Farewell Facts About Charles I, The Man Who Ended An Empire
Charles I was the last Emperor of Austria, and watching his dramatic decline is like watching a car crash in slow motion. It's so brutal, but you can't look away...
1. He Had One Love
The final Habsburg to rule over Austria, Charles I's fall from grace was slow, painful, and inevitable. The tragic story of his steady decline includes backstabbing politicians, an epidemic, and even a train escape. Thankfully, his story also has romance.
Charles had only one love, and his last words to her should go down in romance history.
2. It Was Like A Fairy Tale
On August 17, 1887, Charles I—originally named Karl—was born near the Danube river in the Castle of Persenbeug, Austria. His father was Archduke Otto Franz and his mother was Princess Maria Josepha. The reason baby Charles' birthplace was a castle was that his grand-uncle—Franz Joseph—was the Emperor Of Austria.
Little Charles had blue blood, but he was not directly in line to be an Emperor. Then one dark day changed his fate forever.
3. There Was A Shooter
The reason Charles never really had much of a chance to be emperor was because of his uncle, the Emperor's son Archduke Franz Ferdinand. But on June 28, 1914 a teenager named Gavrilo Princip put an end to Franz’s chance to be emperor. In Sarajevo, Princip assassinated both the Archduke and his wife in their car.
The attack threw Europe into chaos—and an unprepared Charles into the role of heir to the Austrian Empire.
4. He Wanted A Royal
Charles wasn't meant to become emperor, but he was already prepared for it in one way: He'd already married a princess, Zita of Bourbon-Parma. With his royal bride, his children would be eligible to succeed him as Emperor of Austria.
The weird thing was that the princess Charles chose had more than a few skeletons in her family’s closet.
