Emperor Karl I (1887-1922), Empress Zita ("The Last Empress") (1892-1989) and Family

[Stefan]

Both in Zita and Carl Ludwig's funerals, a lot of time passed between the death and the funeral: 18 days for the Empress, 32 for her son. Do you know why??
I know that the protocol stated that 9 days have to pass between the death and the funeral, but 18 or 32 are very long periods...

In Zita's case it was her wish that the fueral should take place on the death anniversary of her husband.

 

[MBGGfvB]

That is such a wonderful sentiment. 'True' love that will transcend mortal life.

 

[kmerian]

Here is the link for a video of Empress Zita's funeral in 1989. The audio portion is in German.

YouTube - Beerdigung Ihrer Majestät Zita

Here is another, the audio portion is in French:
YouTube - Begräbnis von Zita, der letzten Kaiserin Österreichs - Funerales de la Emperatriz Zita de Austria

 

[grandlordbenji16]

i cant believe she actually spend 67 years of her life in mourning for him she must had love him very much .its sad like queen victoria who both loves their husband to death but was not permitted to enjoy a lifelong marriage full of love

 

[D'Arbanville]

Habsburg-nazi relations

The anti-nazi stance of the Habsburgs is a well know story, Otto, Zita and the family escaping the advancing Germans, etc. I wonder if there is any information, how Empress Zita reacted to the news that her daugter in law, Regina Saxe-Meiningen's father, Prince George was an NSDAP member since 1933.... Of course Regina couldn't have been responsible for her father, but I never heard anything about Zita's reaction previous to the marriage.... Any news on this?

 

[MAfan]

The only thing I know is that Zita listed some european Princesses that she thought to be suitable for Otto to marry, and that Regina was not one of them. But it was only due to she comes from a "minor" ex-regnant german family.
But I don't know anything about the relations between the Empress and her daughter-in-law, or about Zita's reactions to the engagement of Otto and Regina.

 

[claypoint2]

Here is a video of Karl and Zita's wedding day, reportedly one of the first royal wedding celebrations to be captured on video. I quote an account of the events, as told by Arturo E. Beeche of Eurohistory:

"The wedding day, October 21, 1911, was indeed memorable. Absent were the strict pomp and circumstance of the Viennese court, and instead witnesses recalled that the event seemed like a 'family party...such as one sees when the daughter of a local landowner marries.' Schoolchildren, in their nicest attire, lined the road from the train station to Schwarzau to greet the automobile transporting Emperor Franz Joseph, who was rather pleased by this greeting from among his youngest subjects.

"At the entrance to the Schloss Schwarzau Archduke Karl and the Duke of Madrid, as Head of the House of Bourbon, awaited the arrival of Emperor Franz Joseph. The Emperor was warmly greeted and quickly taken inside, where Dowager Duchess Maria-Antonia and Princess Zita greeted him. Franz Joseph gently kissed the hand of Maria-Antonia and instead of doing the same with Zita, he gave her a grandfatherly embrace. It was his way of welcoming the beautiful Bourbon princess into his family's fold.

"The wedding procession began soon afterwards. Archduke Karl walked between his mother, Archduchess Maria Josepha, and Emperor Franz Joseph. Zita followed, flanked by her own mother and by the Duke of Madrid.... Zita recalled: 'Don Jaime, the Duke of Madrid, who had unsuccessfully sought my hand in marriage, walked me to the altar. Proudly, he wore a superb Russian uniform, but my brother Sixtus deflated his ego when he asked don Jaime, "Pardon, but are you dressed for the circus?" What the very proper Duke of Madrid answered to this smart comment we do not know, but can easily imagine."


We have a chance to see the Duke of Madrid, among others, in the video (standing next to Karl at 0:30-0:35, close up at 1:06-1:07, and later on).... His uniform was over the top, but I can't help thinking that it was also very generous of him to walk Zita to the altar (when her father had died), especially given that he had courted her unsuccessfully. And the bride & groom look lovely & kind.

YouTube - Wedding Emperor Charles I of Austria & Zita / Hochzeit Kaiser Charles I von Österreich und Zita

 

[MAfan]

Thanks for having posted this video, claypoint2; it's quite a long video, considering that it was filmed in 1911.
It's curious, how the uniform of Don Jaime was superb indeed and the uniforms of Emperor Franz Joseph, of the groom and of Archduke Franz Ferdinand were so sober...

