Early Life
Neurath was born at the manor of Kleinglattbach (since 1972 part of Vaihingen an der Enz) in Württemberg, the scion of a Swabian dynasty of Freiherren. His grandfather Constantin Franz von Neurath had served as Foreign Minister under King Charles I of Württemberg (reigned 1864–1891); his father Konstantin Sebastian von Neurath (d. 1912) had been a Free Conservative member of the German Reichstag parliament and Chamberlain of King William II of Württemberg.
He studied law in Tübingen and in Berlin. After graduating in 1897 he initially joined a local law firm in his home town. In 1901 he entered into civil service and worked for the Foreign Office in Berlin. In 1903 he was assigned to the German embassy in London, at first as Vice-Consul and from 1909 as Legationsrat (legation counsel). Following the visit of the Prince of Wales to the Kingdom Württemberg in 1904, as Lord Chamberlain to King William II, he was created an Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order. Neurath's career was decisively advanced by Secretary of State Alfred von Kiderlen-Waechter. In 1914 he was sent to the embassy in Constantinople.
On 30 May 1901 Neurath married Marie Auguste Moser von Filseck (1875–1960) in Stuttgart. His son Konstantin was born in 1902, followed by his daughter Winifred in 1904.
During World War I he served as an officer with an infantry regiment until 1916 when he was badly wounded. In December 1914 he was awarded the Iron Cross. He returned to the German diplomatic service in the Ottoman Empire (1914–1916), where he witnessed the Armenian Genocide. In 1917 he temporarily quit the diplomatic service to succeed his uncle Julius von Soden as head of the royal Württemberg government.
Read more about this topic: Konstantin Von Neurath
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