Charles I of Austria

9/24/23, 4:30 PM Charles I of Austria - Wikipedia
Charles I of Austria
Charles I or Karl I (German: Karl Franz Josef Ludwig Hubert Georg Otto Maria, Hungarian:
Charles I & IV
Károly Ferenc József Lajos Hubert György Ottó Mária; 17 August 1887 – 1 April 1922) was
Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary (as Charles IV, Hungarian: IV. Károly),[1] King of Croatia,
King of Bohemia (as Charles III, Czech: Karel III.), and the last of the monarchs belonging to the
House of Habsburg-Lorraine to rule over Austria-Hungary. The son of Archduke Otto of Austria
and Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony, Charles became heir presumptive of Emperor Franz
Joseph when his uncle Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated in 1914. In 1911, he
married Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma. He is venerated in the Catholic Church, having been
beatified by Pope John Paul II on 3 October 2004, and is known to the Catholic Church as
Blessed Karl of Austria.[2]
Charles succeeded to the thrones in November 1916 following the death of his grand-uncle, Franz
Joseph. He began secret negotiations with the Allies, hoping to peacefully end the First World War
but was unsuccessful. Despite Charles's efforts to preserve the empire by returning it to federalism
and by championing Austro-Slavism, Austria-Hungary hurtled into disintegration: Czechoslovakia
and the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs were proclaimed, and Hungary broke monarchic ties
to Austria by the end of October 1918. Following the Armistice of 11 November 1918, Charles
"renounced any participation" in government affairs, but did not abdicate. However, the Republic
of German-Austria was proclaimed the following day, and in April 1919 the National Assembly
formally dethroned the Habsburgs and banished Charles from German-Austria for life. Charles I, c. 1919
Emperor of Austria
Charles spent the early part of his exile in Switzerland. He spent the remaining years of his life King of Hungary (more...)
attempting to restore the monarchy. He made two attempts to reclaim the Hungarian throne in Reign 21 November 1916 –
1921; but failed due to the opposition of Hungary's Calvinist regent Admiral Miklós Horthy. 12 November 1918
Charles was exiled for a second time to the Portuguese island of Madeira, where he soon fell ill
and died of respiratory failure in 1922. Coronation 30 December 1916,
Budapest
Early life Predecessor Franz Joseph I

Successor Monarchy abolished
Head of the House of Habsburg-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_I_of_Austria 1/18
Charles was born on 17 August 1887, in the Castle of Persenbeug, in Lorraine

Lower Austria. His parents were Archduke Otto Franz of Austria and Reign 21 November 1916 – 1
Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony.[3] At the time, his grand-uncle April 1922
Franz Joseph reigned as Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary.
Successor Otto von Habsburg
Upon the death of Crown Prince Rudolph in 1889, the Emperor's
brother, Archduke Karl Ludwig, Charles' grandfather, was next in line
Born 17 August 1887
to the Austro-Hungarian throne. However, his death in 1896 from
Persenbeug Castle,
typhoid made his eldest son, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the new heir
presumptive. Persenbeug-Gottsdorf,
Austria-Hungary
Archduke Charles was reared a devout Catholic. He spent his early Died 1 April 1922 (aged 34)
years wherever his father's regiment happened to be stationed; later Funchal, Madeira,
on, he lived in Vienna and Reichenau an der Rax. He was privately
Portugal
educated, but, contrary to the custom ruling in the imperial family, he
attended a public gymnasium (the Schottengymnasium) for the sake Spouse Zita of Bourbon-Parma

