 Individuals who received the order and were not already members of the Austrian nobility were ennobled and received the hereditary title of 'Freiherr', meaning 'Baron' to their family name.At the time of his death in 1986, Freiherr von Banfield was the last living Knight of the Military Order of Maria Theresa.After the First World War, the city of Trieste was annexed by Italy, and Freiherr von Banfield was for a time imprisoned by the occupation police.