Emperor Karl I

Biography

Karl I (17 August 1887 – 1 April 1922) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary (as Charles IV, Hungarian: IV. Károly), 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 after 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...