 

[claypoint2]

So happy that you enjoyed it, MAfan. I agree on all counts and noticed the very same thing about the sobriety of the Austrians' uniforms, compared to the elaborate nature of the Duke of Madrid's. I suppose that this may represent both cultural and personal differences between the Spanish Duke and the Austrian Emperor & Archduke.... The clothing may reveal something about the men who wore them, and perhaps Zita preferred one type of person (sober Karl) over another (elaborate don Jaime). Of course these are only my suppositions.

 

[V.F.H.78]

Thank you very much for this long and beautiful video of the wedding. I have already seen pictures of this event but never a video.

 

[Lalla Meriem]

What an excellent video. I am always impressed by Emperor Karl. I'm delighted to find the youtube channel of this person which features so many wonderful Austrian videos.

On a side note, I can't help but think that Archduke Christoph, the son Archduke Carl-Christian and Princess Marie-Astrid of Luxembourg, looks very much like his great grandfather.

 

[claypoint2]

Here are two videos of Karl's coronation as King of Hungary in 1916 - not as good as the one of the wedding, but still interesting, I think.

In the first, Archduke Otto speaks (in French) about his memories of coronation day. We can also see him (aged 4) and his mother, Empress Zita, as they enter the coronation carriage. Otto describes - and the video shows - the moment when Karl fulfills the final part of the coronation ceremony. As Arturo Beeche describes it: "The Emperor and King mounted an impressive white stallion with stirrups of pure gold to the coronation mount in the center of the cathedral square. The earth underneath contained soil from every county in Hungary. Karl clambered up the monument in front of the cathedral and, with sword drawn, brandished the blade in all four directions, symbolizing the oath he had just taken 'never to reduce but if possible increase' the territories of his kingdom.'"

YouTube - Coronation from the king Charles IV of Hungary/Krönung von König Karl IV von Ungarn.



The second video is Hungarian and has no audio portion, but it's interesting because it shows the moment of the actual coronation oath:

YouTube - IV. Károly magyar királlyá koronázása

 

[claypoint2]

I can't help but think that Archduke Christoph, the son Archduke Carl-Christian and Princess Marie-Astrid of Luxembourg, looks very much like his great grandfather.

Thanks, Lalla Meriem. I had never noticed the resemblance, but you are quite right! If Christoph had a moustache, he would look just like Emperor Karl.

 

[MAfan]

You're right, Lalla Meriem...I didn't notice the resemblence before too...
Btw, thanks for these very interesting videos; it's a pity thatI can't understand French...what did Archduke Otto say?

 

[Lalla Meriem]

Thanks, Lalla Meriem. I had never noticed the resemblance, but you are quite right! If Christoph had a moustache, he would look just like Emperor Karl.

I've saw him with a mustache and I was positively astounded at their close resemblance. He is the only descendant I've noticed that has such physical similarities to him.

To be honest with you, until I saw the videos on that channel I hadn't really paid much attention to the specifics of the second miracle attributed to Bl. Emperor Karl. So, I googled it, of course. I didn't realize that there was a connection to Archduke Karl Peter and the family of the women who was cured. Interesting story, IMHO.

 

[maria-olivia]

I am deeply impressed by the wedding video. The many Bourbon Parme should have been delighted with their sister great wedding.
Archiduc Otto 's french is without any german accent, he studied in Belgium. He said that he remember the place , the right place on a little mountain where his father used his sword 4 times. The other voice is Frederic Mitterand's voice , the actuel minister of culture of France, nephew of the late President François Mitterand.
Thanks a lot Claypoint.

 

[MAfan]

Thanks Maria Olivia!
About his good French, I remember to have read an interview with him, where he said that his French comes from his mother.

 

[V.F.H.78]

Archiduc Otto 's french is without any german accent, he studied in Belgium. He said that he remember the place, the right place on a little mountain where his father used his sword 4 times. The other voice is Frederic Mitterand's voice , the actuel minister of culture of France, nephew of the late President François Mitterand.

Absolutely maria-olivia!
The voice is Frédéric Mitterand, the french Culture Minister, and the video is taken from "Les Aigles Foudroyés". When I was young, I loved to watch that at TV.

But I didn't remember that Archduke Otto von Habsburg talked a good french like that.

 

[Lalla Meriem]

Thank you for linking the Les Aigles Foudroyés, Maria-Olivia. It is a lovely find for me.

 

[maria-olivia]

I remember quite well the sunset of 3 of the most importants Dynasties : the Imperial Houses of Austria (Habsbourg) Russia (Romanov) and Germany (Prussia)
All the best

 

[Jason R Maier esq]

I know that Karl's body is buried in Maderia, while his heart is at Muri Abbey.

