Question: Who was the last emperor of Austria?

Charles I of Austria




Charles I or Karl I (Karl Franz Joseph Ludwig Hubert Georg Otto Maria; 17 August 1887–1 April 1922) was the last Emperor of Austria, the last King of Hungary (as Charles IV, Hungarian: IV. Károly),[1] the last King of Bohemia (as Charles III), and the last monarch belonging to the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. After his uncle Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated in 1914, Charles became heir presumptive of Emperor Franz Josef. CharlesI reigned from 1916 until 1918, when he "renounced participation" in state affairs, but did not abdicate. He spent the remaining years of his life attempting to restore the monarchy until his death in 1922. Beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2004, he is known to the Catholic Church as Blessed Karl of Austria.[2]
Early life
Charles was born 17 August 1887 in the Castle of Persenbeug in Lower Austria. His parents were Archduke Otto Franz of Austria and Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony. At the time, his granduncle Franz Joseph reigned as Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary. Upon the death of Crown Prince Rudolph in 1889, the Emperor's brother, Archduke Karl Ludwig, was next in line to the Austro-Hungarian throne. However, his death in 1896 from typhoid made his eldest son, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the new heir presumptive.
As a child, Archduke Charles was reared a devout Catholic. He spent his early years wherever his father's regiment happened to be stationed; later on he lived in Vienna and Reichenau an der Rax. He was privately educated, but, contrary to the custom ruling in the imperial family, he attended a public gymnasium for the sake of demonstrations in scientific subjects. On the conclusion of his studies at the gymnasium, he entered the army, spending the years from 1906 to 1908 as an officer chiefly in Prague, where he studied law and political science concurrently with his military duties.[3]
In 1907, he was declared of age and Prince Zdenko Lobkowitz was appointed his chamberlain. In the next few years he carried out his military duties in various Bohemian garrison towns. Charles's relations with his granduncle were not intimate, and those with his uncle Franz Ferdinand were not cordial, with the differences between their wives increasing the existing tension between them. For these reasons, Charles, up to the time of the assassination of his uncle in 1914, obtained no insight into affairs of state, but led the life of a prince not destined for a high political position.[3]
Marriage

In 1911, Charles married Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma. They had met as children but did not see one another for almost ten years, as each pursued their education. In 1909, his Dragoon regiment was stationed at Brandýs nad Labem (Brandeis an der Elbe) in Bohemia, from where he visited his aunt at Franzensbad.[4]:5 It was during one of these visits that Charles and Zita became reacquainted.[4]:5 Due to Franz Ferdinand's morganatic marriage in 1900, his children were excluded from the succession. As a result, the Emperor pressured Charles to marry. Zita not only shared Charles' devout Catholicism, but also an impeccable royal lineage.[5]:16 Zita later recalled:




“We were of course glad to meet again and became close friends. On my side feelings developed gradually over the next two years. He seemed to have made his mind up much more quickly, however, and became even more keen when, in the autumn of 1910, rumours spread about that I had got engaged to a distant Spanish relative, Jaime, Duke of Madrid. On hearing this, the Archduke came down post haste from his regiment at Brandeis and sought out his [step]grandmother, Archduchess Maria Theresa, who was also my aunt and the natural confidante in such matters. He asked if the rumor was true and when told it was not, he replied, "Well, I had better hurry in any case or she will get engaged to someone else."[4]:8”
Heir presumptive
Charles became heir presumptive after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo in 1914, the event which precipitated World War I. Only at this time did the old Emperor take steps to initiate the heir-presumptive to his crown in affairs of state. But the outbreak of World War I interfered with this political education. Charles spent his time during the first phase of the war at headquarters at Teschen, but exercised no military influence.[3]
Charles then became a Feldmarschall (Field Marshal) in the Austro-Hungarian Army. In the spring of 1916, in connection with the offensive against Italy, he was entrusted with the command of the XX. Corps, whose affections the heir-presumptive to the throne won by his affability and friendliness. The offensive, after a successful start, soon came to a standstill. Shortly afterwards, Charles went to the eastern front as commander of an army operating against the Russians and Romanians.[3]
Reign