of demonstrations in scientific subjects. On the conclusion of his (m. 1911)
Charles as a child, c. 1889
studies at the gymnasium, he entered the army, spending the years Issue Otto, Crown Prince of
from 1906 to 1908 as an officer chiefly in Prague, where he studied
Austria
Law and Political Science concurrently with his military duties.[4]
Archduchess Adelheid
In 1907, he was declared of age, and Prince Zdenko von Lobkowitz was appointed as his Robert, Archduke of
chamberlain. During the next few years, he carried out his military duties in various Bohemian Austria-Este
garrison towns. Charles's relations with his grand-uncle were not intimate, and those with his
Archduke Felix
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 Archduke Carl Ludwig
his uncle in 1914, obtained no insight into affairs of state, but led the life of a prince not destined Archduke Rudolf
for a high political position.[4]
Duchess Charlotte,
Duchess of
Marriage Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Archduchess Elisabeth
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 Names
regiment was stationed at Brandýs nad Labem in Bohemia, from where he visited his aunt at Karl Franz Josef Ludwig Hubert
Franzensbad.[5]: 5 Georg Otto Maria
It was during one of these visits that Charles and Zita became reacquainted.[5]: 5 Due to Franz House Habsburg-Lorraine
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's devout
Catholicism, but also an impeccable royal lineage.[6]: 16 Zita later recalled: Father Archduke Otto Franz
of Austria
We were of course glad to meet again and became close friends. On my side feelings Mother Princess Maria
developed gradually over the next two years. He seemed to have made his mind up Josepha of Saxony
much more quickly, however, and became even more keen when, in the autumn of Religion Roman Catholicism
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 Signature
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."[5]: 8
Charles I's voice
Archduke Charles traveled to Villa Pianore, the Italian winter residence of Zita's parents, and 1:16
asked for her hand; on 13 June 1911, their engagement was announced at the Austrian court.[5]: 8
Charles I on the Austrian Army in World
Charles and Zita were married at the Bourbon-Parma castle of Schwarzau in Austria on 21 October War I
1911. Charles's grand-uncle, the 81-year-old Emperor Franz Joseph, attended the wedding. He was Recorded 5 February 1915
relieved to see the second-in-line to the throne in a suitable marriage, and was in good spirits,
even leading the toast at the wedding breakfast.[6]: 19 Archduchess Zita soon conceived a son,
and Otto was born 20 November 1912. Seven more children followed in the next decade.
Heir presumptive
Charles (his father having died in 1906) became heir presumptive after the assassination of
Archduke Franz Ferdinand (his uncle) 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
Charles and Zita's wedding,
education. Charles spent his time during the first phase of the war at headquarters at Teschen,
21 October 1911
but exercised no military influence.[4]
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 Army Group Archduke Karl operating against the Russians and Romanians.[4]
Reign
Charles succeeded to the thrones on 21 November 1916 upon the death of his grand-uncle, Emperor
Franz Joseph. On 2 December 1916, he assumed the title of Supreme Commander of the Austro-
Hungarian Army, succeeding 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.[7] Foreign minister Graf Czernin was only interested in
negotiating a general peace which would include Germany; Charles himself went much further in
King Charles IV taking his
suggesting his willingness to make a separate peace. When news of the overture leaked in April 1918,
coronation oath at Holy Trinity
Charles denied involvement until French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau published letters
Column outside Matthias Church,
signed by him. This led to Czernin's resignation, forcing Austria-Hungary to give Berlin full control
Budapest, 30 December 1916
of its armed forces, factories, and railways.[8][9]
The Austro-Hungarian Empire was wrecked by inner turmoil in the final years of the war, with
escalating 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 on 14 October based on the
Portrait of the recently crowned
Fourteen Points, and two days later Charles issued a proclamation that radically changed the nature
King Charles IV of Hungary and
of the Austrian state. The Poles were granted full independence with the purpose of joining their
Queen Zita with their son Otto
ethnic brethren in Russia and Germany in what was to become the Second Polish Republic. 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, U.S. Secretary of State Robert Lansing replied four days later that the Allies were
committed to the political independence of the Czechs, Slovaks and South Slavs, and that autonomy inside the Empire was no longer
enough. In fact, a Czechoslovak provisional government had joined the Allies on 14 October, and the South Slav national council
declared an independent South Slav state on 29 October 1918.
Trialism and Croatia
From the beginning of his reign, Charles l 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[10] and during his short reign supported trialist suggestions from the Croatian Sabor and Ban; however, the suggestions
were always vetoed by the Hungarian Parliament, which did not want to share power with other nations. After Emperor Charles's
manifesto of 14 October 1918 was rejected by the declaration of the National Council in Zagreb,[11] 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,[12][13] where the emperor agreed and signed the trialist manifesto 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.[14][15][16] The delegation went the next day to Budapest where it presented the manifesto to Hungarian officials and Council of
Ministers who signed the manifesto and released the king from his oath, creating a third Croatian political entity (Zvonimir's
kingdom).[15][17][18][19] 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.[17] 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.[20] The
curiosity is that no act of Sabor dethroned King Charles 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.[21]
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's political future
became uncertain. On 31 October, Hungary officially ended the personal union between Austria and Hungary. Nothing remained of
Charles's 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 in an impossible
situation, and his best course was to temporarily give up his right to exercise sovereign power.
Proclamations of November 1918

