Otto von Habsburg

Otto von Habsburg^[1][2] (German: Franz Joseph Otto Robert Maria Anton Karl Max Heinrich Sixtus Xaver Felix Renatus Ludwig Gaetan Pius Ignatius, Hungarian: Ferenc József Ottó Róbert Mária Antal Károly Max Heinrich Sixtus Xaver Felix Renatus Lajos Gaetan Pius Ignác; 20 November 1912 – 4 July 2011),^[3][4] was the last crown prince of Austria-Hungary from 1916 until the dissolution of the empire in November 1918. In 1922, he became the pretender to the former thrones, head of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, and sovereign of the Order of the Golden Fleece^[5] upon the death of his father. He resigned as Sovereign of the Golden Fleece in 2000 and as head of the Imperial House in 2007.

Otto von Habsburg
Portrait by Oliver Mark, 2006
Member of the European Parliament for Germany
In office 1979–1999
Head of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine
In office 1 April 1922 – 1 January 2007
Preceded by	Emperor Charles I
Succeeded by	Karl von Habsburg
Personal details
Born	(1912-11-20)20 November 1912 Wartholz Castle, Reichenau an der Rax, Lower Austria, Austria-Hungary
Died	4 July 2011(2011-07-04) (aged 98) Pöcking, Germany
Resting place	Imperial Crypt (body); Pannonhalma Archabbey (heart)
Nationality	Austria-Hungary (1912–1918) Austria (1918–38; from 1965) Stateless (1941–46) Monaco (1946–65) Nazi Germany (1938–41) West Germany (1978–90) Germany (from 1990) Croatia (from 1990)
Political party	Christian Social Union
Spouse	Princess Regina of Saxe-Meiningen ​ ​ (m. 1951; died 2010)​
Children	Andrea von Habsburg 06/06/1967 Monika von Habsburg Michaela von Habsburg Gabriela von Habsburg Walburga von Habsburg Karl von Habsburg Georg von Habsburg Unknown
Parent(s)	Charles I of Austria Zita of Bourbon-Parma
Signature

The eldest son of Charles I and IV, the last emperor of Austria and king of Hungary, and his wife, Zita of Bourbon-Parma, Otto was born as Franz Joseph Otto Robert Maria Anton Karl Max Heinrich Sixtus Xaver Felix Renatus Ludwig Gaetan Pius Ignatius von Habsburg, third in line to the thrones, as Archduke Otto of Austria, Royal Prince of Hungary, Bohemia, and Croatia.^[6][7] With his father's accession to the thrones in 1916, he was likely to become emperor and king. As his father never abdicated, Otto was considered by himself, his family and Austro-Hungarian legitimists to be the rightful emperor-king from his father's death in 1922.^[8]

Otto was active on the Austrian and European political stage from the 1930s, both by promoting the cause of Habsburg restoration and as an early proponent of European integration; he was a fierce opponent of Nazism, nationalism and communism.^[3][9] He has been described as one of the leaders of the Austrian Resistance.^[10] After the 1938 Anschluss, he was sentenced to death by the Nazis and fled Europe to the United States.

Otto von Habsburg was Vice President (1957–1973) and President (1973–2004) of the International Paneuropean Union movement. From 1979 to 1999, he served as a Member of the European Parliament for the Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU). As a newly elected Member of the European Parliament in 1979, Otto took a strong interest in the countries behind the Iron Curtain, and had an empty chair set up in the European Parliament to symbolize their absence. Otto von Habsburg played a notable role in the revolutions of 1989, as a co-initiator of the Pan-European Picnic. Later he was a strong supporter of the EU membership of central and eastern European countries.^[11] A noted intellectual, he published several books on historical and political affairs. Otto has been described as one of the "architects of the European idea and of European integration" together with Robert Schuman, Konrad Adenauer, and Alcide De Gasperi.^[12]

Otto was exiled in 1919 and grew up mostly in Spain. His devout Catholic mother raised him according to the old curriculum of Austria-Hungary, preparing him to become a Catholic monarch. During his life in exile, he lived in Switzerland, Madeira, Spain, Belgium, France, the United States, and from 1954 until his death, finally in Bavaria (Germany), in the residence Villa Austria. At the time of his death, he was a citizen of Germany, Austria, Hungary, and Croatia,^{[citation needed]} having earlier been stateless de jure and de facto, and he possessed passports of the Order of Malta and Spain.

His funeral took place at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna on 16 July 2011; he was entombed in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna and his heart buried in Pannonhalma Archabbey in Hungary.

Early life

 

The young crown prince Otto with his parents posing for official photographs on the occasion of the coronation in Budapest, 1916

Otto von Habsburg attending his parents' coronation in Budapest on 30 December 1916

Otto was born at Villa Wartholz in Reichenau an der Rax, Austria-Hungary, during the reign of his great-grand uncle, Franz Joseph I of Austria. He was baptised Franz Joseph Otto Robert Maria Anton Karl Max Heinrich Sixtus Xaver Felix Renatus Ludwig Gaetan Pius Ignatius on 25 November 1912 at Villa Wartholz by the Prince-Archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Franz Xaver Nagl. This name was chosen so that he might reign as "Franz Joseph II" in the future. 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.^[13]

In November 1916, Otto became Crown Prince of Austria, Hungary, Bohemia and Croatia^[6][7] when his father, Archduke Charles, acceded to the throne. However, in 1918, after the end of the First World War, the monarchies were abolished, the republics of Austria and Hungary were founded in their place, and the family was forced into exile in Madeira.^[8] Hungary did become a kingdom again, but Charles was never to regain the throne. Instead, Miklós Horthy ruled as regent until 1944, in a kingdom without a king.

