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Otto von Habsburg
Crown Prince of Austria, Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia
Otto von Habsburg, Vienna, 1998.
Head of House of Habsburg
Reign	1 April 1922 – 1 January 2007
Predecessor	Charles I of Austria
Successor	Karl von Habsburg
Born	(1912-11-20)20 November 1912 Reichenau an der Rax, Austria-Hungary
Died	4 July 2011(2011-07-04) (aged 98) Pöcking, Germany
Spouse	Princess Regina of Saxe-Meiningen (1951–2010)
Issue	Andrea von Habsburg Monika von Habsburg Michaela von Habsburg Gabriela von Habsburg Walburga von Habsburg Karl von Habsburg Georg von Habsburg
House	House of Habsburg-Lorraine
Father	Charles I of Austria
Mother	Zita of Bourbon-Parma
Signature

Otto von Habsburg or Otto Habsburg-Lothringen (given names: Franz Joseph Otto Robert Maria Anton Karl Max Heinrich Sixtus Xavier Felix Renatus Ludwig Gaetan Pius Ignatius; 20 November 1912– 4 July 2011), also known as Archduke Otto of Austria, was the Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary, or more correctly, Austria, Hungary and Bohemia—what is now Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and large parts of Romania, Ukraine, Poland, and Italy—from 1916 to 1918. He became head of the House of Habsburg (or, strictly speaking, the House of Habsburg-Lorraine) upon the death of his father in 1922, and from the same time, the Habsburg pretender to the former Habsburg realms.

The eldest son of Charles I, the last Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, and his wife, Zita of Bourbon-Parma, Otto was born as third in line to the thrones, and with his father's ascent to the thrones in 1916, he was destined to himself become the Emperor.

Otto was politically active from the 1930s as an early proponent of European integration and a fierce opponent of nazism and communism. Otto would continue to enjoy considerable public support in many countries of the former Austria-Hungary; from 1931 to 1938, 1,603 Austrian municipalities named Otto an honorary citizen. He was Vice President (1957–1973) and President (1973–2004) of the International Paneuropean Union, and served as a Member of the European Parliament for the Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU) 1979–1999. In 1961, Francisco Franco offered him to become King of Spain, but he declined on account of the Habsburg dynasty's long absence from the Spanish throne. Otto von Habsburg played a central role in the revolutions of 1989, as a co-initiator of the Pan-European Picnic.

Otto was exiled in 1918, and grew up in Switzerland and Spain. His mother raised him according to the old curriculum of Austria-Hungary to become a Catholic monarch. From 1954, he lived in Bavaria in Germany. At the time of his death, he was a citizen of Germany, Austria, Hungary and Croatia.

Early life

Otto was born at Villa Wartholz in Reichenau an der Rax, Austria-Hungary. He was baptised Franz Joseph Otto Robert Maria Anton Karl Max Heinrich Sixtus Xavier Felix Renatus Ludwig Gaetan Pius Ignatius on 25 November 1912 at Villa Wartholz by the Prince-Archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Franz Xaver Nagl. His godfather was the Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria (represented by Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria); his godmother was his grandmother Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal.

In November 1916, Otto became Crown Prince of Austria, Hungary and Bohemia when his father, Archduke Charles, ascended to the throne. However, in 1918, at the end of the First World War, the monarchies were abolished, the Republics of Austria and Hungary founded instead, and the family was forced into exile. Hungary did become a kingdom again, but Charles was never to reascend the throne. Instead, Miklós Horthy ruled as regent until 1944, in a kingdom without a king.

Years in exile

Otto's family spent the subsequent years in Switzerland, later on the Portuguese island of Madeira, where Karl died prematurely in 1922, leaving the 9-year-old Otto pretender to the throne, and in the Basque town of Lekeitio. Meanwhile, the Austrian parliament had officially expelled the Habsburg dynasty and confiscated all the official property (Habsburg Law of 3 April 1919).

In 1935, Otto graduated from the Catholic University of Leuven, having studied social and political sciences.

