Archduke of Austria-Este
| House of Habsburg-Este Casa d'Asburgo-Este Haus Habsburg-Este House of Austria-Este |
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|---|---|
Motto: "Dextera Domini exaltavit me"
(English: "The right hand of the Lord has exalted me") |
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| Country |
 Austria Belgium ItalyFormer countries
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| Parent house |
House of Habsburg-Lorraine House of Este |
| Titles | |
| Style(s) | "Imperial and Royal Highness" "Majesty" "Grace" |
| Founded | 1771 |
| Founder | Ferdinand of Habsburg-Lorraine and Maria Beatrice d'Este |
| Final ruler | Francis V, Duke of Modena |
| Current head | Prince Lorenz of Belgium |
| Deposition | 1859 (Annexation of Italy) |
| Ethnicity | Austro-Italian |
The House of Habsburg-Este (Italian: Casa d'Asburgo-Este; German: Haus Habsburg-Este), holders of the title of Archduke of Austria-Este (Italian: Arciduca d'Austria-Este; German: Erzherzog von Österreich-Este), is a cadet branch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine and also descends from the House of Este. It was created in 1771 with the marriage between Ferdinand of Habsburg-Lorraine and Maria Beatrice d'Este, only daughter of the Duke of Modena, Ercole III d'Este. After the death of Ercole III in 1803, that branch of the Este family's male line ended, and the Habsburg-Estes inherited his possessions in Italy.
Ercole III d'Este, the last Este duke of Modena in the direct male line, was deposed in 1796 by the French, and his Italian principality was incorporated into the Cisalpine Republic, later the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy. In 1814, French rule in Italy ended. Modena was to be returned to his daughter Maria Beatrice and her son Francis of Austria-Este after Ercole's death. Previously, Ercole had been compensated with the duchy of Breisgau in southern Germany; the Habsburgs ceded this province to him in anticipation of it falling eventually to the Habsburg family again, since Ercole's sole daughter was married to a cadet Habsburg, Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Este. Ercole died in 1803 and Breisgau was indeed inherited by his daughter and her husband, but they lost it in 1805 to the expanding Grand Duchy of Baden.
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