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Karl I ( of Austria , the last King of Hungary and Bohemia , and the last monarch of the Habsburg Dynasty . He reigned as Emperor Karl I of Austria, King Charles III of Bohemia and King Charles IV of Hungary from 1916 until 1918, when he renounced the government (but did not abdicate), and spent the remaining years of his life attempting to regain the throne until his death in 1922. LIFE Karl was the son of Archduke Otto Franz Of Austria (1865-1906) and Princess Maria Josepha Of Saxony (1867-1944); he was also a nephew of Archduke Franz Ferdinand , whose assassination triggered World War I . In 1911 , he was married to Princess Zita Of Parma . They had eight children (six boys and two girls):
, December 1916 .]] Karl became heir-presumptive when his uncle Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo in 1914 , the event which precipitated World War I . Karl's reign began in 1916 , with the death of his grand-uncle, Franz Joseph . In 1916, he also became a Generalfeldmarschall in the Austro-Hungarian Army . In 1917 , Karl secretly entered into peace negotiations with France. Although his foreign minister, Ottokar Czernin , was only interested in negotiating a general peace which would include Germany as well, Karl himself, in negotiations with the French with his brother-in-law, Prince Sixtus Of Bourbon-Parma , an officer in the Belgian army, as intermediary, went much further in suggesting his willingness to make a separate peace. When news of the overture leaked in April 1918 , Karl denied all involvement until the French prime minister Georges Clemenceau published letters signed by him. This led to Czernin's resignation, forcing Austria-Hungary into an even more dependent position with respect to its seemingly wronged German ally. The Austro-Hungarian Empire was wracked by inner turmoil in the final years of the war, with much tension between ethnic groups. US President Woodrow Wilson demanded that the Empire allow for the self-determination of its peoples as part of his Fourteen Points . In response, Karl agreed to reconvene the Imperial parliament and allow for the creation of a Confederation with each national group exercising self-governance. However, the reforms quickly spiraled out of control, with each national government declaring complete independence. Karl's political future quickly became uncertain. For a while it appeared as though he might reign as monarch of a newly independent Austria , but Austria's new Republican government ultimately vetoed this idea. On and continued to pursue regaining power from exile. Encouraged by Hungarian nationalists, he sought twice in 1921 to reclaim the throne of Hungary but failed due to various factors including the lack of support of the Hungarian Regent Miklós Horthy . Horthy's failure to support Karl's restoration attempts is often described as "treasonous" by monarchists. Critics suggest that Horthy's actions were more firmly grounded in political reality than the King of Hungary and his supporters. He died of severe Pneumonia (brought on after Karl, an already sickly man, walked into town on a freezing winter's day) on the Portuguese island of Madeira in 1922. AFTER HIS DEATH Some historians have seen Karl as a brave and honourable figure who tried as emperor-king to halt World War I . Helmut Rumpler, head of the Habsburg commission of the Austrian Academy Of Sciences , has described Karl as "a dilettante, far too weak for the challenges facing him, out of his depth, and not really a politician." Beatification Karl has been solemnly declared blessed in the ceremony of has praised Karl for putting his Christian faith first in making political decisions, and for his perceived role as a peacemaker during the war. Christoph Cardinal Schönborn of Vienna has been the Church's sponsor for his beatification. Recent milestones include:
OFFICIAL TITLE OF KARL I
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