From his father's death throughout the remainder of his time in exile, Otto considered himself the rightful emperor of Austria and stated this on many occasions. In 1937 he wrote,

“I know very well that the overwhelming majority of the Austrian population would like me to assume the heritage of the peace emperor, my beloved father, rather earlier than later. (...) The people have never cast a vote in favor of the republic. They have remained silent as long as they were exhausted from the long fight, and taken by surprise by the audacity of the revolutionaries of 1918 and 1919. They shook off their resignation when they realized that the revolution had raped their right to life and freedom. (...) Such trust places a heavy burden on me. I accept it readily. God willing, the hour of reunion between the Duke and the people will arrive soon.”

In 1949, Otto ennobled several people, granting them Austrian noble titles, although not recognized by the Austrian republic.

As he did not possess a passport, he was given a passport of the Principality of Monaco thanks to the intervention of Charles de Gaulle in 1946. As a Knight of Malta, the order also issued him a passport. Later he was given a Spanish diplomatic passport, which he used for travels.

Opposing the Nazi government

Austrian Royalty
House of Habsburg-Lorraine
Francis I (Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor)
Children include Archduchess Marie Louise Ferdinand I Archduchess Maria Leopoldina Archduchess Clementina Archduke Joseph Franz Archduchess Marie Caroline Archduke Franz Karl Archduchess Marie Anne Grandchildren include Franz Joseph I Archduke Maximilian Archduke Karl Ludwig Archduchess Maria Anna Archduke Ludwig Viktor Great-grandchildren include Archduke Franz Ferdinand Archduke Otto Franz Archduke Ferdinand Karl Archduchess Margarete Sophie Archduchess Maria Annunciata Archduchess Elisabeth Amalie Great-great-grandchildren include Charles I Archduke Maximilian Great-great-great-great-grandchildren include Archduchess Sophie
Ferdinand I
Franz Joseph I
Children Archduchess Sophie Archduchess Gisela Crown Prince Rudolf Archduchess Marie Valerie Grandchildren include Archduchess Elisabeth Marie
Charles I
Children include Crown Prince Otto Archduchess Adelheid Archduke Robert Archduke Felix Archduke Carl Ludwig Archduke Rudolf Archduchess Charlotte Archduchess Elisabeth Grandchildren include Archduchess Gabriela Archduchess Walburga Archduke Karl Archduke Georg Archduke Lorenz Archduchess Maria-Anna Archduke Simeon Great-Grandchildren include Archduchess Eleanore Archduke Ferdinand Zvonimir Archduke Amedeo
v t e

A fervent Austrian patriot, Otto opposed the Nazi Anschluss in Austria in 1938 (the Nazis codenamed their plan for a military invasion of Austria "Otto" because they planned to invade immediately if he was restored to the throne) and, sentenced to death by Hitler, chose to leave Europe altogether. Otto spent most of the war years in Washington, D.C. (1940–1944), after escaping from Belgium to Paris with his mother, former Empress Zita, and other family members. His cousins Max, Duke of Hohenberg, and Prince Ernst of Hohenberg were arrested in Vienna by the Gestapo and sent to a concentration camp until the end of the war. When Paris was in danger, the family left the French capital and moved to Portugal with a visa issued by Aristides de Sousa Mendes, the Portuguese consul in Bordeaux. After the war, Otto lived for some years in both France and Spain.

Political career

In a declaration dated 31 May 1961, Otto renounced all claims to the Austrian throne and proclaimed himself "a loyal citizen of the republic," a move that he made only after much hesitation and certainly "for purely practical reasons". In a 2007 interview on occasion of his approaching 95th birthday, Otto stated:

"This was such an infamy, I'd rather never have signed it. They demanded that I abstain from politics. I would not have dreamed of complying . Once you have tasted the opium of politics, you never get rid of it."