Charles succeeded to the thrones in November 1916 after the death of his grand-uncle, Emperor Franz Joseph.  
On 2 December 1916, he assumed the title of Supreme Commander of the whole army from Archduke Friedrich. His coronation as King of Hungary occurred on 30 December. In 1917, Charles secretly entered into peace negotiations with France. He employed his brother-in-law, Prince Sixtus of Bourbon-Parma, an officer in the Belgian Army, as intermediary. However, the Allies insisted on Austrian recognition of Italian claims to territory and Charles refused, so no progress was made.[6] Foreign minister Graf Czernin was only interested in negotiating a general peace which would include Germany, Charles himself went much further in suggesting his willingness to make a separate peace. When news of the overture leaked in April 1918, Charles denied involvement until French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau published letters signed by him.  This led to Czernin's resignation, forcing Austria-Hungary into an even more dependent position with respect to its seemingly wronged German ally.[7]
The Austro-Hungarian Empire was wracked by inner turmoil in the final years of the war, with much tension between ethnic groups. As part of his Fourteen Points, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson demanded that the Empire allow for autonomy and self-determination of its peoples. In response, Charles agreed to reconvene the Imperial Parliament and allow for the creation of a confederation with each national group exercising self-governance. However, the ethnic groups fought for full autonomy as separate nations, as they were now determined to become independent from Vienna at the earliest possible moment.
The new foreign minister Baron Istvan Burián asked for an armistice 14 October based on the Fourteen Points, and two days later Charles issued a proclamation that radically changed the nature of the Austrian state. The Poles were granted full independence with the purpose of joining their ethnic brethren in Russia and Germany in a Polish state.  The rest of the Austrian lands were transformed into a federal union composed of four parts: German, Czech, South Slav, and Ukrainian.  Each of the four parts was to be governed by a federal council, and Trieste was to have a special status. However, United States Secretary of State Robert Lansing replied four days later that the Allies were now committed to the causes of the Czechs, Slovaks and South Slavs. Therefore, autonomy inside the Empire for the nationalities was no longer enough. In fact, a Czechoslovak provisional government had joined the Allies 14 October, and the South Slav national council declared an independent South Slav state 29 October 1918.
Trialism and Croatia
Since the beginning of his rule he favored the creation of a third Croatian political entity in the Empire, in addition to Austria and Hungary. In his Croatian coronation oath in 1916, he recognized the union of the Triune Kingdom of Croatia, Dalmatia and Slavonia with Rijeka[8] and during his short reign supported trialist suggestions from the Croatian Sabor and Ban, but the suggestions were always vetoed by the Hungarian side which did not want to share power with other nations. After Emperor Karl's manifesto of 14 October 1918 was rejected by the declaration of the National Council in Zagreb.[9] President of the Croatian pro-monarchy political party Pure Party of Rights Dr. Aleksandar Horvat, with other parliament members and generals went to visit the emperor on 21 October 1918 in Bad Ischl,[10][11] where the emperor agreed and signed the trialist manifest under the proposed terms set by the delegation, on the condition that the Hungarian part does the same since he swore an oath on the integrity of the Hungarian crown.[12][13][14] The delegation went the next day to Budapest where it presented the manifest to Hungarian officials and Council of Ministers who signed the manifest and released the king from his oath, creating a third Croatian political entity (Zvonimir's kingdom)[13][15][16][17] After the signing, two parades were held in Zagreb, one for the ending of the K.u.K. monarchy, which was held in front of the Croatian National Theater, and another one for saving the trialist monarchy.[15] The last vote for the support of the trialist reorganization of the empire was, however, too late. On 29 October 1918, the Croatian Sabor (parliament) ended the union and all ties with Hungary and Austria, proclaimed the unification of all Croatian lands and entered the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs.[18] The curiosity is that no act of Sabor dethroned King Karl IV, nor did it acknowledge the entering in a state union with Serbia, which is today mentioned in the preamble of the Constitution of Croatia.[19]
The Lansing note effectively ended any efforts to keep the Empire together. One by one, the nationalities proclaimed their independence; even before the note the national councils had been acting more like provisional governments. Charles' political future became uncertain.  On 31 October, Hungary officially ended the personal union between Austria and Hungary. Nothing remained of Charles' realm except the predominantly German-speaking Danubian and Alpine provinces, and he was challenged even there by the German Austrian State Council. His last Austrian prime minister, Heinrich Lammasch, advised him that he was an impossible situation, and his best course was to temporarily give up his right to exercise sovereign power.
Proclamation of 11 and 13 November