On the day of the Armistice of 11 November 1918, 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."[22] 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
Schloss 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", the word itself was never used in either
proclamation.[23] 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 Cardinal Piffl, the
Archbishop of Vienna:
I did not abdicate, and never will [...] I see my manifesto of 11 November as the Proclamation of 11 November 1918
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."[24]
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 First Hungarian Republic on
16 November. An uneasy truce-like situation ensued and persisted until 23 to 24 March 1919, when
Charles left for Switzerland, escorted by the commander of the small British guard detachment at
Eckartsau, Lieutenant Colonel 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:
[W]hatever 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.[25]
The newly established republican government of Austria was not aware of this "Manifesto of Proclamation of 13 November 1918
Feldkirch" at this time—it had been dispatched only to King Alfonso XIII of Spain and to Pope
Benedict XV through diplomatic channels—and politicians in power were irritated by the Emperor's
departure without explicit abdication.
The Austrian Parliament responded on 3 April with the Habsburg Law, which dethroned and banished the Habsburgs. Charles was
barred from ever returning to Austria. Other male Habsburgs could only return if they renounced all intentions of reclaiming the
defunct 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.
Attempts to reclaim throne of Hungary

Following the restoration of the Kingdom 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 Charles's restoration. Horthy's action was declared "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. Charles however, had come to an agreement with the
French prime minister and foreign minister Aristide Briand (who had supported Charles' peace efforts in 1917) regarding a Habsburg
restoration in Hungary, which meant no invasion would have occurred.[26] In the event of the attempt failing, Briand would deny all
involvement, which he indeed did during both attempts. Later in 1921, the Hungarian parliament formally nullified the Pragmatic
Sanction, an act that effectively dethroned the Habsburgs in Hungary.
Exile in Madeira, Portugal, and death