The Habsburg Law of 1918 stated that Charles' descendants could only return to Austria if they renounced their royal claims and accepted the status of private citizens. The Austrian administrative court found on 24 May 1963 that Otto's statement was sufficient to meet this requirement. However, several elements in the country, particularly the Socialists, were ill-disposed to welcoming back the heir of the deposed dynasty. This touched off political infighting and civil unrest resulted that almost precipitated a crisis of state, and later became known as the "Habsburg Crisis." It was only on 1 June 1966– after the People's Party won an outright majority in the national elections– that Otto was issued an Austrian passport, and was finally able to visit his home country again on 31 October 1966.

An early advocate of a unified Europe, Otto was president of the International Paneuropean Union from 1973 to 2004. He served from 1979 till 1999 as a Member of the European Parliament for the conservative Bavarian CSU party, becoming the Senior Member of the supranational body. He was also a member of the Mont Pelerin Society. He was a major supporter of the expansion of the European Union from the beginning and especially of the acceptance of Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia. During his time in parliament, Otto was alleged to have struck fellow MEP Ian Paisley. (Pope John Paul II had given a speech to the European Parliament in 1988, and Paisley shouted at the Pope, "I renounce you as the Antichrist!", holding a poster reading "Pope John Paul II Antichrist", whereupon he was excluded from the session and expelled from the room by other MEPs.)

Otto was one of the men instrumental in organising the so called Pan-European Picnic, at the Hungary-Austria border on 19 August 1989. This event is considered a symbolic landmark in the collapse of communist dictatorships in Europe.

Otto was a patron of the Three Faiths Forum, a group which aims to encourage friendship, goodwill and understanding amongst people of the three monotheistic faiths of Christianity, Judaism and Islam in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.

In December 2006, Otto observed that, "The catastrophe of 11 September 2001 struck the United States more profoundly than any of us, whence a certain mutual incomprehension. Until then, the United States felt itself secure, persuaded of its power to bombard any enemy, without anyone being able to strike back. That sentiment vanished in an instant... Americans understand 'viscerally' for the first time the risks they face."

On 5 July 2007, Otto received the Freedom of the City of London from the hands of Sir Gavyn Arthur, former Lord Mayor of London.

Later life and death

After the death of his wife, Regina in 2010, Otto stopped appearing in public. He died at the age of 98 on Monday, 4 July 2011 at his home in Pöcking, Germany. His spokeswoman reported that he died "peacefully and without pain in his sleep". He was survived by his younger brother, Felix, as well as 7 children, 22 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren.

Amid tributes from around Europe, Austrian president Heinz Fischer labelled him a "loyal citizen of the republic of Austria". Despite the fact that his family was forbidden to enter Austria until Otto formally renounced his claim to the throne, the president noted that his relationship with the republican government "had developed well in the last decades".

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said, "With Otto von Habsburg, a great European has left us who gave an important impetus to the European project throughout his rich life. ... commitment to Europe should set a political example for all of us, especially in difficult times." In his statement, Barroso pointed out that Otto had "made a central contribution to the opening of the Iron Curtain and the peaceful reunification of our continent that had been divided for too long".

In line with the Habsburg family tradition, Otto is scheduled to be buried in the family's crypt in Vienna, while his heart will be buried in Hungary.

Family

Otto was married to Princess Regina of Saxe-Meiningen from 1951 until her death in 2010. They had seven children, 23 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren:

• Andrea von Habsburg (born 1953). Married Hereditary Count Karl Eugen von Neipperg. They have three sons, two daughters and two grandchildren.
  • Count Maria Philipp Karl Friedrich Hubert Magnus von Neipperg, born on (1978-09-06) 6 September 1978 (age 46), married to Miss Paula Wolff (b. 1981), daughter of Lukas Wolff and his wife, née Countess Ladislaja Eleonore von Meran, on 26 April 2008 in Salzburg.
    • Countess Johanna von Neipperg (born 2009)
    • Count Stephan von Neipperg (born 2010)
  • Count Maria Benedikt Reinhard Michael Alois Leo of Neipperg, born on (1980-04-11) 11 April 1980 (age 44)
  • Count Maria Dominik Georg Christoph Johannes Pantaleon of Neipperg, born on (1981-07-27) 27 July 1981 (age 43)
  • Countess Maria Hemma Nathalie Sophie Franziska Georgine of Neipperg, born on (1983-10-11) 11 October 1983 (age 41)
  • Countess Maria Katharina Franziska Monika Elisabeth of Neipperg, born on (1986-04-03) 3 April 1986 (age 38)

