Charles I and IV | |
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Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, Bohemia, Dalmatia, and Croatia (more...) |
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Reign | 21 November 1916 – 11 November 1918 |
Coronation | 30 December 1916 |
Predecessor | Franz Joseph I |
Successor | Monarchy abolished |
Prime Ministers | |
Born |
Persenbeug Castle, Persenbeug-Gottsdorf, Lower Austria, Austria-Hungary |
17 August 1887
Died | 1 April 1922 Madeira, Portuguese Republic |
(aged 34)
Burial | Igreja Nossa Senhora do Monte, Madeira Heart buried in Muri Abbey, Switzerland |
Spouse | Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma |
Issue | |
House | Habsburg-Lorraine |
Father | Archduke Otto Franz of Austria |
Mother | Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony |
Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Blessed Charles of Austria-Hungary | |
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Emperor; Layman | |
Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
Beatified | 3 October 2004, Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City by Pope John Paul II |
Feast | 21 October |
Attributes |
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Styles of Charles I of Austria |
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Reference style | His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty |
Spoken style | Your Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty |
Alternative style | Sir |
Charles I (Karl Franz Joseph Ludwig Hubert Georg Otto Maria; 17 August 1887 – 1 April 1922) was the last ruler of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He was the last Emperor of Austria, the last King of Hungary (as Charles IV), and the last monarch belonging to the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. After his uncle Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in 1914, Charles became the designated successor of the Emperor Franz Josef. Charles I 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.
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 great uncle Franz Joseph reigned as Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, and two years later his uncle Franz Ferdinand became heir presumptive.
As a child, Archduke Charles was reared a devout Roman 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.