Charles I of Austria

Charles I became Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary upon the death of his great-uncle Franz Joseph I. He inherited a war-weary empire in the midst of World War I, facing military defeat and internal disintegration.

Charles I conducted secret peace negotiations with France through his brother-in-law, Prince Sixtus of Bourbon-Parma. He proposed supporting French claims to Alsace-Lorraine in exchange for a separate peace. The negotiations failed when Germany refused to cede territory, and the affair was leaked, damaging Charles's credibility.

Following the collapse of Austria-Hungary at the end of World War I, Charles I issued a proclamation renouncing participation in state affairs but did not formally abdicate. He went into exile in Switzerland, ending over 600 years of Habsburg rule.

Charles I made two attempts to regain the Hungarian throne, traveling to Hungary in March and October 1921. Both attempts failed due to lack of support from the Hungarian regent Mikl