The Fortuitous Fate Of Karl Of Austria

Blessed Karl of Austria, also known as Charles I, was the last emperor of Austria-Hungary. He was born in 1887 and ascended the throne in 1916 during World War I. A deeply religious man, he saw his role as a commission from God and worked for peace for his people. He was known for his devotion to his wife, Empress Zita, and their eight children, as well as his commitment to social welfare and helping the less fortunate. After his exile and failed attempts to reclaim the throne, he died in 1922 at the age of 34. Pope Saint John Paul II proclaimed him Blessed in 2004, and today, devotion to him extends across six continents.

Karl's childhood and early adulthood

Karl I of Austria, also known as Charles I, was born on 17 August 1887 at Schloss Persenbeug in Lower Austria. He was the eldest son of Archduke Otto and Maria Josefa of Saxony. Karl's father, Otto, led a scandalous existence that frequently made headlines in the newspapers. On the other hand, Karl was primarily influenced by his devout mother, who lived a retiring life.

Karl received a solid education from private tutors before attending the Schottengymnasium in Vienna, an elite secondary school run by Benedictine monks. He then studied at the University of Prague, though he did not obtain a degree as this would have been incompatible with his status as a member of the imperial dynasty.

Following the custom of the time, Karl served as an officer in the Imperial-Royal Army. He spent several years in various garrisons in Bohemia and Galicia. Due to his uncle's morganatic marriage, which excluded him from the succession, and the early death of his father, Karl suddenly found himself second in line to the throne. However, his great-uncle, Emperor Franz Joseph, excluded him from political decision-making and insisted that he continue serving in the army.

In 1911, Karl married Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma. They had met as children but did not see each other for almost ten years. Zita was the daughter of the last ruler of the minor northern Italian duchy of Parma, who resided in exile in Lower Austria. She came from a sovereign princely family, was a devout Catholic, and had been raised to believe in monarchical legitimism. The wedding took place at the summer residence of Zita's parents on 21 October 1911, and the couple went on to have eight children.

His marriage to Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma

Charles I of Austria, also known as Blessed Karl of Austria, married Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma on 21 October 1911 at the Schwarzau castle in Lower Austria. The couple first met as children and reconnected years later when Charles visited his aunt at Františkovy Lázně. Charles was under pressure to marry, and Zita, who shared his devout Catholicism, had an impeccable royal lineage.

On their wedding day, Charles told Zita, "Now, we must help each other get to Heaven." They went on to have eight children together.

Charles became heir presumptive to the Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria in 1914 after the assassination of his uncle, Archduke Franz Ferdinand. In 1916, Charles acceded to the throne, becoming the last Emperor of Austria-Hungary. Zita became the last Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary.

Following the end of World War I in 1918, the Habsburgs were deposed, and the former empire became home to the states of Austria, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia. Charles and Zita went into exile in Switzerland. After failed attempts to restore royal rule in Hungary, they were exiled to the Portuguese island of Madeira, where Charles died in 1922.

Zita, who was widowed at the age of 29, never remarried. She devoted her life to her children and her people in the war-torn countries of Austria-Hungary. During World War II, she fled to the United States with her family to escape Hitler. While in North America, she collected food, clothing, blankets, and money to send back to Europe to help those affected by the war.

Karl's ascension to the throne

Karl I, also known as Charles I, ascended the throne of Austria-Hungary in November 1916, during the tumult of World War I. He was 29 years old. Karl became the heir to the throne after the assassination of his uncle, Franz Ferdinand, in 1914, which sparked the hostilities that led to World War I.

Karl was the son of Archduke Otto of Austria and Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony. At the time of his ascension, his great-uncle, Franz Joseph, was Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary. With the death of Crown Prince Rudolph in 1889, followed by the death of Karl's grandfather in 1896, Franz Joseph's eldest son, Franz Ferdinand, became heir presumptive.

In 1911, Karl married Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma. They had met as children but did not see each other for almost ten years, as each pursued their education. They reconnected when Karl visited his aunt at Franzensbad while his regiment was stationed nearby. They were married at the Bourbon-Parma castle of Schwarzau in Austria on 21 October 1911, and their first son, Otto, was born the following year.

At the outbreak of World War I, Karl was seconded to Field Army Command, which was led by Archduke Friedrich and located in Teschen (Cieszyn) in Silesia. He was later promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Field-Marshal (equivalent to Major-General) and participated in offensives at the front in Galicia. There, he witnessed the growing military exhaustion of the Imperial and Royal Army, fuelling his conviction that continuing to fight alongside the German Empire would lead to the downfall of the monarchy.