After the second failed attempt at restoration in Hungary, Charles and his pregnant wife Zita were
arrested by the Hungarian authorities and imprisoned in Tihany Abbey. On 1 November 1921 they
were transported down the Danube aboard the gunboat HMS Glowworm, across the Black Sea on
the cruiser HMS Cardiff,[27][28] and on 19 November 1921 they arrived at their final exile, the
isolated, heavily guarded Portuguese island of Madeira.[29]
The couple and their children, who joined them on 2 February 1922, lived first at Funchal at the Villa
Vittoria, next to Reid's Hotel, and later moved to a modest residence in Quinta do Monte.[30]
Charles never left Madeira. On 9 March 1922 he caught a cold in town, which developed into
bronchitis and 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 former Crown Prince Otto, remaining conscious almost until his last moments.
His last words to his wife were "I love you so much."[31] He was 34 years old. His remains except for
Tomb of Charles I in Madeira
his heart are still on the island, resting in state in a chapel devoted to the Emperor in the Portuguese Church of Our Lady of the Mount,
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 period, 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 and academic interest practically disappeared,
but attention has slowly returned.[32]
Helmut Rumpler, the head of the Habsburg commission of the Austrian Academy of Sciences,
described Charles as "a dilettante, far too weak for the challenges facing him, out of his depth, and
not really a politician."[33] Others have seen Charles as a brave and honourable figure who tried to
stop the war in which his Empire was drowning. Anatole France, the French novelist, stated:
This war without end is criminal. What is abominable is that they do not want to end it.
No, they do not want. Do not try to tell me that there was no way to end it. Emperor
Charles offered peace; he is the only decent man to have appeared in this war, and he was
not listened to. There was, through him, a chance that could have been seized...
Clemenceau called the emperor a "rotten conscience," it's ignoble. Emperor Charles
sincerely wanted peace, and therefore was despised by the whole world. [...] A king of Charles as Archduke
France, yes a king, would have had pity on our poor, exhausted, bloodlet nation. However
democracy is without a heart and without entrails. When serving the powers of money, it
is pitiless and inhuman.[34]
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
völkisch 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.[35]
Beatification
Catholic Church leaders have praised Charles for putting his Christian faith first in making political Blessed
decisions, and for his role as a peacemaker during the war, especially after 1917. Karl of Austria
The cause or campaign for his canonization began in 1949. In 1954, the cause was opened and
Charles 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.[36]
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". Charles thereby acquired the title
"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 the Polish-born Brazilian Sister
Maria Zita Gradowska of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. Sister Maria Zita had
suffered from pains in her legs since her youth, and later on would suffer from problems with her
venous circulation and swellings, for which she was repeatedly treated over the years, but her health
issues would not go away for good. In 1957 she became the Mother Superior of Santa Cruz Hospital
in Canoinhas, but the pains in her right leg were also becoming gradually worse and worse. By the
end of 1960 she was unable to leave her bed. Despite wanting to resign her position as Mother Charles I of Austria with the habit of
Superior because of this, she was unable to, as there was an insufficient number of sisters. the Order of Saint Stephen of
Hungary
Around this time, another sister, who was an assistant of Sister Maria Zita, received printed leaflets
about the life of Emperor Karl, which included prayers for his beatification. Naturally, Sister Maria Emperor and Confessor
Zita was also informed, however, she did not pay much attention to the matter, as she did not care Venerated in Catholic Church
much for the Habsburg dynasty. She told the other sisters that her bedridden state and the coming Beatified 3 October 2004,
absence of another sister worried her, and she was again advised to call upon the intercession of
Saint Peter's Square,
Karl, but she did not plan on doing so. However, when lying in bed, she was not able to sleep
Vatican City by Pope
because of the excruciating pain in her right leg. Then an idea came to her: perhaps God wished the
Servant of God to be honoured, so she said a short, timid prayer of intercession, and promised to John Paul II
start the next day with a novena to beg for the grace of beatification for the Servant of God. After Major shrine Church of Our Lady
of Monte, Funchal,
praying, she did not feel the pain anymore and was able to easily fall asleep. The pain also did not Portugal
return during the night of the next day. From then on she was able to resume her duties as Mother Feast 21 October
Superior and would not suffer from any health problems with her legs for the rest of her life.[37]
Attributes Imperial attire
Pope John Paul II declared Charles "Blessed" in a beatification ceremony in St. Peter's Square on 3 Medals
October 2004. The Pope also declared 21 October, the date of Charles's marriage in 1911 to Princess
Patronage World peace
Zita, to be Charles's feast day.[38] At the ceremony, the Pope 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.[39]
The main points of Pope Benedict XV's peace plan were: (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.[40] The best outcome to the war,
according to Pope Benedict XV, was an immediate restoration of 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 appealed to Charles, perhaps as a way to fulfill and
preserve his role as Catholic Emperor of Austria and Apostolic King of Hungary. The beatification nevertheless raised controversy over
the mistaken claim that Charles authorised the use of poison gas by the Austro-Hungarian Army during World War I.[41][42] The
Emperor actually forbade its use.[43][44]
Pope John Paul II, who was born Karol Józef Wojtyła, was named after Karl. During a private audience with Archduke Rudolf (Karl's
son), his sons and their families and Empress Zita (whom the Pope addressed as ‘’his Empress’’ and bowed his head before) he told
them the following:
Do you know why I was named Charles at baptism? Because my father had great admiration for Emperor Charles I, of whom
he was a soldier.[45]
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.[46]
On 31 January 2008, after a 16-month investigation, a Church tribunal recognized a second miracle attributed to Charles I. A "devout
Baptist" from Orlando, Florida was allegedly cured after several recent converts to Roman Catholicism in Louisiana prayed for Charles's
intercession.[47][48][49][50]
In 2011, the League of Prayers for the promotion of Charles's cause set up a website,[51] and Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna
has sponsored the cause. One of Charles's granddaughters, Princess Maria-Anna Galitzine, has been a prominent figure in the campaign
for sainthood.[52][53]
Quotes
"Now, we must help each other to get to Heaven."[54] 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."[55] 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."[56] Addressing Cardinal János Csernoch after the defeat of his attempt to
regain the Hungarian throne in 1921.
"I must suffer like this so my people will come together again."[57] 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!"[58] Reciting his last words while contemplating a
crucifix held by Empress Zita.
Titles, styles, honours and arms

