Franz Joseph ascended the throne of the Austrian Empire in 1848. His concept of rulership was informed by a great sense...

Franz II was the last emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. After Napoleon proclaimed the French...

Franz Stephan married Maria Theresa in 1736, thus founding the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. In 1740, following the...

Franz Ferdinand, a nephew of Emperor Franz Joseph, had become the favourite for heir to the throne after the suicide of...

The younger brother of Emperor Franz Joseph, Maximilian was viceroy of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia until 1859. He...

The regency of Ferdinand Karl as sovereign prince of Tyrol is generally seen in a very critical light: he is described...

Archduke Ferdinand was groomed from an early age by his father Emperor Ferdinand III as his successor on the throne...

Ferdinand succeeded his father Leopold as regent in Tuscany in 1791, after the latter became emperor. His life was...

Ferdinand was introduced to political duties at an early age. During the Thirty Years’ War, after the murder of the...

Appointed regent of Bohemia by his father, Ferdinand I, after the latter’s death in 1564 he ruled over Tyrol and the...

Ferdinand was a belligerent and ruthless monarch: as ruler over Inner Austria he relentlessly implemented the re-...

On the basis of agreements concluded with his powerful brother Emperor Charles V, Ferdinand I was assigned the...

A weak leader, during his reign Ferdinand stood in the shadow of his state chancellor, Prince Metternich, and the so-...

Ernest fought over his share of the Habsburg patrimony with his brothers William and Leopold IV. He became regent over...

Elisabeth, ‘Sisi’ to her family, was the daughter of Duke Max in Bavaria and Duchess Ludovika. She was betrothed to her...

Eleonora Gonzaga, also called Eleonora of Mantua, was from the ducal family of Mantua. On her marriage to Emperor...

A member of the ducal family of Mantua, Eleonore Gonzaga became the third wife of Emperor Ferdinand III in 1651. She...

Charles was installed as heir to the Spanish Habsburgs in 1703 but lost the crown in the war of succession. As...

Charles V was one of the most powerful European rulers of all times, reigning over territories in Europe and the...

At the partition of the Habsburg domains under the sons of Emperor Ferdinand I the youngest son Charles was assigned...

He succeeded his father Philip IV at the age of four. The genetic outcome of the constant consanguineous marriages...

The son of Ernest ‘the Iron’, he ruled over the Habsburg Swabian territories from 1446, but demanded a greater share of...

The only son of Duke Albrecht III, he initially shared power with his cousin Wilhelm. However, he became increasingly...

The early years of Duke Albrecht III’s reign were marked by the efforts of his brother Leopold III to divide the...