Karl achieved his two greatest British goals in rapid succession. First, he was made
Austro-Hungarian attaché to Britain; and second, he rode his own horse, Zoedone, to win the
1883 Grand National. He was distraught when Zoedone was poisoned on the race day two years later.
Relationship with Jennie Jerome Karl was involved in an affair with
Lady Randolph Churchill, wife of
Lord Randolph Churchill and the American-born mother of Sir
Winston Churchill. She was four years his senior, a famous
socialite, and one of the most beautiful women of the time, and he was completely infatuated by her. Lady Randolph Churchill has been described as being a captivating woman, whose looks and demeanor made her almost irresistible. She was powerful, having social and romantic contacts that could make or break anyone wishing to climb in social status in the Britain of the time. She later claimed that she would not have spent the time that she did with Kinsky were it not for the unfounded rumours of an affair being spread by society gossips, and her desire to spend time with him was simply for spite. However, accounts from the time do indicate that the two were involved romantically, and the only motivation for quelling the rumours was that this affair was a semi-secret one. In this period, having extra-marital affairs was not uncommon among the upper classes. Her affairs were rumored to have included the
Prince of Wales (later
Edward VII). Her affairs may have even assisted Lord Randolph’s political and social standing. At the time of Kinsky's affair with Jennie Churchill, she likely wielded more power behind the scenes than did Kinsky, and it would have been he who would have benefited more from the affair. Although she certainly had friendships with many powerful men, it is unknown whether every relationship was sexual.
World War I and after Karl remained in England until 1914 when Austria-Hungary went to war with Britain. Keen to do his duty, but unwilling to fight the country he regarded as his second home, Kinsky volunteered to fight on the dreaded
Russian front. He survived but returned to a broken homeland and the knowledge that it was unlikely he would ever be welcome in England again. A broken man, Karl died in 1919. ==Ancestry==