Styles of
Titles and styles Charles I of Austria
17 August 1887 – 28 June 1914: His Imperial and Royal Highness Archduke Charles of Austria,
Royal Prince of Hungary, Bohemia and Croatia[59]
28 June 1914 – 21 November 1916: His Imperial and Royal Highness The Archduke of Austria-
Este[60]
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[61]
Honours
Austria-Hungary:[60]
Knight of the Golden Fleece, 1905[62]
Grand Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa, 1917[63]
Military Merit Cross, 3rd Class with War Decoration
Bronze Medal of Military Merit, on red ribbon, pre-1915; Gold ("Signum Laudis") Reference His Imperial and
Military Cross for the 60th year of the reign of Franz Joseph style Royal Apostolic
Tuscan Grand Ducal Family: Grand Cross of St. Joseph[60] Majesty
Sovereign Military Order of Malta: Bailiff Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion, with Spoken Your Imperial and
Distinction for Jerusalem[60] style Royal Apostolic
United Kingdom:[60] Majesty
Honorary Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
Commemorative Medal for the Coronation of King George V
Kingdom of Prussia:[60]
Knight of the Black Eagle
Pour le Mérite (military), 20 May 1916; with Oak Leaves, 6 December 1916[64]
Iron Cross, 1st and 2nd Classes
Kingdom of Bavaria:
Knight of St. Hubert, 1908[65]
Grand Cross of the Military Order of Max Joseph
Kingdom of Saxony:
Knight of the Rue Crown[60]
Grand Cross of the Military Order of St. Henry
Belgium: Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold[60]
Mecklenburg: Grand Cross of the Wendish Crown, with Crown in Ore[60]
Kingdom of Bulgaria: Imperial monogram of
Knight of Saints Cyril and Methodius[66] Emperor Charles
Order of Bravery, Grade I, 2nd Class[67]
Postage stamp
On 30 December 1916, Hungary issued a postage stamp featuring Charles as part of a series commemorating his coronation.[68]
Children
Charles and Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma had eight children together.
Name Birth Death Notes
Crown Prince 20 November 4 July 2011 married (1951) Princess Regina of Saxe-Meiningen (1925–2010);
Otto 1912 (aged 98) seven children.
Archduchess 3 January 2 October 1971

Adelheid 1914 (aged 57)
8 February 7 February 1996 married (1953) Princess Margherita of Savoy-Aosta (7 April 1930 – The children in Funchal,
Archduke Robert
1915 (aged 80) 10 January 2022); five children.
1920s
6 September 2011 married (1952) Princess Anna-Eugénie of Arenberg (5 July 1925 –
Archduke Felix 31 May 1916
(aged 95) 9 June 1997); seven children.
Archduke Karl 10 March 11 December married (1950) Princess Yolanda of Ligne (born 6 May 1923); four
Ludwig 1918 2007 (aged 89) children.
Archduke Rudolf 5 September 15 May 2010 married (1953) Countess Xenia Czernichev-Besobrasov (11 June
1919 (aged 90) 1929 – 20 September 1968); four children.
Second marriage (1971) Princess Anna Gabriele of Wrede (born
11 September 1940); one child.
Archduchess 23 July 1989 married (1956) George, Duke of Mecklenburg (5 October [O.S. 22
1 March 1921
Charlotte (aged 68) September] 1899 – 6 July 1963).
married (1949) Prince Heinrich Karl Vincenz of Liechtenstein (5

Archduchess 7 January 1993
31 May 1922 August 1916 – 17 April 1991), grandson of Prince Alfred; five
Elisabeth (aged 70)
children.
Ancestry
Ancestors of Charles I of Austria [show]
8. Archduke Franz Karl of Austria
4. Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria
9. Princess Sophie of Bavaria
2. Archduke Otto Franz of Austria
10. Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies
5. Princess Maria Annunziata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
11. Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria
1. Charles I of Austria
12. John, King of Saxony
6. George, King of Saxony
13. Princess Amalie Auguste of Bavaria

3. Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony
14. Ferdinand II of Portugal
7. Infanta Maria Ana of Portugal
15. Maria II of Portugal
See also
List of heirs to the Austrian throne
Notes
1. "Charles (I)" (https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/106679/Charles-I). Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica
Online. 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
2. "Blessed Karl of Austria" (http://www.emperorcharles.org). Emperorcharles.org. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
3. "Charles of Austria (1887 – 1922)", Vatican News Service (https://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/ns_lit_doc_20041003
_charles-austria_en.html)
4. Pribram, Alfred Francis (1922). "Charles" (https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1922_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Charles). In
Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica (12th ed.). London & New York: The Encyclopædia Britannica Company.
5. Beeche.
6. Brook-Shepherd, G. (1991). The Last Empress: The Life and Times of Zita of Austria-Hungary, 1892–1989. New York:
HarperCollins. ISBN 9780002158619.
7. David Stevenson, "The failure of peace by negotiation in 1917." Historical Journal 34#1 (1991): 65-86.
8. Edward P. Keleher, "Emperor Karl and the Sixtus Affair: Politico-Nationalist Repercussions in the Reich German and Austro-German
Camps, and the Disintegration of Habsburg Austria, 1916-1918." East European Quarterly 26.2 (1992): 163+.
9. Geoffrey Wawro, A Mad Catastrophe: The Outbreak of World War I and the Collapse of the Habsburg Empire (2015) p. 371.
10. (Hrvatska) Krunidbena zavjernica Karla IV. hrvatskom Saboru 28. prosinca 1916. (sa grbom Dalmacije, Hrvatske, Slavonije i Rijeke
iznad teksta), str. 1.-4. Hrvatski Državni Arhiv./ENG. (Croatian) Coronation oath of Karl IV to Croatian Sabor (parliament), 28
December 1916. (with coat of arms of Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia and Rijeka above the text), pp. 1–4 Croatian State Archives
11. F. Šišić Dokumenti, p. 180.
12. Vasa Kazimirović NDH u svetlu nemačkih dokumenata i dnevnika Gleza fon Horstenau 1941 – 1944, Beograd 1987., p. 56.-57.
13. Jedna Hrvatska "H. Rieči", 1918., no. 2167
14. A. Pavelić (lawyer) Doživljaji, p. 432.
15. Dr. Aleksandar Horvat Povodom njegove pedesetgodišnjice rodjenja, Hrvatsko pravo, Zagreb, 17/1925., no. 5031
16. Edmund von Glaise-Horstenau, Die Katastrophe. Die Zertrümmerung Österreich-Ungarns und das Werden der Nachfolgestaaten,
Zürich – Leipzig – Wien 1929, pp. 302–303.
17. Budisavljević Srđan, Stvaranje Države SHS, (Creation of the state of SHS), Zagreb, 1958, p. 132.-133.
18. F. Milobar Slava dr. Aleksandru Horvatu!, Hrvatsko pravo, 20/1928., no. 5160
19. S. Matković, "Tko je bio Ivo Frank?", Politički zatvorenik, Zagreb, 17/2007., no. 187, 23.
20. Hrvatska Država, newspaper Public proclamation of the Sabor 29.10.1918. Issued 29.10.1918. no. 299. p. 1.
21. Narodne novine, br. 56/90, 135/97, 8/98 – pročišćeni tekst, 113/2000, 124/2000 – pročišćeni tekst, 28/2001, 41/2001 – pročišćeni
tekst, 55/2001 – ispravak
22. Horne, C. F., ed. (1923). Source Records of the Great War: 1918, the Year of Victory. Vol. VI. New York: National Alumni. p. 385.
OCLC 793458451 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/793458451).
23. Gombás, I. (2002). Kings and Queens of Hungary, Princes of Transylvania. Budapest: Corvina. ISBN 9789631347593.
24. Werner, H. W. (2008). "Abdanken? Nie – nie – nie!" (http://diepresse.com/home/politik/zeitgeschichte/428688/index.do?from=suche.
intern.portal). Die Presse (in German). Vienna. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
25. Portisch, H. (1989). Österreich I: die unterschätzte Republik (in German). Vienna: Kremayr & Scheriau. p. 117.
ISBN 9783218004855.
26. Brook-Shepherd, Gordon. The Last Habsburg. p. 267.
27. Brook-Shepherd, Gordon (17 January 2004). Uncrowned Emperor - The Life and Times of Otto von Habsburg. London: Hambledon
& London. ISBN 978-1852854393.
28. "Charles Carried into Exile on a British Ship As Napoleon Was; Zita to Bear Another Heir" (https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/times
machine/1921/11/05/98766363.pdf) (PDF). The New York Times. 5 November 1921. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
29. "Charles St. Helena Likely to be Funchal" (https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1921/11/06/107032370.pdf) (PDF). The
New York Times. 6 November 1921. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
