Franz Ferdinand, a nephew of Emperor Franz Joseph, had become the favourite for heir to the throne after the suicide of...
Franz Ferdinand
Archduke of Austria-Este
Franz Stephan married Maria Theresa in 1736, thus founding the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. In 1740, following the...
Franz I Stephan of Lorraine
Roman-German Emperor
1745–1765
Franz II was the last emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. After Napoleon proclaimed the French...
Franz II (I)
Roman-German emperor and Emperor of Austria
1792–1835
Franz Joseph ascended the throne of the Austrian Empire in 1848. His concept of rulership was informed by a great sense...
Franz Joseph I
Emperor of Austria
1848–1916
The son of Emperor Franz II (I) and younger brother of Emperor Ferdinand I, he was a member of the Privy State...
Franz Karl
Archduke of Austria
Lasting fifty-three years, Frederick’s reign was the longest of any king or emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. He was...
Frederick III
Roman-German Emperor
1452–1493
Frederick ‘the Fair’, son of King Albrecht I, endeavoured to succeed his father as Roman-German King. However, in 1322...
Frederick III, ‘the Fair’
Roman-German Anti-king
Frederick ruled over the Swabian territories and Tyrol at the beginning of the fifteenth century. There he gradually...
Frederick IV, ‘Empty-Pockets’
Duke of Austria
The third child of Philip the Fair and Joanna of Castile and Aragon, Isabella grew up with her aunt Margaret in the...
Isabella of Austria
Queen of Denmark and Norway
Highly educated and musical, Isabella of Parma grew up in Spain and Parma. She entered a politically arranged marriage...
Isabella of Parma

* 1741, † 1763

Donna Juana (Joan) of Castile and Aragon was married to Philip the Fair in an alliance arranged between the Spanish...
Joan ‘the Mad’
Queen of Castile and Aragon
A brother of Emperor Franz II (I), Johann played an important role in the struggle to liberate Tyrol led by Andreas...
Johann
Archduke of Austria
The nephew of the Habsburg king Albrecht I, he received the epithet of ‘the Parricide’, meaning ‘killer of a relative...
John ‘the Parricide’
Duke of Austria
The ‘young court’ around the ambitious Joseph pressed for political reforms even while Emperor Leopold I was still on...
Joseph I
Roman-German Emperor
1705–1711
Joseph II is one of the best-known representatives of Enlightened Absolutism. As a monarch he was indebted to the ideas...
Joseph II
Roman-German Emperor
1764–1790
Archduke Karl, a son of Leopold II, was originally destined for the Church. However, in his youth he developed military...
Karl
Archduke of Austria
Karl became the heir to the throne after the death of his uncle Franz Ferdinand in 1914, and emperor following the...
Karl I
Emperor of Austria
1916–1918
Karl Ludwig spent the whole of his life overshadowed by his older brothers Emperor Franz Joseph and Maximilian of...
Karl Ludwig
Archduke of Austria
Born after the death of his father King Albrecht II, Ladislaus received the epithet of ‘Postumus’. Only a few weeks...
Ladislaus ‘Postumus’
King of Hungary and King of Bohemia
1440–1457
Leopold I became emperor after the sudden death of his brother Ferdinand IV. Originally destined for a career in the...
Leopold I
Roman-German Emperor
1658–1705
The son of King Albrecht I, Leopold pursued his father’s murderers remorselessly. Afterwards he promoted the election...
Leopold I ‘the Glorious’
Duke of Austria
As a ruler Leopold II was prepared to initiate reforms. Following the death of his father, he became regent of the...
Leopold II
Roman-German emperor
1790–1792
During the 1360s Leopold administered Tyrol and the Habsburg Swabian territories. However, he pressed for greater...
Leopold III, ‘the Just’
Duke of Austria
The life of Duke Leopold IV was marked by the numerous family conflicts that arose in the line of his father, Duke...
Leopold IV
Duke of Austria

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