As a child, Eduard Taaffe was one of the chosen companions of the young Archduke Francis Joseph, who in 1848 was crowned Emperor of Austria. That connection led to a distinguished political career for Taaffe in the service of the Habsburgs. He studied law at the University of Vienna and entered public service in 1852. From 1861 he served at the Bohemian crown land government in Prague and in 1863 was appointed "Landespräsident" (stadtholder) in the Duchy of Salzburg. He backed the implementation of the February Patent constitution under State Minister Anton von Schmerling and in 1864 became a member of the Bohemian Diet ("Landtag"), where he did however not excel. In 1867 the Chairmen of the Ministers' Conference Count Richard Belcredi appointed him Upper Austrian stadtholder at Linz.