Upon ascending the throne, Karl soon showed that he was inadequately prepared for his role as ruler. He was keen to distinguish himself as a modern monarch and 'people's emperor' but overestimated his capabilities. His actions were characterised by overzealousness and a lack of perspective, earning him the epithet of 'Karl the Sudden'. Despite his good intentions, his image as a ruler was obscured by his excessive sense of mission and attachment to legitimist ideas.

Karl assumed personal command of the armed forces, moved the military command centre to Baden near Vienna, and dismissed the powerful chief of staff, Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf. By reconvening Parliament, he ended the army's rule over civil affairs of state. In Hungary, Karl's ability to implement reforms was severely limited by his hasty coronation, during which he swore an oath on the existing constitution.

Alarmed by the Russian Revolution, Karl pressed for the dissolution of the alliance with Germany and the conclusion of a separate peace. At the end of 1916, he entered into secret negotiations with France, using one of Zita's brothers, Sixtus of Bourbon-Parma, as an intermediary. However, these negotiations fell through as the Allies insisted on Austrian recognition of Italian territorial claims, which Karl refused.

Despite Karl's efforts to preserve the empire by returning it to federalism and championing Austro-Slavism, Austria-Hungary continued to disintegrate. Czechoslovakia and the State of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs were proclaimed, and Hungary broke monarchic ties with Austria by the end of October 1918. Following the Armistice of 11 November 1918, Karl "renounced any participation" in government affairs but did not formally abdicate. The Republic of German-Austria was proclaimed the following day, and in April 1919, the National Assembly formally dethroned the Habsburgs and banished Karl from German-Austria for life.

Karl spent the remaining years of his life in exile, attempting to restore the monarchy. He made two unsuccessful attempts to reclaim the Hungarian throne in 1921 but was opposed by Hungary's regent, Admiral Miklós Horthy. Karl was exiled again, this time to the Portuguese island of Madeira, where he died of respiratory failure in 1922 at the age of 34.

Exile, restoration attempts and death

Exile, Restoration Attempts, and Death

Despite working tirelessly, the war continued to erode the empire until it collapsed on November 11, 1918. Karl was asked to abdicate but refused, stating that his crown was a sacred trust from God, and he would never betray Him, his subjects, or his dynastic inheritance. His ministers finally coerced him to withdraw from personal participation in government, and he went into seclusion with his family at a family-hunting lodge in Eckartsau. However, the new socialist government continued to deem Emperor Karl a threat because he had not abdicated, so they sent him into exile in Switzerland.

In Switzerland, the family lived a quiet, humble lifestyle for a time—until the Emperor heard from many of his subjects begging him to return to his Hungarian Kingdom and take the reins of power once more. Karl made two attempts to regain his throne. During the first attempt, his regent, Admiral Horthy, persuaded the Emperor that the time was not yet auspicious, and that he should return to Switzerland until all the necessary preparations were made. When it became clear that Horthy had betrayed him and planned to retain power illegally, Karl made a second attempt, which had the support of the people who appealed to his coronation oath.

Furthermore, a "White Terror" against Jews, union members, and political opponents was taking place in Hungary. However, Horthy once again betrayed his true monarch, arresting him and handing him over to the Entente as a prisoner. Zita accompanied him on the second attempt, and joined him on the long journey into final exile on the island of Madeira.

On Madeira, the Imperial Couple was penniless, without any means to support themselves. Their children, who were initially kept separated from them, did not join their parents for several months. Finally, the family was reunited on February 2, 1922, and the family took comfort in each other's presence. Their joy was short-lived, however, as a few weeks later, Karl became ill with pneumonia and influenza. Emperor Karl prayed and suffered for several days, saying: "I must suffer like this so that my peoples can come together again." When he realized he was dying, he called his son, Archduke Otto, to his bedside to say goodbye and to show him "how a Catholic and Emperor conducts himself when dying."

On April 1, 1922, he whispered to his wife, "I long so much to go home with you. Why won't they let us go home?" She held him in her arms for most of the morning, and he received Holy Communion and the Sacrament of the Dying. The Eucharist was exposed in his bedroom, and Karl tried to hold a crucifix in his hands. Shortly after noon, he tried to kiss the crucifix and whispered: "Thy Holy Will be done. Jesus, Jesus, come! Yes—yes. My Jesus, Thy Will be done—Jesus." He whispered "Jesus" a final time and expired. The Peace Emperor, husband, father, and man of faith, was dead at the age of 34.

The cause for Karl's canonization

In 1972, his tomb was opened, and his body was found to be incorrupt. In 2003, Pope John Paul II proclaimed Charles "venerable" and "blessed", and devotion to him now extends to six continents.

In 2008, a Church tribunal recognized a second miracle attributed to Charles I. A "devout Baptist" from Orlando, Florida, was allegedly cured after several recent converts to Roman Catholicism in Louisiana prayed for Charles's intercession.

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