Otto spoke German, Hungarian, Croatian, English, Spanish, French and Latin fluently. In later life, he would write some forty books in German, Hungarian, French and Spanish.^[14] His mother made him learn many languages because she believed he one day might rule over many lands.^[15][16]

Years in exile

Otto's family spent the subsequent years in Switzerland, and on the Portuguese island of Madeira, where 34-year-old Charles died in 1922, leaving the nine-year-old Otto pretender to the throne. On his father's deathbed, his mother, Empress Dowager Zita, told Otto, "your father is now sleeping the eternal sleep—you are now Emperor and King".^[17] The family eventually relocated to the Basque town of Lekeitio, where forty Spanish grandees bought them a villa.

Meanwhile, the Austrian parliament had officially expelled the Habsburg dynasty and confiscated all the official property via the Habsburg Law of 3 April 1919. Charles was banned from ever returning to Austria again, while Otto and other male members could return only if they renounced all claims to the throne and accepted the status of private citizens.

In 1935, he graduated with a PhD degree in Political and Social Sciences from the University of Louvain in Belgium.^{[dubious ]} His thesis was on "the right, born of usage and of the peasant law of inheritance, of the indivisibility of rural land ownership in Austria".^[18][19] In 1937 he wrote,^[20]

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 [Austrian] 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.

 

Otto von Habsburg (left) and Count von Degenfeld in 1933.

He continued to enjoy considerable public support in Austria; from 1931 to 1938, 1,603 Austrian municipalities named Otto an honorary citizen.^[21] John Gunther believed that Zita was less popular among Austrians, however, writing in 1936 that "restoration would be a good deal closer if Otto's return would not mean also the return of his mother—to say nothing of hundreds of assorted and impoverished Habsburg cousins and aunts, who would flock to Vienna like ants to a keg of syrup". A greater obstacle, he wrote, was the opposition of Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, which feared that their people might want to rejoin a recreated monarchy.^[19]

World War II

Otto denounced Nazism, stating:^[19]

I absolutely reject [Nazi] Fascism for Austria ... This un-Austrian movement promises everything to everyone, but really intends the most ruthless subjugation of the Austrian people .... The people of Austria will never tolerate that our beautiful fatherland should become an exploited colony, and that the Austrian should become a man of second category.

He strongly opposed the Anschluss, and in 1938 requested Austrian Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg to resist Nazi Germany. He supported international intervention^[9] and offered to return from exile to take over the reins of government to repel the Nazis.^[22] According to Gerald Warner, "Austrian Jews were among the strongest supporters of a Habsburg restoration, since they believed the dynasty would give the nation sufficient resolve to stand up to the Third Reich".^[23]

Following the German annexation of Austria, Otto was sentenced to death by the Nazi regime; Rudolf Hess ordered that Otto was to be executed immediately if caught.^[1][24][25] As ordered by Adolf Hitler, his personal property and that of the House of Habsburg were confiscated. It was not returned after the war.^[26] The so-called "Habsburg Law", which had previously been repealed, was reintroduced by the Nazis. Otto's supporters, the leaders of the Austrian legitimist movement, were arrested by the Nazis and largely executed (Stefan Zweig's novella The Royal Game is based on these events). Otto's cousins Max, Duke of Hohenberg, and Prince Ernst of Hohenberg were arrested in Vienna by the Gestapo and sent to Dachau concentration camp where they remained throughout Nazi rule. Otto was involved in helping around 15,000 Austrians,^[27] including thousands of Austrian Jews, flee the country at the beginning of the Second World War.^[18][28]

After the German invasion of France in 1940, the family left the French capital and fled to Portugal. On June 12 the Portuguese ruler António Salazar issued instructions to the Portuguese consulates in France to provide Infanta Maria Antónia of Portugal with Portuguese passports which would allow visas for her daughter Empress Zita and grandson Otto without violating Portuguese neutrality.^[29] The family resided in Cascais during their exodus.^[30] When the German authorities pressed Salazar for Otto's extradition from Portugal, Salazar offered to protect Otto, but asked him as a friend to leave the country.^[31] Otto left, and lived from 1940 to 1944 in Washington, D.C. In 1941, Hitler personally revoked the citizenship of Otto, his mother and his siblings, and the imperial-royal family found themselves stateless.^[32]

Otto was listed on the Nazi Sonderfahndungsliste G.B. ("Special Search List Great Britain"), and was the unofficial head of numerous resistance groups in Central Europe. These groups hated Nazi ideology and saw the resurgence of a Danube confederation as the only way for small states to exist between Germany and Russia. They championed the centuries-old Habsburg principle of "live and let live" among ethnic groups, peoples, minorities, religions, cultures and languages. These imperial resistance groups became embroiled in ferocious partisan warfare against Hitler, who profoundly hated the Habsburg family tradition.^[33] Many of these imperial resistance fighters (according to current estimates 4000-4500) were sent directly to concentration camps without trial, and over 800 were executed by the Nazis. Among them was Karl Burian, who was planning to blow up the Gestapo headquarters in Vienna, or Dr. Heinrich Maier, who passed on plans and production facilities for V-2 rockets, Tiger tanks and Messerschmitt airplanes to the Allies. In contrast to many other German resistance groups, the Maier group was informed very early about the mass murder of Jews through its contacts with the Semperit factory near Auschwitz.^{[34][35][36][37][38]}

During his wartime exile in the United States, Otto and his younger brothers were in direct contact with President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the federal government. His efforts to create an "Austrian Battalion" in the United States Army were delayed and never implemented. However, he successfully convinced the U.S. to halt or limit the bombardment of Austrian cities, especially Vienna;^[27] due to this influence, bombardments on Vienna were delayed until 1943. Otto greatly desired Austria to be free, independent and democratic; he expressed concern that after the war the country was in danger of becoming a Soviet satellite state. Otto was commonly known in the U.S. as "Otto of Austria", and tried to keep his homeland and its neighbors in the minds of the American people by inaugurating a series of stamps (the Overrun Countries series) featuring the German-occupied nations of Europe.