How come his body hasn't yet been buried at the Crypt in Vienna?

 

[EmpressRouge]

So sad to watch the wedding film w/ all the happy guests in hindsight and knowing what was to come. Franz Ferdinand's assassination cut short the couple's tranquility and thrust Karl and Zita into imperial duties much earlier than expected. And Zita's long widowhood reminds me of Queen Victoria's, but sadder. Her husband died younger and her longer life of morning. Victoria at least had a stable throne while Zita had to live her life in exile. But definitely, Karl and Zita were one of the most devoted couples in history.

 

[MAfan]

I know that Karl's body is buried in Maderia, while his heart is at Muri Abbey.

How come his body hasn't yet been buried at the Crypt in Vienna?

I don't know the exact reason, but I can tell you that Archduke Otto doesn't want it to happen; I don't know what the other members of the family think, or the austrian government.

 

[Jason R Maier esq]

I don't know the exact reason, but I can tell you that Archduke Otto doesn't want it to happen; I don't know what the other members of the family think, or the austrian government.

Really . . . I guess Otto's rationale might be "well if the body has been there for 87 years, why move it?"

 

[MAfan]

Not exactly; in an interview to "Le Figaro" in 2008, he explained that he opposes because the local people wants the remains of the late Emperor to be let in Madeira. Quite simple explanation too...

 

[V.F.H.78]

True. There is a big devotion to Kaiser Karl in Madeira. When Karl and Zita came to this island, the welcome was very hearty and the imperial couple was very affected by this, in these times of sadness for them.

 

[maria-olivia]

We have a "relic" of blessed Charles ,the last Emperor of Austria, in Brussels in the church Notre Dame du Sablon.

 

[MAfan]

I've found an interview (in Italian) about Emperor Charles I to his son Archduke Rudolph and his granddaughter Archduchess Catharina, the youngest daughter of Rudolph; the interview was taken some months ago, at the time of the 87th death anniversary of the Emperor and the 5th death anniversary of Pope John Paul II;
the Archduke talked about the strong link between the Emperor and the Pope; he remembered a private meeting with the Pope of him, his family and his mother Zita, in which the Pope talked with great enthusiasm of the Emperor, and told to the Imperial Family that he was named Karol after the Emperor, who was very admired by the late Pope's father; Archduke Rudolph told also that the Pope called Zita "my Empress", and every time he talked to her he bowed. Pope John Paul II was an admirer of the Emperor too, and he begun appreciating him since he was young, when his father talked to him about his Emperor.
Archduke Rudolph talked also about the beatification of the Emperor, that was an important step for "rehabilitate" the Emperor, often badly esteemed, and about the thought of Emperor Charles about his task of Emperor (a mission he was charged with by God, and that he could not renounce to; that's why he never abdicated), his love for his family and his people (that he considered as his big family he was the father of).
Then Archduchess Catharina talked about the political ideas of her grandfather, his work for the peace in Europe and his dream of an united Europe; she talked also of her grandmother, to whom she was very affectionate, and of the stories about the Emperor that the Empress related her; according to Archduchess Catharina, Zita remained in love with her late husband until she died; and soon before Zita died, when she met Catharina for the last time, the Empress told her "It's the time to leave. You can't imagine my happiness: I go and see your Grandfather. I don't see him since 67 years"; her eyes were glistening like the eyes of a girl in love, told Catharina.
The article talked also about the work of Catharina in Brescia, in Italy, where she often lives (her husband comes from Brescia) and where she supports a cultural centre with the aim of making known the life, the work and the holiness of the late Emperor Charles; this centre is set in the Church of San Gottardo, where are some relics of the Late Emperor.

 

[Lalla Meriem]

I knew that the father of JPII had been a solider in the army of Bl. Karl but I didn't realize that he had been named after the Emporer. Archduchess Catharina paints a very different picture of the Empress than did the daughter of Otto who thought that her grandmother was cold and distant.

Lovely interview. Thank you for your translation.

 

[MAfan]

You're welcome, Lalla Meriem!
Archduchess Catharina also added that her grandmother was very fond of her, because Catharina was the youngest of all her grandchildren; she also said that Zita used to visit Archduke Rudolph and his family in Bruxelles very often, and that was Zita to teach Catharina the cathechism.

In the last part of the article, that I have forgotten to write about, it is written about the miracle of Mrs Tamara Staggs, that will be used for the sanctification of the Emperor.