Last Habsburg monarch, Emperor Charles I of Austria and King Charles IV of Hungary, who twice tried to regain the Hungarian throne in 1921
In November 1916 he succeeded his grand-uncle Franz Joseph as Emperor of Austria (as Charles I) and King of Hungary (as Charles IV). His secret peace negotiations with the Allies failed, and in the autumn of 1918 the empire fell apart. On 11 November in Austria and on 13 November in Hungary he renounced participation in affairs of state, carefully avoiding the word abdication. After going into exile in Switzerland in 1919, he twice tried to regain the Hungarian throne, in March and October 1921, but failed in the face of opposition from Regent Horthy. Arrested after the second attempt, he was exiled to the Portuguese island of Madeira, where he died of respiratory failure in 1922. The Catholic Church beatified him in 2004.
Activities and affiliations
- 1916–1918 Monarchs and royalty · Austria state institutions
- 1916–1918 Monarchs and royalty · Hungary
Career Timeline
- 1916Becomes Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary
- 1918Renounces participation in affairs of state
- 1919Exile in Switzerland
- 1921Two attempts to regain the Hungarian throne
- 1921–1922Exile on Madeira; dies
- 2004Beatified
Related historical events
- 1918–1923The aftermath of the First World War: peace treaties and the revolutionary waveLast Austrian emperorIssued the People’s Manifesto, then withdrew from affairs of state in November 1918 without abdicating.
- 1918.10–1919.08The Hungarian Soviet RepublicKingAppointed János Hadik prime minister on 30 October 1918, whereupon the soldiers swore allegiance to the National Council, and named Károlyi prime minister the next day.
- 1919–1938The Horthy regime: from the White Terror to the turn to the rightLast kingTried twice, in March and October 1921, to regain his throne; rebuffed by Horthy and stopped at Budaörs, he was exiled to Madeira.