He obtained the support of Winston Churchill for a conservative "Danube Federation", in effect a restoration of Austria-Hungary, but Joseph Stalin put an end to these plans.^[22] Otto lobbied for the recognition of an Austrian government-in-exile, for the rights of the German-speaking population of South Tyrol, against the deportation of the German-speaking inhabitants of Bohemia and eastern Europe, and against letting Stalin rule Eastern Europe.^[39][40]

After World War II

At the end of the war, Otto returned to Europe and lived for several years in France and Spain.

As he did not possess a passport and was effectively stateless, he was given a passport of the Principality of Monaco,^[41] thanks to the intervention of Charles de Gaulle in 1946. The Sovereign Military Order of Malta, of which he was a knight, also issued him a diplomatic passport. Later, he was also issued a Spanish diplomatic passport.^[42]

On 8 May 1956, Otto was recognized as an Austrian citizen by the provincial government of Lower Austria.^[43] The Austrian Interior Ministry approved this declaration of citizenship, but on the condition that he accept the name Dr. Otto Habsburg-Lothringen, on 8 February 1957. However, this only entitled him to a passport "valid in every country but Austria".^[44] Otto had already submitted a written statement, on 21 February 1958, that he and his family would renounce all former personal privileges of the House of Habsburg, but this did not satisfy the requirements of the Habsburg Law, which stated that Otto and other descendants of Charles could only return to Austria if they renounced all royal claims and accepted the status of private citizens. He officially declared his loyalty to the Republic of Austria on 5 June 1961, but this statement was ruled insufficient as well.

In a declaration dated 31 May 1961, Otto renounced all claims to the Austrian throne and proclaimed himself "a loyal citizen of the republic", "for purely practical reasons".^[45] In a 2007 interview on the occasion of his approaching 95th birthday, Otto stated:^[46]

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 Austrian administrative court found on 24 May 1963 that Otto's statement was legally sufficient. It was rumoured that in 1963, Otto visited Australia, leaving behind an unknown pregnant woman. Upon his return to Austria, he and his wife were issued a Certified Proof of Citizenship on 20 July 1965. However, several political 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 that almost precipitated a crisis of state, and later became known as the "Habsburg Crisis".^[47] It was only on 1 June 1966, after the People's Party won an outright majority in the national election, that Otto was issued an Austrian passport, and was finally able to visit his home country again on 31 October 1966 for the first time in 48 years. That day, he traveled to Innsbruck to visit the grave of Archduke Eugen of Austria. Later, he visited Vienna on 5 July 1967.^{[48][49][50][51][52][53]}

Political career

 

Otto von Habsburg giving a speech

An early advocate of a unified Europe, Otto was president of the International Paneuropean Union from 1973 to 2004.^{[citation needed]} He served from 1979 until 1999 as a Member of the European Parliament for the conservative Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU) party, eventually becoming the senior member of the European Parliament. He was also a member of the Mont Pelerin Society.^[54] 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 the European Parliament, he was involved in a fracas with fellow MEP Ian Paisley, a unionist Protestant pastor from Northern Ireland. In 1988, Pope John Paul II had just begun a speech to the Parliament when Ian Paisley, a vehement anti-Catholic, shouted and held up a poster reading "Pope John Paul II Antichrist". While other members threw papers and other objects at Paisley, Otto snatched Paisley's banner and, along with other MEPs and security personnel, roughed him up, punched him, tore his shirt, pulled on his tie, and ejected him head-first through the doors of the chamber, as the Pope looked on.^[8]

With others, he was instrumental in organising the so-called Pan-European Picnic at the Hungary-Austria border on 19 August 1989.^[3] This event is considered a milestone in the collapse of Communist dictatorships in Europe.^[55]

 

Otto (first right) with Helmut Kohl (third right) at the ceremony of the European Prize Coudenhove-Kalergi

In December 2006, he 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."^[56] He was known as a supporter of the rights of refugees and displaced people in Europe, notably of the ethnic Germans displaced from Bohemia where he was once the Crown Prince.^[57] He was a jury member of the Franz Werfel Human Rights Award.^[58] He also held Francisco Franco in a high regard and praised him for helping refugees, stating that he was "a dictator of the South American type, not totalitarian like Hitler or Stalin".^[59]

In 2002, he was named the first-ever honorary member of the European People's Party group.^[60]

Otto von Habsburg was an early critic of Russian President Putin. In a newspaper interview^[61] in 2002 and in two speeches^[62] in 2003 and 2005, he warned of Putin as an "international threat" that he was "cruel and oppressive" and a "stone cold technocrat".^[63]