30. Blessed Emperor Charles, Prince of Peace for a United Europe. Archdiocese of Vienna K1238/05. 6 July 2005.
31. "Charles of Austria Dies of Pneumonia in exile on Madera" (https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1922/04/02/10299279
2.pdf) (PDF). The New York Times. Associated Press. 2 April 1922. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
32. Hannes Leidinger, " Historiography 1918-Today (Austria-Hungary)" International encyclopedia of the First World War (Freie
Universität Berlin, 2017) DOI: 10.15463/ie1418.10326
33. see online (https://www.dw.com/en/historians-question-the-beatification-of-blessed-charles/a-1092974)
34. Original text here. Marcel Le Goff, Anatole France à La Béchellerie - Propos et souvenirs 1914-1924 (Léo Delteil, Paris, 1924), p.
166.
35. Hindenburg, Paul von (1920). Aus meinem Leben (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/30695/30695-pdf.pdf) [In My Life] (PDF) (in
German). Leipzig: S. Hirzel. p. 163 (pdf page 165).
36. The Forgotten: Catholics of the Soviet Empire from Lenin Through Stalin, Christopher Lawrence Zugge, Syracuse University Press,
2001, p. 208: "Karl of Austria-Hungary, who preceded Lenin in death on 1 April 1922, was opened fifty years later to being the cause
of his beatification, his body was discovered to be miraculously incorrupt." https://books.google.com/books?
id=HnUnJ7X10BMC&pg=PA208 Accessed 9 January 2017
37. "Miracle" (https://www.emperorcharles.org/beatification-miracle). Blessed Karl of Austria. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
38. Sondhaus, Lawrence (29 April 2011). World War One: The Global Revolution. Cambridge University Press. p. 483. ISBN 978-
0521736268.
39. "Beatification of Five Servants of God; Homily of John Paul II" (https://web.archive.org/web/20110905061421/https://www.vatican.v
a/holy_father/john_paul_ii/homilies/2004/documents/hf_jp-ii_hom_20041003_beatifications_en.html). 3 October 2004. Archived
from the original (https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/homilies/2004/documents/hf_jp-ii_hom_20041003_beatifications_e
n.html) on 5 September 2011.
40. "Pope Benedict XV's Peace Proposal - World War I Document Archive" (https://wwi.lib.byu.edu/index.php/Pope_Benedict_XV's_Pea
ce_Proposal). Wwi.lib.byu.edu. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
41. "Emperor and mystic nun beatified" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3710810.stm). BBC News. 3 October 2004. Retrieved
20 October 2014.
42. "Historiker: Giftgas-Einsatzbefehl durch Karl I. war "Notwehr" " (http://derstandard.at/1808110?sap=2&_seite=3) [Historian: poison
gas use command by Charles I was "self-defense"]. Der Standard. 5 October 2004. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
43. "Why Canonize an Emperor?" (https://www.emperorcharles.org/why-canonize-an-emperor). Blessed Karl of Austria. Retrieved
13 August 2023.
44. Did Bl. Karl of Austria Use Poison Gas? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejyOmKPq9zg), retrieved 13 August 2023
45. Francji, Polska Misja Katolicka we. "Charles of Habsburg - In his Honor, Wojtyła was Karol" (https://polskifr.fr/duchowa-strona/charle
s-of-habsburg-in-his-honor-wojtyla-was-karol/). polskifr.fr (in Polish). Retrieved 13 August 2023.
46. "Cause for Canonization" (https://www.emperorcharles.org/cause-for-canonization). Blessed Karl of Austria. Retrieved 13 August
2023.
47. Goodman, Tanya (8 February 2008). "Miracle in our midst: Central Florida woman's cure may lead to sainthood for Blessed Karl of
Austria" (https://web.archive.org/web/20100402102607/http://www.thefloridacatholic.org/orl/2008_orl/2008_orlarticles/20080208_orl
_miracle_midst.php). Florida Catholic. Archived from the original (http://www.thefloridacatholic.org/orl/2008_orl/2008_orlarticles/200
80208_orl_miracle_midst.php) on 2 April 2010.
48. Pinsky, Mark I. (8 February 2008). "Baptist woman from Kissimmee edges Austro-Hungarian emperor toward Roman Catholic
sainthood" (http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/orl-baptist-saint-miracle-020108-story.html). Orlando Sentinel.
Retrieved 20 October 2014.
49. "Historians Question the Beatification of Blessed Charles" (http://www.dw.com/en/historians-question-the-beatification-of-blessed-ch
arles/a-1092974). Deutsche Welle.
50. "Austria's Holy Uproar: Vatican beatification of World War I emperor triggers spirited debate" (http://www.nbcnews.com/id/6126292/n
s/world_news/t/austrias-holy-uproar/). NBC News.
51. "Kaiser Karl Gebetsliga für den Völkerfrieden" (http://www.emperor-charles.org) [Emperor Charles Prayer League for the Harmony