• Monika von Habsburg (born 1954). Married Luis María Gonzaga Gonzaga de Casanova-Cárdenas y Barón, Duke of Santangelo, Marquess of Elche, Count of Lodosa and Grandee of Spain, who is a descendant of Infanta Luisa Teresa of Spain, Duchess of Sessa and sister of Francis, King-Consort of Spain. They have four sons.
• Michaela von Habsburg, born on (1954-09-13) 13 September 1954 (age 70). Monika's twin sister. Married firstly Eric Alba Teran d'Antin, and secondly Count Hubertus of Kageneck. She has two sons and a daughter from her first marriage. Twice divorced.
• Gabriela von Habsburg, born on (1956-10-14) 14 October 1956 (age 68)
  ∞Christian Meister in 1978, divorced in 1997.
  • Severin Meister
  • Lioba Meister
  • Alena Meister
• Walburga von Habsburg, born on (1958-10-05) 5 October 1958 (age 66)
  ∞Count Archibald Douglas
  • Count Moritz Douglas, born on (1994-03-30) 30 March 1994 (age 30)
• Karl von Habsburg, born on (1961-01-11) 11 January 1961 (age 64)
  ∞Baroness Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza, born on (1958-06-07) 7 June 1958 (age 66)
  • Eleonore Habsburg-Lothringen, born on (1994-02-28) 28 February 1994 (age 30)
  • Ferdinand Zvonimir Habsburg-Lothringen, born on (1997-06-21) 21 June 1997 (age 27)
  • Gloria Habsburg-Lothringen, born on (1999-10-15) 15 October 1999 (age 25)
• Georg von Habsburg, born on (1964-12-16) 16 December 1964 (age 60)
  ∞Duchess Eilika of Oldenburg, born on (1972-08-22) 22 August 1972 (age 52)
  • Zsófia Habsburg-Lothringen, born on (2001-01-12) 12 January 2001 (age 23)
  • Ildikó Habsburg-Lothringen, born on (2002-06-06) 6 June 2002 (age 22)
  • Károly-Konstantin Habsburg-Lothringen, born on (2004-07-20) 20 July 2004 (age 20)

Otto lived in retirement at the Villa Austria in Pöcking bei Starnberg, Starnberg, near the lake Starnberger See, Upper Bavaria, Bavaria, Germany.

Titles and styles

• 20 November 1912 – 21 November 1916: His Imperial and Royal Highness Archduke and Prince Imperial Otto of Austria, Prince Royal of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia
• 21 November 1916 – 12 November 1918: His Imperial and Royal Highness The Crown Prince of Austria, Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia
• 12 November 1918 – 4 July 2011: His Imperial and Royal Highness Crown Prince Otto of Austria, Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia

Official in Austria

• 12 November 1918–1919: Otto Kaiserlicher Prinz, Erzherzog von Österreich, Königlicher Prinz von Ungarn
• 1919–1957: Herr Otto Habsburg-Lothringen
• 1957 – 4 July 2011: Doktor Otto Habsburg-Lothringen

Official in Germany

• 12 November 1918 – 4 July 2011: Otto Kaiserlicher Prinz, Erzherzog von Österreich, Königlicher Prinz von Ungarn

Ancestry

Honours and awards

Grand Master of the Order of the Golden Fleece (Austrian Branch)

Supreme Knight of the Order of the Most Holy Annunciation

Knight of the Royal Order of San Gennaro

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa

Bailiff Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (1959)

Order of the Golden Fleece (1916)

Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III (Spain, 1951)

