retired the following year and transferred to the foreign service but had to leave in 1908 due to his engagement with the Archduchess.
On 2 February 1913, Emperor Franz Joseph I entrusted Prince Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst with a special mission to Saint St. Petersburg designed to alleviate the strained relations arising out of the Balkan crisis in the winter of 1912/1913.
On 4 August 1914, Emperor Franz Joseph I appointed Prince Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst as ambassador of the Dual Monarchy at Berlin, replacing the aging and decrepit Count von Szögyény-Marich, an appointment that had been discussed long before the advent of war but blocked by the latter"s refusal to make a graceful exit. He was an ardent supporter of the Dual Alliance of 1879 and he sought to maintain the alliance on the basis of equality.
The deteriorating military fortunes of the Dual Monarchy, however, hampered his endeavours in that regard. In 1917, he was convinced that military victory was out of reach and that a peace settlement had to be found as soon as possible, thus he supported the unsuccessful attempts of the new Emperor Karl I to bring about a separate peace.
Following the end of the war, Prince Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst retired from public service and devoted his remaining years to horse racing.
In 1917, he had been promoted a major-general on the retired list. He died in Vienna on 7 November 1932.