Charles I (German: Karl Franz Josef Ludwig Hubert Georg Otto Maria, Hungarian: Károly Ferenc József Lajos Hubert György Ottó Mária; 17 August 1887 – 1 April 1922) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary (as Charles IV), and the ruler of the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from November 1916 until the monarchy was abolished in November 1918. He was 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.
Charles succeeded to the thrones in November 1916 following the death of his great-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 spent the early part of his exile in Switzerland. He spent the remaining years of his life attempting to restore the monarchy. He made two attempts to reclaim the Hungarian throne in 1921, but failed due to the opposition of Hungary's Calvinist regent, Admiral Miklós Horthy. 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.
Like all male members of the royal family, Charles had military training. His career began in 1903 when, at the age of 16, he became a lieutenant in the 1st Regiment of the Imperial and Royal Uhlans, from where he was transferred to the 7th Regiment of the Imperial and Royal Dragoons in 1905. He quickly moved up the ladder. In 1906 he became a First Lieutenant and in 1909, a Captain. Shortly before Otto’s birth, he reaches the rank of major and is assigned to the Imperial and Royal 39th Infantry Regiment as Commander of the 1st Battalion. Before the outbreak of the First World War, having received general staff training, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and became a staff officer in the Imperial and Royal 1st Hussars Regiment. After the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, he becomes heir to the throne, and at the start of military operations he is already a Colonel at the headquarters of the Armeeoberkommando (“Army Higher Command”) in Przemyśl.
He was considered to be extremely disciplined and a good horseman, always addressing his soldiers with empathy and directness during his visits to the front. In 1915 he was already Major-General. At the start of the following Austro-Hungarian offensive in South Tyrol in 1916, he was Lieutenant General in the post of corps commander, which he had requested himself. He was concerned with the sparing of military manpower and emphasised the rapid and professional care of soldiers and the wounded. In the offensive launched on 15 May 1916 in the Asiago and Arsiero area against the 1st Italian Army, he achieves significant successes. Later, the Brusilov offensive and the invasion of Romania in Transylvania put Charles first in the position of army commander and then in the position of army group commander. As a result of the successes, he was promoted to Cavalry General in August, and a few days before the death of Franz Joseph, the old Emperor promoted him to General-Colonel.
Charles I at the conferment of the Military Order of Maria Theresa, among his officers, August 17, 1917 in front of Wartholz Castle in Reichenau.
It was primarily his Commanding Officer post on the Italian front that earned him the Grand Cross. The surviving sources of the Chapter of the Military Order of Maria Theresa contain only the fact of the conferment and Charles’s letter of acceptance, which he wrote in Trento on 17 January 1917. Along with the introductory praise, he pays tribute to the soldiers of the Edelweiss (XX Corps), and concludes his short letter with the following lines: “If, as Grand Master, I have the right to pin this highest military decoration on my chest, it is only the plea of well-deserved leaders and loyal, battle-hardened troops that makes me feel proud to wear the Grand Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa in the face of the enemy. It is with this elevated spirit that I place myself on the Grand Cross, expressing my gratitude and greetings to you.” The letter was filed at the Chapter of the Order on 24 January and was handed over by Colonel Egon Zeidler-Daublebsky von Sterneck, who later became one of the Emperor’s chief advisers. During this period, he was working in His Majesty’s Military Office, and from became Head of the Office on 18 May 1918.
Emperor and King Charles in Constantinople with the Grand Cross breast star, 1918.