On 11 November 1918, the same day as the armistice ending the war between the Allied Powers and Germany was signed, Charles issued a carefully worded proclamation in which he recognized the Austrian people's right to determine the form of the state and "relinquish(ed) every participation in the administration of the State."[20]  He also released his officials from their oath of loyalty to him. On the same day the Imperial Family left Schönbrunn Palace and moved to Castle Eckartsau, east of Vienna. On 13 November, following a visit with Hungarian magnates, Charles issued a similar proclamation (the Eckartsau Proclamation) for Hungary.

Although it has widely been cited as an "abdication", that word was never mentioned in either proclamation.[21] Indeed, he deliberately avoided using the word abdication in the hope that the people of either Austria or Hungary would vote to recall him.

Privately, Charles left no doubt that he believed himself to be the rightful emperor. He wrote to Friedrich Gustav Piffl, the Archbishop of Vienna:I did not abdicate, and never will. (...) I see my manifesto of 11 November as the equivalent to a cheque which a street thug has forced me to issue at gunpoint. (...) I do not feel bound by it in any way whatsoever.[22]

Instead, on 12 November, the day after he issued his proclamation, the independent Republic of German-Austria was proclaimed, followed by the proclamation of the Hungarian Democratic Republic on 16 November. An uneasy truce-like situation ensued and persisted until 23–24 March 1919, when Charles left for Switzerland, escorted by the commander of the small British guard detachment at Eckartsau, Lt. Col. Edward Lisle Strutt. As the Imperial Train left Austria on 24 March, Charles issued another proclamation in which he confirmed his claim of sovereignty, declaring that "whatever the national assembly of German Austria has resolved with respect to these matters since 11 November is null and void for me and my House."[23]
Although the newly established republican government of Austria was not aware of this "Manifesto of Feldkirch" at this time (it had been dispatched only to the Spanish King Alfonso XIII and to Pope Benedict XV through diplomatic channels), the politicians now in power were extremely irritated by the Emperor's departure without an explicit abdication. The Austrian Parliament passed the Habsburg Law on 3 April 1919, which permanently barred Charles from returning to Austria. Other Habsburgs were banished from Austrian territory unless they renounced all intentions of reclaiming the throne and accepted the status of ordinary citizens. Another law, passed on the same day, abolished all nobility in Austria.
In Switzerland, Charles and his family briefly took residence at Castle Wartegg near Rorschach at Lake Constance and later moved to Château de Prangins at Lake Geneva on 20 May 1919.
Attempts to reclaim throne of Hungary

Encouraged by Hungarian royalists ("legitimists"), Charles sought twice in 1921 to reclaim the throne of Hungary, but failed largely because Hungary's regent, Admiral Miklós Horthy (the last commander of the Imperial and Royal Navy), refused to support him. Horthy's failure to support Charles' restoration attempts is often described as "treasonous" by royalists. Critics suggest that Horthy's actions were more firmly grounded in political reality than those of Charles and his supporters. Indeed, neighbouring countries had threatened to invade Hungary if Charles tried to regain the throne. Later in 1921, the Hungarian parliament formally nullified the Pragmatic Sanction, an act that effectively dethroned the Habsburgs.
Exile in Madeira and death

