Philip Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau

Count Philip Joseph Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau

Count Philip Joseph Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau (Czech: Filip Josef Kinský z Vchynic a Tetova; German: Philipp Joseph Graf Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau) (28 November 1700 – 12 January 1749) was High chancellor of the Kingdom of Bohemia during the reign of Queen Maria Theresa.[1]

Early life

Born in Prague as a member of the House of Kinsky, Philip was the son of Count Wenceslaus Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau (1642-1719), a Bohemian high chancellor, and his wife, Countess Maria Anna Theresia von Nesselrode-Ereshoven (1670-1716).^[citation needed]

Marriage and issue

On 17 November 1722, he married Countess Marie Karolína Bořitová z Martinic, by whom he had eight children:

• Count Franz Karl (1722–1728)
• Count Karl Joseph (1723–1724)
• Countess Maria Josepha (1724–1754) married Count Michael Johann von Althann (1710-1778)
• Franz de Paula Ulrich, Prince Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau (1726–1792)
• Countess Maria Anna (1727–1733)
• Countess Maria Therese (1730–1797) married Count Otto-Philipp von Hohenfeld (1733-1799)
• Countess Maria Antonia (1732–1752) married firstly to Count Nikolaus Erdödy (1719-1757); married secondly to Count Kristóf Erdődy (1726-1777)
• Count Johann Joseph (1734–1790) married Princess Maria Theresia von Auersperg (1735-1800) and had issue

Career

Count Kinsky received a fine education and had many interests, such as improving education in Bohemia.[2] He served Emperor Charles VI as an Imperial envoy in London between 1728 and 1736.[3] He came into the cabinet of his successor, Queen Maria Theresa, in 1741, and soon became the Queen's trusted adviser and friend.[4] Many feared him because of his temper. He was thought to be willful, but also stubborn and arrogant, which is why he wasn't very popular.[5]

He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London in 1731.[6]

References

1. Duffy, 151.
2. LeCaine Agnew, 23.
3. Black, 53, 140.
4. Morris, 62.
5. Duffy, 62.
6. "Library and Archive". Royal Society. Retrieved 2012-08-06.

• Black, Jeremy: Parliament and foreign policy in the eighteenth century Cambridge University Press 2004 ISBN 0-521-83331-0
• Duffy, Christopher: The army of Maria Theresa: The Armed Forces of Imperial Austria, 1740-1780 Hippocrene Books 1977 ISBN 0-88254-427-6
• LeCaine Agnew, Hugh: Origins of the Czech national renascence University of Pittsburgh Press 1993 0822937425
• Morris, Constance Lily: Maria Theresa – The Last Conservative READ BOOKS 2007 ISBN 1-4067-3371-7
• Szabo, Franz A.J.: Kaunitz and enlightened absolutism, 1753-1780 Cambridge University Press 1994 ISBN 0-521-46690-3

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Carl Joseph von Palm	Habsburg Ambassador to the Court of St James 1728–1736	Succeeded by Ignaz Johann von Wasner