of Peoples] (in German). Emperor-charles.org. 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
52. "Blessed Karl of Austria" (https://dclatinmass.com/tag/blessed-karl-of-austria/).
53. "The Order of Malta Federal Association, USA is a lay religious order of the Catholic Church" (https://www.orderofmaltafederal.org/th
ree-day-symposium-introduces-blessed-karl-of-austria?journal=26).
54. Bogle 2005, p. 35.
55. Bogle 2005, p. 54.
56. Bogle 2005, p. 137.
57. Bogle 2005, p. 143.
58. Bogle 2005, p. 144.
59. Kaiser Joseph II. harmonische Wahlkapitulation mit allen den vorhergehenden Wahlkapitulationen der vorigen Kaiser und Könige.
Since 1780 official title used for princes ("zu Ungarn, Böhmen, Dalmatien, Kroatien, Slawonien, Königlicher Erbprinz")
60. Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie (http://alex.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/alex?aid=shb&datum=1915&
page=20&size=45) (1915), Genealogy p. 2
61. Croatian Coronation Oath of 1916. pp. 2–4, "Emperor of Austria, Hungary and Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia Apostolic King"
62. Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie (1915), "Ritter-orden" p. 44 (http://alex.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/a
lex?aid=shb&datum=1915&page=392&size=45)
63. Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie (1918), "Ritter-orden" p. 52 (http://alex.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/a
lex?aid=shb&datum=1918&page=426&size=45)
64. "Foreign Pour le Mérite Awards: Foreign Awards During World War I" (https://web.archive.org/web/20191031062935/https://pourlem
erite.org/). pourlemerite.org. Archived from the original (https://pourlemerite.org/) on 31 October 2019. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
65. Hof- und - Staatshandbuch des Königreichs Bayern (1909), "Königliche Orden". p. 9
66. Justus Perthes, Almanach de Gotha 1923 (1923) p. 6 (https://archive.org/details/almanachdegotha00unse_94/page/6)
67. "Knights of the Order of Bravery" (http://www.boiniznamena.com/?action=article&id=155) (in Bulgarian).
68. "Stamp: King Charles IV (1887-1922) (Hungary) (Coronation of Charles IV and Queen Zita) Mi:HU 189,Sn:HU 105,Yt:HU
163,Sg:HU 268,AFA:HU 163,PHu:HU 237" (https://colnect.com/en/stamps/stamp/190079-King_Charles_IV_1887-1922-Coronation_
of_Charles_IV_and_Queen_Zita-Hungary).
Further reading
Bogle, James and Joanna (2005). A Heart for Europe: The Lives of Emperor Charles and Empress Zita of Austria-Hungary.
Gracewing Publishing. ISBN 978-0852441732.
G. Brook-Shepherd, The Last Empress: The Life & Times of Zita of Austria-Hungary, 1892–1989, 1991. ISBN 0-00-215861-2.
Coulombe, Charles, Blessed Charles of Austria: A Holy Emperor and His Legacy, (TAN Books, 2020).
Hopwood, Robert F. "The Conflict between Count Czernin and Emperor Charles in 1918." Austrian History Yearbook 4 (1968): 28–
43.
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).
Wawro, Geoffrey. A Mad Catastrophe: The Outbreak of World War I and the Collapse of the Habsburg Empire (2015).
(in German) Bernhard A. Macek, Kaiser Karl I. Der letzte Kaiser Österreichs. Ein biografischer Bilderbogen, Sutton Erfurt, 2012.
ISBN 978-3-9540-0076-0.
(in Italian) Flavia Foradini, Otto d'Asburgo. L'ultimo atto di una dinastia, mgs press, Trieste: 2004. ISBN 88-89219-04-1.
External links
Blessed Emperor Charles League of Prayers (http://www.emperorcharles.org)
Robert Rill: Charles I, Emperor of Austria (https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/charles_i_emperor_of_austria/), in:
1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War (https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/home.html/).
Newspaper clippings about Charles I of Austria (http://purl.org/pressemappe20/folder/pe/009187) in the 20th Century Press
Archives of the ZBW
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9/24/23, 4:30 PM Charles I of Austria - Wikipedia

Early life Predecessor Franz Joseph I

Charles was born on 17 August 1887, in the Castle of Persenbeug, in Lorraine

Trialism and Croatia

Proclamations of November 1918

Attempts to reclaim throne of Hungary

Exile in Madeira, Portugal, and death

Tomb of Charles I in Madeira

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Order of Bravery, Grade I, 2nd Class[67]

Name Birth Death Notes

Archduchess 3 January 2 October 1971

married (1949) Prince Heinrich Karl Vincenz of Liechtenstein (5

13. Princess Amalie Auguste of Bavaria

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