On the 2008 anniversary of the Anschluss,^{[64][65][66][67][68]} Otto von Habsburg made a statement as part of his "1938 Remembrance Day" address before Parliament that "there is no country in Europe that has a better claim to be a victim of the Nazis than Austria".^[69] Although his speech received an ovation,^[70] this received public protest, media criticism and disapproval voiced by Austrian politicians.^[71] Social Democratic Party Defence Minister Norbert Darabos was quoted as saying that the remarks were "unacceptable", "a veritable democratic-political scandal" and that he had "insulted the victims of National Socialism". Otto von Habsburg was also quoted as saying that "a discussion as to whether Austria was an accomplice or a victim is an outrage".^[72] Austrian People's Party military spokesman Walter Murauer defended Otto's statement at the time.^[73] Murauer claimed that there was "another reality behind the mass of people who listened to Hitler on the Heldenplatz", meaning the "thousands in the resistance and thousands in prison waiting to be transported to Dachau" near Munich. Murauer also recalled that Engelbert Dollfuß had been the only head of government in Europe to have been murdered by the Nazis. Murauer advised Darabos "to avoid populist pot-shots against an honourable European of the highest calibre". Otto's son, Karl von Habsburg, also defended his father's words, in a 2011 statement, stating that "there were guilty parties in practically every country".^[74]

Death and funeral

Main article: Death and funeral of Otto von Habsburg

 

Otto and Regina lying in repose in the Capuchin Church, Vienna, draped with the Habsburg flag. The insignias of the various orders and decorations accumulated by Habsburg are on display. The guards of honour are dressed in Austro-Hungarian uniforms.

After the death of his wife, Regina, aged 85, in Pöcking on 3 February 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".^[3][8] On 5 July, his body was laid in repose in the Church of St. Ulrich near his home in Pöcking, Bavaria, and a massive 13-day period of mourning started in several countries formerly part of Austria-Hungary.^[75] Otto's coffin was draped with the Habsburg flag decorated with the imperial–royal coats of arms of Austria and Hungary in addition to the Habsburg family coat of arms. In line with the Habsburg family tradition, Otto von Habsburg was buried in the family's crypt in Vienna, while his heart was buried in Pannonhalma Archabbey in Hungary.^[8]

Family

 

4-year-old Crown Prince Otto of Hungary in Budapest in 1916, attending his parents' coronation as King and Queen of Hungary, painted by Gyula Éder (inspired by a frame of the coronation film).

He married Princess Regina of Saxe-Meiningen in 1951 at the Church of Saint-François-des-Cordeliers in Nancy, capital city of Lorraine. They were fourth cousins as both were descendants of Karl Ludwig, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and his wife Countess Amalie Henriette of Solms-Baruth. The wedding was attended by his mother, Empress Zita. He returned there with his wife for their golden jubilee in 2001. Otto lived in retirement at the Villa Austria in Pöcking near Starnberg, upon Starnberger See, Upper Bavaria, Bavaria, Germany.

At the time of his death in 2011, the couple had seven children, 22 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren:^[76]

• Andrea von Habsburg (born 1953), married Karl Eugen, Count of Neipperg (born 1951 in Schweigern). They have three sons and two daughters.
• Monika von Habsburg (born 1954), married Luis María Gonzaga de Casanova-Cárdenas y Barón, Duke of Santángelo and Grandee of Spain (born 1950 in Madrid), son of Balthasar de Casanova-Cárdenas y de Ferrer and María de los Dolores Barón y Osorio de Moscoso, Duchess de Maqueda, 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 1954, twin of Monika), married firstly Eric Alba-Teran d'Antin (born in Mexico City – 2004 in New York City), and secondly Count Hubertus von Kageneck (born 1940 in Wittlich), son of Count Franz Joseph von Kageneck and Princess Elisabeth Maria of Bavaria. Twice divorced, she has two sons and one daughter from her first marriage.
• Gabriela von Habsburg (born 1956), married Christian Meister (born 1954 in Starnberg). Divorced in 1997, they had one son and two daughters.
• Walburga von Habsburg (born 1958), married Count Archibald Douglas (born 1949 in Stockholm), a descendant of Ludwig I, Grand Duke of Baden. They have one son.
• Karl von Habsburg (born 1961), married (later divorced) Baroness Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza (born 1958 in Lausanne), daughter of Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza and Fiona Frances Elaine Campbell-Walter. They have one son and two daughters.
• Georg von Habsburg (born 1964), married Duchess Eilika of Oldenburg (born 1972 in Bad Segeberg). They have one son and two daughters.

Titles and styles

Styles of Crown Prince Otto of Austria
Reference style	His Imperial and Royal Highness
Spoken style	Your Imperial and Royal Highness

• 20 November 1912 – 21 November 1916: His Imperial and Royal Highness Archduke and Prince Otto of Austria, Prince of Hungary, Bohemia, Dalmatia, Croatia and Slavonia^[6]
• 21 November 1916 – 4 July 2011: His Imperial and Royal Highness The Crown Prince of Austria, Hungary, Bohemia and Croatia^[6][7]

Titles in pretence from 1 April 1922

See also: Pretender

• By the Grace of God Emperor of Austria; Apostolic King of Hungary, King of Bohemia, Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia, Galicia and Lodomeria; King of Jerusalem etc.; Archduke of Austria; Grand Duke of Tuscany and Cracow; Duke of Lorraine, Salzburg, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola and Bukowina; Grand Prince of Transylvania, Margrave of Moravia; Duke of Silesia, Modena, Parma, Piacenza, Guastalla, Auschwitz and Zator, Teschen, Friuli, Dubrovnik and Zadar; Princely Count of Habsburg and Tyrol, of Kyburg, Gorizia and Gradisca; Prince of Trent and Brixen; Margrave of Upper and Lower Lusatia and Istria; Count of Hohenems, Feldkirch, Bregenz, Sonnenburg etc.; Lord of Trieste, Kotor and the Windic March, Grand Voivod of the Voivodeship of Serbia etc.^[77]