After the second failed attempt at restoration in Hungary, Charles and his pregnant wife Zita were briefly quarantined at Tihany Abbey. On 1 November 1921 they were taken to the Hungarian Danube harbour city of Baja, were forced to board the British monitor HMS Glowworm and there removed to the Black Sea where they were transferred to the light cruiser HMS<i>Cardiff.[24][25] They arrived at their final exile, the Portuguese island of Madeira, on 19 November 1921. Determined to prevent a third restoration attempt, the Council of Allied Powers had agreed on Madeira because it was isolated in the Atlantic and easily guarded.[26]
Originally the couple and their children, who joined them on 2 February 1922, lived at Funchal at the Villa Vittoria, next to Reid's Hotel and later moved to Quinta do Monte. Compared to the imperial glory in Vienna and even at Eckartsau, conditions there were certainly impoverished.[27]
Charles did not leave Madeira again. On 9 March 1922 he had caught a cold in town, which developed into bronchitis and subsequently progressed to severe pneumonia. Having suffered two heart attacks, he died of respiratory failure on 1 April, in the presence of his wife (who was pregnant with their eighth child) and nine-year-old Crown Prince Otto, remaining conscious almost until his last moments. His last words to his wife were "I love you so much."[28] His remains except for his heart are still on the island, resting in state in a chapel devoted to the Emperor in the Church of Our Lady of The Hill (Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Monte), in spite of several attempts to move them to the Habsburg Crypt in Vienna. His heart and the heart of his wife are entombed in Muri Abbey, Switzerland.
Legacy
Historians have been mixed in their evaluations of Charles and his reign.  In the interwar years he was celebrated in Austria as a military hero. When Nazi Germany took over it made his memory into that of a traitor.  For decades after 1945, both popular interest and academic interest in the 1914-1918 war   practically disappeared.  Attention has slowly returned.[29]

One of the most critical historians is Helmut Rumpler, the head of the Habsburg commission of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, who has described Charles as "a dilettante, far too weak for the challenges facing him, out of his depth, and not really a politician."[30] However, others have seen Charles as a brave and honourable figure who tried to stop the war in which his Empire was doing so poorly. The English Jacobite writer, Herbert Vivian, wrote: "Karl was a great leader, a Prince of peace, who wanted to save the world from a year of war; a statesman with ideas to save his people from the complicated problems of his Empire; a King who loved his people, a fearless man, a noble soul, distinguished, a saint from whose grave blessings come." Furthermore, Anatole France, the French novelist, stated: "Emperor Karl is the only decent man to come out of the war in a leadership position, no one listened to him. He sincerely wanted peace, and therefore was despised by the whole world. It was a wonderful chance that was lost."[31]
Paul von Hindenburg, the German commander in chief, commented in his memoirs:"He tried to compensate for the evaporation of the ethical power which emperor Franz Joseph had represented by offering ethnical reconciliation. Even as he dealt with elements who were sworn to the goal of destroying his empire he believed that his acts of political grace would affect their conscience. These attempts were totally futile; those people had long ago lined up with our common enemies, and were far from being deterred."[32]
Beatification

Catholic Church leaders have praised Charles for putting his Christian faith first in making political decisions, and for his role as a peacemaker during the war, especially after 1917. They have considered that his brief rule expressed Catholic social teaching, and that he created a social legal framework that in part still survives.

Pope John Paul II declared Charles "Blessed" in a beatification ceremony held on 3 October 2004,[33] and stated:The decisive task of Christians consists in seeking, recognizing and following God's will in all things. The Christian statesman, Charles of Austria, confronted this challenge every day. To his eyes, war appeared as "something appalling". Amid the tumult of the First World War, he strove to promote the peace initiative of my Predecessor, Benedict XV.[34]