Grand Cross of the Order of St. Gregory the Great with ribbon and a star (Holy See, 1980)

Great Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (1987)

Bavarian Order of Merit (1978)

Grand Cross of the Bavarian Order of St. Hubert

Grand Cross of the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau (Luxembourg)

Order of Africa (Spain)

Order of Hilal Quaid Azam (Pakistan) (1993)

Grand Cross of the Grand Order of King Dmitar Zvonimir (Croatia, 1996)

Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana (Estonia, 1996)

Grand Cross of Merit of the Republic of Hungary (1999)

Commander of the Legion of Honour

Grand Cross of the Order of St. Agatha (San Marino, 2002)

Grand Cross of the Order of the Three Stars, Latvia

Honorary Knight of the Teutonic Knights

Footnotes

1. In Austria, his official name from 1919 was Otto Habsburg-Lothringen. Otto did, however, not live in Austria after 1918 and became a citizen of multiple other countries, where his offical name was Otto von Habsburg, the name he used himself
2. ^ Nicholas Kulish (4 July 2011). "Otto von Hapsburg, a Would-Be Monarch, Dies at 98". The New York Times.
3. "Habsburg: Last heir to Austro-Hungarian empire dies". BBC News. 4 July 2011. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
4. "Otto von Habsburg who saw end of empire dead at 98". Forbes. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
5. Wiener Zeitung, 26 November 1912.
6. Gedächtnisjahrbuch 1937, 9. Jg.: Dem Andenken an Karls von Österreich Kaiser und König. Arbeitsgemeinschaft österreichischer Vereine – Wien, W. Hamburger 1937)
7. Brook-Shepherd, p 181
8. Die Presse, Unabhängige Tageszeitung für Österreich. Nov.10/11, 2007. p3 (German online version dated 9 Nov. 2007: . WebCite archive
9. "PK-Nr. 743/2006". Parlament.gv.at. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
10. Thomas Wilhelm Schwarzer. "Erzherzog Dr. Otto von Habsburg". Otto.twschwarzer.de. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
11. "HEADLINERS; Papal Audience". New York Times. 16 October 1988. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
12. David W. Cloud, "Dr. Ian Paisley's Stand for the Old Bible".
13. :: Three Faiths Forum ::
14. Lalanne, Dorothée (6 December 2006). "Otto de Habsbourg: Européen Avant Tout". Point de Vue (3046): page 46. {{cite journal}}: |page= has extra text (help)
15. "Last Crown Prince of Austria receives the Freedom of the City of London". Cityoflondon.gov.uk. 11 July 2007. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
16. ^ Staff writers (4 July 2011). "Death of former 'kaiser in exile' and last heir to Austro-Hungarian throne". The Irish Times. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
17. Agence France Presse. "04/07/2011EU, Austria mourn death of Otto Habsburg". Expatica. Retrieved 5 July 2011.

Bibliography

• Gordon Brook-Shepherd, Uncrowned Emperor – The Life and Times of Otto von Habsburg, Hambledon Continuum, London 2003. ISBN 1852855495.
• Flavia Foradini, "Otto d'Asburgo. L'ultimo atto di una dinastia", mgs press, Trieste, 2004. ISBN 88-89219-04-1

External links

Media related to Otto von Habsburg-Lothringen at Wikimedia Commons

• Erzherzog Dr. Otto von Habsburg (Autorisierte Ehrenseite)
• An essay on Republicanism vs Monarchism by Otto
• Video interview of Otto von Habsbourg (French) European Navigator
• The Black & Yellow Alliance
• Uncrowned emperor: the life and times of Otto von Habsburg By Gordon Brook-Shepherd
• Archduke Otto Von Habsburg and American Hungarian Emigres during and after World War II, by Steven Bela Vardy
• Archduchess Regina von Habsburg – Daily Telegraph obituary
• http://genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00014657&tree=LEO
• Obituary of Archduke Otto von Habsburg, The Daily Telegraph, 4 July 2011

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