Official in Austria

• 20 November 1912 – 21 November 1916: His Imperial and Royal Highness Archduke and Prince Otto of Austria, Prince of Hungary, Bohemia, Dalmatia, Croatia and Slavonia^[6]
• 21 November 1916 – 1919: His Imperial and Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Austria, Hungary, Bohemia, Dalmatia, Croatia and Slavonia^[6][7]
• 8 February 1957 – 4 July 2011: Herr Doktor Otto Habsburg-Lothringen

Official in Croatia

• 21 November 1916 – 29 October 1918: His Royal Highness The Crown Prince of Croatia, Dalmatia and Slavonia^[6][7]

He became a citizen of the Republic of Croatia in 1990, with the official name:

• 1990 – 4 July 2011: Archduke Otto von Habsburg^[78]

Official in Germany

Otto von Habsburg became a citizen of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1978, and was allowed the official name:

• 1978 – 4 July 2011: Otto von Habsburg

Honours

Dynastic honours

•   House of Habsburg:
  • Knight of the Austrian Imperial and Royal Order of the Golden Fleece, 1916;^[79] Sovereign Knight with Collar, 1922^[80]
  • Sovereign Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Imperial and Royal Hungarian Order of Saint Stephen^[80]
  • Sovereign Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Imperial and Royal Order of Leopold^[80]

Foreign honours

•   Croatia: Grand Cross of the Grand Order of King Dmitar Zvonimir^[80][78]
•   Estonia: Grand Cross of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana^[80]
•   France: Grand Cross of the Order of the Legion of Honour, 31 October 2008^[80][81][82]
• Germany:
  •   German Empire:
    •   Bavarian Royal Family: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Saint Hubert^[80]
    •       Ernestine Ducal Families: Knight Grand Cross of the Ducal Saxe-Ernestine House Order
  •   Federal Republic of Germany: Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany^[80]
    •   Bavaria: Member of the Decoration of Merit^[80]
•  : Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary^[83]
•   Italian Royal Family: Knight Grand Collar of the Royal Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation^[80]
  •   Two Sicilian Royal Family:
    • Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Royal Order of Saint Januarius^[80]
    • Bailiff Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Two Sicilian Royal Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George^[80]
  •   Parmese Ducal Royal Family: Knight Grand Cross of the Parmese Royal Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George^[80]
•   Kosovo:^[a] Recipient of the Medal of Liberty, Special Class^[80]
•   Latvia: Commander of the Order of the Three Stars^[80]
•   Lithuania: Commander of the Order of Grand Duke Gediminas^[80]
•   Luxembourg: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau^[80]
•   Morocco: Knight of the Order of Military Merit^[80]
•   Netherlands: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the House of Orange^[80]
•   Macedonia: Grand Cross of the ^[80]
•   Pakistan: Grand Officer of the Order of the Great Leader^[80]
•   Portuguese Royal Family: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa^[80]
•   Rhodesia: Grand Cross of the Order of the Legion of Merit^[80]
•   San Marino: Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Agatha^[80]
•   Sovereign Military Order of Malta: Bailiff Knight Grand Cross of Obedience of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, 2nd Class^[80][84]
•   Spain:
  • Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III^[80]
  • Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Africa^[80]
•    Vatican: Honorary Knight Grand Commander of the Teutonic Order^[80]
  •    Holy See:
    • Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Gregory the Great^[80]
    • Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Sylvester^[80]

Awards

•   South Tyrol: Recipient of the Grand Order of Merit^[80]
• Badge of the Tyrolean Nobility Register

Non-governmental awards

•   Paneuropean Union: Special Rank of the European Medal of the Paneuropean Union Germany
•   Sudetendeutsche Landsmannschaft: European Charles Prize of the Sudetendeutsche Landsmannschaft

Academic awards

• Medal of the Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques, Institut de France, Paris, France
• Medal of the Royal Moroccan Academy, Morocco
• Medal of the Academia da Cultura Portuguesa, Lisbon, Portugal
• Medal of the Real Academia de Ciencias Morales y Políticas, Madrid, Spain
• Honorary Professor of the University of Bogota, Colombia
• Honorary Fellow of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
• Honorary Member of the Instituto de Estudos da Marinha, Portugal
• Honorary Senator of the University of Maribor, Slovenia
• Honorary Doctor of the University of Osijek, Croatia
• Honorary Doctor of the University of Nancy, Lorraine, France
• Honorary Doctor of the University of Turku, Finland
• Honorary Doctor of the University of Budapest, Hungary
• Honorary Doctor of the University of Pécs, Hungary
• Honorary Doctor of the University of Veszprém, Hungary
• Honorary Doctor of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
• Honorary Doctor of the University of Ferrara, Italy
• Honorary Doctor of the University of Skopje, Macedonia
• Honorary Doctor of the University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, US
• Honorary Doctor of the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US
• Honorary Doctor of the University of Tampa, Tampa, Florida, US
• Academician of Studium, Accademia di Casale e del Monferrato, Italy

Ancestry

Ancestors of Otto von Habsburg

8. Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria 4. Archduke Otto of Austria 9. Princess Maria Annunziata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies 2. Charles I of Austria 10. George of Saxony 5. Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony 11. Infanta Maria Anna of Portugal 1. Otto, Crown Prince of Austria 12. Charles III, Duke of Parma 6. Robert I, Duke of Parma 13. Princess Louise of Artois 3. Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma 14. Miguel I of Portugal 7. Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal 15. Princess Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg

Footnotes

1. Dan van der Vat (4 July 2011). "Otto von Habsburg obituary". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
2. Otto was born as His Imperial and Royal Highness Archduke Otto of Austria, Royal Prince of Hungary and Bohemia and became the Crown Prince of these countries in 1916. After 1919, titles of nobility were formally abolished in Austria, thus in official use the "von" disappeared before Habsburg. The same applied after Habsburg became a German citizen (see Printausgabe der deutschen Wochenzeitung die Zeit of 21 July 2011, p. 36). By courtesy, he would also be referred to by the European royal and princely courts by his former style and title, i.e. as His Imperial and Royal Highness Archduke Otto of Austria. In the Austrian republic the authorities referred to him from 1919 as Otto Habsburg-Lothringen, a name he never used himself. Otto did not live in Austria after 1919, and his citizenship there was revoked by Adolf Hitler in 1941, making him stateless. His Austrian citizenship was only restored in 1965. Otto later became a citizen of Germany (in 1978) and Croatia (in 1990) and was issued passports of these countries, where his official name was Otto von Habsburg. As a Member of the European Parliament for Germany, his official name in the European Union was Otto von Habsburg. On his website, he used the style and name His Imperial and Royal Highness Dr. Otto von Habsburg.
3. Nicholas Kulish (4 July 2011). "Otto von Hapsburg, a Would-Be Monarch, Dies at 98". The New York Times.
4. "Habsburg: Last heir to Austro-Hungarian empire dies". BBC News. 4 July 2011. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
5. "Die vielen Pflichten des Adels". Wiener Zeitung (in German). 5 July 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
6. Kaiser Joseph II. harmonische Wahlkapitulation mit allen den vorhergehenden Wahlkapitulationen der vorigen Kaiser und Könige.. Since 1780 official title used for princes (zu Hungarn, Böheim, Dalmatien, Kroatien, Sflavonien, Königlicher Erbprinz)
7. Croatian Coronation Oath of 1916.. pp. 2–4, 'Emperor of Austria, Hungary and Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia Apostolic king'
8. Scally, Derek (5 July 2011). "Death of former 'kaiser in exile' and last heir to Austro-Hungarian throne". The Irish Times. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
9. Kaiser-Sohn Otto von Habsburg gestorben Deutsche Welle, 4 July 2011 (in German)
10. Tibor Pásztory. "Die beliebtesten Irrtümer zur Monarchie". Wienerzeitung.at. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
11. "The Budapest Times – Hungary's leading English Language source for daily news". Budapesttimes.hu. 26 November 2007. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
12. "Trauer um Otto von Habsburg". Kathweb.at. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
13. Wiener Zeitung, 26 November 1912.
14. "Otto von Habsburg, heir to Austria's last emperor, dies at 98". The Local. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
15. . TIME. 11 March 1940. Archived from the original on 14 October 2010. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
16. Warren, David (10 July 2011). . The Ottawa Citizen. Archived from the original on 28 August 2011. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
17. "Habsburgs Erbe zerfiel und erlebte dennoch eine Renaissance". Diepresse.com. 27 May 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
18. . Thenational.ae. 6 July 2011. Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
19. Gunther, John (1936). Inside Europe. Harper & Brothers. pp. 321–323.
20. Gedächtnisjahrbuch 1937, 9. Jg.: Dem Andenken an Karls von Österreich Kaiser und König. Arbeitsgemeinschaft österreichischer Vereine – Wien, W. Hamburger 1937
21. Heinz Arnberger, Winfried R. Garscha, Rudolf G. Ardelt, Christa Mitterrutzner, Anschluß 1938, Dokumentationsarchiv des Österreichischen Widerstandes, Österreichischer Bundesverlag, 1988, ISBN 3215068249
22. "Archduke Otto von Habsburg". The Daily Telegraph. London. 4 July 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
23. Warner, Gerald (20 November 2008). . The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 10 July 2009. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
24. "Biography". Otto von Habsburg Foundation. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
25. Omeidl "Rudolf Hess, der Stellvertreter des Führers, hatte den deutschen Invasionstruppen für das neutrale Belgien den Befehl erteilt, Otto von Habsburg und seine Brüder, falls sie gefasst würden, ohne jedes weitere Verfahren sofort zu erschießen." . Archived from the original on 5 October 2010. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
26. Zoch, Irene (22 February 2004). "Habsburgs demand return of estates seized by Nazis in 1938". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
27. "Otto von Habsburg, oldest son of Austria-Hungary's last emperor, dies at age 98". Newser. Retrieved 6 July 2011.^{[permanent dead link]}
28. http://www.heraldscotland.com/mobile/comment/obituaries/otto-von-habsburg-1.1110433^{[dead link]}
29. Madeira, Lina A. (2013). O Mecanismo de (Des)Promoções do MNE: O Caso Paradigmático de Aristides de Sousa Mendes (PhD). Coimbra University. p. 458.
30. Exiles Memorial Centre Library.
31. Brook-Shepherd 2007, p. 153.
32. Stephan Baier, Eva Demmerle: Otto von Habsburg. Die Biografie. Amalthea, Wien 2002, ISBN 3850024865, p. 122.
33. Timothy Snyder "The Red Prince: The Secret Lives of a Habsburg Archduke" (2008); James Longo "Hitler and the Habsburgs: The Fuhrer's Vendetta Against the Austrian Royals" (2018); Bob Carruthers "Hitler's Violent Youth: How Trench Warfare and Street Fighting Moulded Hitler" (2015); Pieter M. Judson "The Habsburg Empire. A New History" (Harvard 2016); Christopher Clark "The Sleepwalkers" (New York 2012).
34. Elisabeth Boeckl-Klamper, Thomas Mang, Wolfgang Neugebauer: Gestapo-Leitstelle Wien 1938–1945. Vienna 2018, ISBN 978-3902494832, pp. 299–305.
35. Hans Schafranek: Widerstand und Verrat: Gestapospitzel im antifaschistischen Untergrund. Vienna 2017, ISBN 978-3707606225, pp. 161–248.
36. Fritz Molden: Die Feuer in der Nacht. Opfer und Sinn des österreichischen Widerstandes 1938–1945. Vienna 1988, p. 122.
37. Peter Broucek "Die österreichische Identität im Widerstand 1938–1945" (2008), p. 163.
38. Hansjakob Stehle "Die Spione aus dem Pfarrhaus (German: The spy from the rectory)" In: Die Zeit, 5 January 1996.
39. "Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, 1945, European Advisory Commission, Austria, Germany, Volume III – Office of the Historian". Retrieved 11 December 2016.
40. . Die-tagespost.de. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
41. Brook-Shepherd, p. 177
42. Kathpress. "Kathpress – Katholische Presseagentur Österreich". Retrieved 11 December 2016.