Pope Benedict XV's peace plan consisted of seven principal elements:  (1)  the moral force of right ... be substituted for the material force of arms, (2) there must be simultaneous and reciprocal diminution of armaments, (3) a mechanism for international arbitration must be established, (4) true liberty and common rights over the sea should exist, (5) there should be a renunciation of war indemnities, (6) occupied territories should be evacuated, and (7) there should be an examination of rival claims.[35]  To summarize, the best outcome to the war, according to Pope Benedict XV, was an immediate restoration to the status quo without reparations or any form of forced demands.  Although the plan seemed unattainable due to the severity of the war thus far, it had been appealing to the Catholic Emperor Charles I, who could have seen it as his duty as Apostolic King of Hungary to carry out the Church's will, or as a way to preserve his throne in the years to come. Pope John Paul II was also beatifying and canonizing a significantly larger amount of individuals as saints during the later part of his reign as Pope, which could have influenced his decision to beatify Emperor Charles I as Charles the Blessed.[36]
From the beginning, Emperor Charles conceived of his office as a holy service to his people. His chief concern was to follow the Christian vocation to holiness also in his political actions. For this reason, his thoughts turned to social assistance.
The cause or campaign for his canonization began in 1949, when the testimony of his holiness was collected in the Archdiocese of Vienna. In 1954, the cause was opened and he was declared "servant of God", the first step in the process. At the beginning of the cause for canonization in 1972 his tomb was opened and his body was discovered to be incorrupt.[37]
The League of Prayers established for the promotion of his cause has set up a website,[38] and Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna has sponsored the cause.
Recent milestones
On 14 April 2003, the Vatican's Congregation for the Causes of Saints in the presence of Pope John Paul II, promulgated Charles of Austria's "heroic virtues," and he thereby acquired the title of venerable.
On 21 December 2003, the Congregation certified, on the basis of three expert medical opinions, that a miracle in 1960 occurred through the intercession of Charles. The miracle attributed to Charles was the scientifically inexplicable healing of a Brazilian nun with debilitating varicose veins; she was able to get out of bed after she prayed for his beatification.
On 3 October 2004, he was beatified by Pope John Paul II.  The Pope also declared 21 October, the date of Charles' marriage in 1911 to Princess Zita, as Charles' feast day. The beatification has caused controversy because Charles authorized the Austro-Hungarian Army's use of poison gas during World War I.[39][40]
On 31 January 2008, a Church tribunal, after a 16-month investigation, formally recognized a second miracle attributed to Charles I (required for his canonization as a saint in the Catholic Church); in an uncommon twist, the Florida woman claiming the miracle cure was not Catholic, but Baptist. However, due to her experiences, she converted to Catholicism soon thereafter.[41][42][43][44]
Quotes
"Now, we must help each other to get to Heaven."[45] Addressing Empress Zita on 22 October 1911, the day after their wedding.
"I am an officer with all my body and soul, but I do not see how anyone who sees his dearest relations leaving for the front can love war."[46] Addressing Empress Zita after the outbreak of World War I.
"I have done my duty, as I came here to do. As crowned King, I not only have a right, I also have a duty. I must uphold the right, the dignity and honor of the Crown.... For me, this is not something light. With the last breath of my life I must take the path of duty. Whatever I regret, Our Lord and Savior has led me."[47] Addressing Cardinal János Csernoch after the defeat of his attempt to regain the Hungarian throne in 1921. The British Government had vainly hoped that the Cardinal would be able to persuade him to renounce his title as King of Hungary.
"I must suffer like this so my people will come together again."[48] Spoken in Madeira, during his last illness.
"I can't go on much longer... Thy will be done... Yes... Yes... As you will it... Jesus!"[49] Reciting his last words while contemplating a crucifix held by Empress Zita.
Titles, styles, honours and arms


