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He was born
Karl is born in Persenbeug Castle, Austria as the grandnephew of Franz Josef I, who Karl later succeeds as emperor. -
Sixteen
At this age of 16 Karl is commissioned as the second lieutenant in the Imperial Army. -
Marriage
In 1911, is when Archduke Karl begins to think about marriage. He remembers the younger sister of some of his childhood playmates. Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma is who he intends to marry. -
Children
Around a year after their marriage, Karl and Zita begin to start their family with their first child Otto. Followed by Adelheid, then Robert, Felix, Karl-Ludwig, Rudolf, Charlotte, and last but not least, Elizabeth. This was a total of eight children. -
Became heir to the throne
Karl became the heir to the Austrian-Hungarian throne with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Ferdinands own children were relieved of their rights of succession based upon an agreement undertook by Ferdinand upon his marriage. Therefore, Karl being the next in line, takes the thrine. -
Calvary officer to liason officer
Emperor Karl I was a calvary officer until the outbreak of war in late July. He took up the position as a liason officer in which capacity he served during the opening Galician Campaign. -
Recall
Following the promaotion of calvary officer to liason officer, Karl was recalled to court in mid-1915. He ended up returning to active duty. (See May 1916) -
Returing to action
Karl returned to action on the Italian Front. He was given command of a corps. Then he was transferred back to Galicia following the Russian Brusilov Offensive. -
Death of Franz Josef
Karl is summoned to Emperor Franz Josef's death bed praying the rosary with his wife Zita. Soon he was called "Your majesty" for the first time and was shocked because he has now become emperor. -
Career ends
Karls military career comes to an end by the death of Franz Josef. Franz Josef was Karl's great uncle. He was Emperor of Austria and Apostolic King of Hungary. -
Becomes emperor
Following the death of his great uncle, Karl becomes Emperor (Kaiser) of Austria. Kaiser: the German emperor, the emperor of Austria, or the head of the Holy Roman Empire. -
KING
One month after becoming Emperor, Karl takes on the roll of being the King of Hungary. -
Karls reforms
Karls reforms (he banned flogging, ended duels, called a halt to strategic bombing and limited the widespread use of poison gas) achieved relatively nothing. With the Germans by now suspicious of Karl and Austria-Hungary generally, the new emperor was essentially coerced into what largely amounted to econmic and military union with Germany following a meeting with the German Kaiser, Wilhelm II at spa. -
Permission
Karl granted permission for his soldiers to join national armies. Just under two weeks later on November 11 he renounced his constitutional powers. -
Renounced
Karls constitutional powers are renounced. -
NO betrayal
Despite working himself to exhaustion, the war continues to erode the empire until it collapses. The war is finally over, but so too is the concord of the Habsburg Empire. Karl is asked to abdicate, but he refuses, stating that his crown is a sacred trust from God, and he will never betray God, his subjects, or his dynastic inheritance. -
Exiled
After Karl granted permission for his soldiers to join national armies, he then changed his mind, refusing to formally abdicate and instead vainly attempting to drum up royalist support. He was then forced to seek exile in Switzerland. (with the assistance of the British), the Austrian parliament deposed him the following month. He attempted to return to Hungary two years later, but was denied permission on each occasion by the Horthy government. -
Deaths
The last Austro-Hungarian emperors die in penury in Madeira on this day from pneumonia. All at the tragically young age of thirty-four.
