Archduke Franz Karl of Austria
1802 – 1878 · Generation XIX · Archduke · Habsburg-Lorraine
Franz Karl (1802 – 1878). Archduke. Married Sophie in 1824. Renounced his succession rights in 1848 so his son Franz Joseph could take the throne. The third son of Emperor Francis II by Maria Theresa of the Two Sicilies, he married into a family already tied to his own: Sophie’s half-sister was his stepmother. Her family tolerated his graceless manner, as his elder brother Ferdinand’s incapacity promised Sophie a chance to be empress. Lacking drive and of little consequence, he still sat with his uncle Archduke Louis on the Secret State Conference that governed for the mentally ill Ferdinand from 1835 to 1848, though real decisions lay with Metternich and Kolowrat. It was Sophie, her hopes by then transferred to their son, who pressed him to give up his claim. Besides Franz Joseph, he fathered Maximilian of Mexico and Karl Ludwig. He died in Vienna in 1878, six years after his wife, and was buried in the Imperial Crypt — the last Habsburg whose heart and viscera were separately entombed according to the old family rite.
Place in the family
- Archduke Franz Karl of Austria was the father of Franz Joseph I of Austria.
- Archduke Franz Karl of Austria was the younger of 2 children of Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Teresa of Naples and Sicily recorded in this archive.
- The archive records 10 of his descendants, across 6 generations.
One of 24 people of Habsburg-Lorraine (from 1736) in this archive. Maria Theresa’s marriage carried the inheritance into a new name, which its heirs still bear.
Line of descent: Rudolf I of Germany → Albert I of Germany → Albert II, Duke of Austria → Leopold III, Duke of Austria → Ernest, Duke of Austria → Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor → Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor → Philip I of Castile → Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor → Charles II, Archduke of Austria → Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor → Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor → Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor → Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor → Maria Theresa → Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor → Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor → Archduke Franz Karl of Austria.
Parents
- Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor (1768 – 1835)
- Maria Teresa of Naples and Sicily (1772 – 1807)
Siblings
- Ferdinand I of Austria (1793 – 1875)
Partners
- Married Princess Sophie of Bavaria (1805 – 1872) in 1824 — 3 children together
Children
- Franz Joseph I of Austria (1830 – 1916)
- Maximilian I of Mexico (1832 – 1867)
- Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria (1833 – 1896)
Life
- 1802 — Born
- 1824 — Married Sophie
- 1878 — Died