43. Oliver Meidl: Monarch. A Life for Europe – Republican Recognition in Black and Yellow. "Ottos Anwalt verfassten Text vom 21. Februar 1958, in dem es heißt: "Um in meine Heimat zurückkehren zu können, erkläre ich im eigenen Namen und im Namen meiner Gemahlin und meiner minderjährigen Kinder als österreichischer Staatsbürger, die derzeit in Österreich geltenden Gesetze anzuerkennen und mich als getreuer Bürger der Republik zu bekennen." July 2011 . Archived from the original on 5 October 2010. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
44. Gedenkdienst Archive Zur Geschichte der "Habsburger-Gesetze" http://www.gedenkdienst.at/index.php?id=679
45. Brook-Shepherd, p. 181
46. Die Presse, "Unabhängige Tageszeitung für Österreich". 10–11 November 2007. p. 3 (German online version dated 9 November 2007: [1].
47. Mommsen-Reindl, Margarete (1976). Die Österreichische Proporzdemokratie und der Fall Habsburg. Böhlaus zeitgeschichtliche Bibliothek. Vol. 1. Vienna: Hermann Böhlaus Nachf. ISBN 3205071263.
48. Salzburger Nachrichten 1 June 1963 (German) . Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
49. A Life for Europe: Republican Recognition in Black and Yellow. "Otto von Habsburg am 31. Oktober 1966 nach Österreich ein und besuchte in Innsbruck das Grab von Erzherzog Eugen." . Archived from the original on 5 October 2010. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
50. E. Feigl, Otto von Habsburg, Profil eines Lebens, 1992 ISBN 3850023273
51. Austria-Online-Lexicon (German) http://www.austria-lexikon.at/af/Wissenssammlungen/Biographien/Habsburg,_Otto
52. Austria Presse Agentur with backing from ÖRF (press archive, 1955–1985) (German) http://www.historisch.apa.at/cms/apa-historisch/dossier.html?dossierID=AHD_19580221_AHD0001 19 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine
53. . Parlament.gv.at. Archived from the original on 4 March 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
54. Peterson, David (1999). Revoking the moral order: the ideology of positivism and the Vienna circle. Lexington Books. p. 122.
55. Barta, Györgyi (2005). Hunagrian spaces and places:patterns of transition. Hungarian Academy of Sciences. p. 2. ISBN 9639052469.
56. Lalanne, Dorothée (6 December 2006). "Otto de Habsbourg: Européen Avant Tout". Point de Vue (3046): 46.
57. "Zemřel syn posledního rakouského císaře Otto von Habsburg – ČeskéNoviny.cz". Ceskenoviny.cz. 4 July 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
58. . Z-g-v.de. Archived from the original on 6 August 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
59. "Otto von Habsburg who saw end of empire dead at 98". Forbes. Retrieved 5 July 2011.^{[dead link]}
60. . Eppgroup.eu. Archived from the original on 7 October 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
61. Jäkel, Lara (15 March 2022). "Wladimir Putin: "Eiskalter Bürokrat" – Otto von Habsburg warnte schon 2003 vor ihm". Die Welt.
62. "Über Putin: Wie Otto von Habsburg ihn einschätzte (2003 und 2005)". YouTube.
63. Gupta, Oliver Das. ""Putin ist ein eiskalter Technokrat"". Süddeutsche.de.
64. Südtirol Online, 4 July 2011 "Was eigentlich ein Skandal war, nämlich die Diskussion hier in Österreich über die Frage, ob Österreich ein Mitschuldiger war oder ob es ein Opfer war. Meine Damen und Herren, ich glaube es gibt keinen Staat in Europa, der mehr Recht hat, sich als Opfer zu bezeichnen, als es Österreich gewesen ist." . Stol.it. 4 July 2011. Archived from the original on 8 August 2011. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
65. Süddeutsche Zeitung, 12 March 2008 (German) http://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/oesterreichs-anschluss-an-nazi-deutschland-habsburg-holt-opferthese-aus-der-mottenkiste-1.282308
66. Kurier, Wien, 8 July 2011 (German)...es gebe "keinen Staat in Europa, der mehr Recht hat, sich als Opfer zu bezeichnen, als es Österreich gewesen ist". http://kurier.at/nachrichten/3921065.php 11 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine
67. Süddeutsche Zeitung, 9 April 2008 (German) http://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/kz-kommandant-goeth-morden-bereichern-intrigieren-1.195309
68. Focus Online, 4 July 2011 (German) http://www.focus.de/panorama/vermischtes/otto-von-habsburg-das-bewegte-leben-des-otto-von-europa_aid_642777.html
69. . Archived from the original on 14 March 2008. Retrieved 14 March 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) Ö1 Inforadio 03/10/2008 (German) "Was eigentlich ein Skandal war, nämlich die Diskussion hier in Österreich über die Frage, ob Österreich ein Mitschuldiger war oder ob es ein Opfer war. Meine Damen und Herren, ich glaube es gibt keinen Staat in Europa, der mehr Recht hat sich als Opfer zu bezeichnen, als es Österreich gewesen ist."
70. ÖRF Online (German) http://sciencev1.orf.at/uhl/151021.html
71. N-TV, 12 March 2008 (German) http://www.n-tv.de/politik/dossier/Oesterreich-arbeitet-auf-article255663.html
72. Tiroler Tageszeitung, 9 July 2011(German) http://www.tt.com/csp/cms/sites/tt/Nachrichten/3029285-2/karl-habsburg-verteidigt-v%C3%A4terliche-aussage-%C3%BCber-opferrolle.csp 11 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
73. Austrian Times, 11 March 2008 (English) Habsburg Claims Austria Was Victim http://austriantimes.at/?c=1&id=4010-newentry 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
74. Der Standard, 9 July 2011 (German) "Mitschuldige gab es praktisch in jedem Land" http://derstandard.at/1308680832243/Karl-Habsburg-verteidigt-revisionistische-Aussagen-seines-Vaters
75. . Monsters and Critics. Archived from the original on 3 November 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
76. Kulish, Nicholas (4 July 2011). "Otto von Hapsburg, a Would-Be Monarch, Dies at 98". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
77. Franz Gall "Österreichische Wappenkunde", 1992, p. 105.
78. "Odluka kojom se odlikuju za izniman doprinos". Narodne novine (in Croatian). 7 July 1995. Retrieved 12 July 2008. nadvojvoda Otto von Habsburg [Archduke Otto von Habsburg] (Official decree and list of persons awarded by the President of Croatia with the Grand Order of King Zvonimir, no. 6. 'Archduke Otto von Habsburg'
79. Boettger, T. F. . La Confrérie Amicale. Archived from the original on 29 July 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
80. ottovonhabsburg.org, page with the Orders and Decorations of Crown Prince Otto 16 May 2017 at the Wayback Machine
81. (in French). France 3. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
82. M. & B. Wattel. (2009). Les Grand'Croix de la Légion d'honneur de 1805 à nos jours. Titulaires français et étrangers. Paris: Archives & Culture. p. 413. ISBN 978-2350771359.
83. Magyar Közlöny p.7934
84. Staff writer (18 Jul. 2011). orderofmalta.int.