Titles and styles
17 August 1887 – 21 November 1916: His Imperial and Royal Highness Archduke and Prince Charles of Austria, Prince of Hungary, Bohemia and Croatia[50]
21 November 1916 – 3 April 1919: His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty The Emperor of Austria, Apostolic King of Hungary and Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia[51]
3 April 1919 – 1 April 1922:
His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty Emperor Charles of Austria, Apostolic King of Hungary (used outside Austria)
Karl Habsburg-Lothringen (used in Austria)
Official grand title
His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty,
Charles the First,
By the Grace of God,
Emperor of Austria,
Apostolic King of Hungary, of this name the Fourth,
King of Bohemia, Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia, and Galicia, Lodomeria, and Illyria; King of Jerusalem, Archduke of Austria; Grand Duke of Tuscany and Cracow, Duke of Lorraine and of Salzburg, of Styria, of Carinthia, of Carniola and of the Bukovina; Grand Prince of Transylvania; Margrave of Moravia; Duke of Upper and Lower Silesia, of Modena, Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla, of Auschwitz and Zator, of Teschen, Friuli, Ragusa and Zara; Princely Count of Habsburg and Tyrol, of Kyburg, Gorizia and Gradisca; Prince of Trent and Brixen; Margrave of Upper and Lower Lusatia and in Istria; Count of Hohenems, Feldkirch, Bregenz, Sonnenberg; Lord of Trieste, of Cattaro, and in the Windic March; Grand Voivode of the Voivodeship of Serbia.
Honours
National decorations[52]
He was Grand Master of the following Orders:[53]
Order of the Golden Fleece
Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary
Military Order of Maria Theresa
Order of the Iron Crown
Imperial Order of Leopold
Order of Franz Joseph
Military Merit Cross, 3rd Class
Gold Medal of Military Merit (Signum Laudis)
Bronze Military Merit Medal on red ribbon
Military Cross for the 60th year of the reign of Franz Joseph
Foreign decorations[52]
Belgium: Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold
Kingdom of Bulgaria: Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Cyril and Methodius[53]
German Empire:
Knight of the Order of the Black Eagle[53]
Pour le Mérite
Iron Cross, 2nd and 1st Class
Bavaria:
Knight of the Order of St. Hubert[53]
Grand Cross of the Military Order of Max Joseph
Saxony:
Knight of the Order of the Rue Crown[53]
Grand Cross of the Military Order of St. Henry
 Mecklenburg: Grand Cross of the House Order of the Wendish Crown
 Tuscan Grand Ducal Family: Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Joseph
Sovereign Military Order of Malta: Bailiff Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion (with Distinction for Jerusalem)
United Kingdom:
Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
Commemorative Medal for the Coronation of King George V
Postage stamp
Issued by Hungary on 30 December 1916 [54]
Children
Charles and Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma had eight children together.


Ancestors

Ancestors of Main Page16. Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor8. Archduke Franz Karl of Austria17. Princess Maria Theresa of Naples4. Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria18. Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria9. Princess Sophie of Bavaria19. Princess Caroline of Baden2. Archduke Otto Franz of Austria20. Francis I of the Two Sicilies10. Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies21. Infanta Maria Isabella of Spain5. Princess Maria Annunziata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies22. Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen11. Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria23. Princess Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg1. Charles I of Austria24. Maximilian, Hereditary Prince of Saxony12. John of Saxony25. Princess Carolina of Parma6. George of Saxony26. Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria (= 18)13. Princess Amalie Auguste of Bavaria27. Princess Caroline of Baden (= 19)3. Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony28. Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha14. Ferdinand II of Portugal29. Princess Maria Antonia Koháry7. Infanta Maria Ana of Portugal30. Pedro I of Brazil and IV of Portugal15. Maria II of Portugal31. Archduchess Leopoldina of Austria
See also
List of heirs to the Austrian throne
Notes

Further reading

G. Brook-Shepherd, The Last Empress: The Life & Times of Zita of Austria-Hungary, 1892–1989, 1991. ISBN0-00-215861-2.
Hopwood, Robert F. "The Conflict between Count Czernin and Emperor Charles in 1918." Austrian History Yearbook 4 (1968): 28-43.
(in German) Bernhard A. Macek, Kaiser Karl I. Der letzte Kaiser Österreichs. Ein biografischer Bilderbogen, Sutton Erfurt, 2012. ISBN978-3-9540-0076-0.
Mason, John W. The Dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, 1867-1918 (Routledge, 2014).
Valiani, Leo. The End of Austria-Hungary (London: Secker & Warburg, 1973).
(in Italian) Flavia Foradini, Otto d'Asburgo. L'ultimo atto di una dinastia, mgs press, Trieste: 2004. ISBN88-89219-04-1.




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