Bibliography

• Brook-Shepherd, Gordon (2007). Uncrowned Emperor – The Life and Times of Otto von Habsburg. A&C Black. ISBN 978-1852855499.
• Flavia Foradini, Otto d'Asburgo. L'ultimo atto di una dinastia, mgs press, Trieste, 2004. ISBN 8889219041
• Stefan Haderer, Otto von Habsburg (1912–2011) – The Life of an Uncrowned Emperor, Royalty Digest Quarterly, Vol. 3/2011, Rosvall Royal Books, Falköping 2011
• Stefan Haderer, An Imperial Farewell – Funeral Ceremonies of Otto von Habsburg, Royalty Digest Quarterly, Vol. 4/2011, Rosvall Royal Books, Falköping 2011

Annotations

1. ‹The template Kosovo-note is being considered for deletion.›  The political status of Kosovo is disputed. Having unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in 2008, Kosovo is formally recognised as a sovereign state by 101 UN member states (with another 13 states recognising it at some point but then withdrawing their recognition) and 92 states not recognizing it, while Serbia continues to claim it as a part of its own territory.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Otto, Crown Prince of Austria.

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Otto von Habsburg-Lothringen.

• Otto von Habsburg Obituary – The Independent (London, UK) 2011 By Martin Childs
• Video interview of Otto von Habsbourg (French) European Navigator
• Appearances on C-SPAN (Otto Von Habsburg)
• Appearances on C-SPAN (Otto Habsburg)
• Archduke Otto von Habsburg, Crown Prince of Hungary, SAST REPORT
• The Mises I Knew on YouTube Audio of Otto von Habsburg's English-language talk at Ludwig von Mises Institute's "Manifesto of Liberty" Summit, February 1999.
• 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
• Obituary of Archduke Otto * Otto von Habsburg, The Daily Telegraph, 4 July 2011
• Official website covering the death and funeral of Otto von Habsburg
• Otto von Habsburg (The Economist)
• Newspaper clippings about Otto von Habsburg in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW

Otto von Habsburg House of Habsburg-Lorraine Cadet branch of the House of Lorraine Born: 20 November 1912 Died: 4 July 2011
Titles in pretence
Preceded by Emperor-King Charles	— TITULAR — Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, Bohemia, Croatia etc 1 April 1922 – 4 July 2011 Reason for succession failure: Austro-Hungarian Empire abolished in 1918	Succeeded by Charles von Habsburg
Political offices
Preceded by Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi	International President of the Paneuropean Union 1973–2004	Succeeded by Alain Terrenoire