Otto von Habsburg was born in 1912 in Austria-Hungary and became Crown Prince at age 4 after his father became emperor in 1916. After World War 1, both monarchies were abolished and the family went into exile. Otto spent his life advocating for European unity and served as a Member of the European Parliament from 1979-1999. He lived in exile in several countries until being allowed to return to Austria in 1966. Otto von Habsburg died in 2011 at the age of 98.

1. Made by: Benedict S. Gombocz

2.  Born on November 20, 1912 in Reichenau an der Rax,
Lower Austria (then part of Austria-Hungary)
 His father, on the death of his father’s granduncle
Franz Josef I, took power in November 1916; Otto
himself, at only the age of four, became Crown Prince
of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary
 At the end of the First World War in 1918, Karl was
forced to abdicate and both monarchies were
abolished; Austria and Hungary became independent
nations and the family was forced to go into exile

3.  Spent the years following the end of World War I in Switzerland
and Madeira, where Karl prematurely died in 1922; Otto was
pretender to the throne at the age of ten
 The Austrian Parliament officially disbanded the Habsburg
dynasty and took away all official property (Habsburgergesetz of
April 3, 1919)
 Graduated from the University of Louvain in 1935, having studied
both social and political science
 Spent most of World War II in Washington, D.C. (from 1940 to
1944) after he escaped to Portugal via Austria with a visa given to
him by the Portuguese consul in Bordeaux Aristides Sousa
Mendes
 As a fervent patriot, he was opposed to the Nazi Anschluss of
Austria of 1938 and also fought against Hitler’s regime during his
life in the United States
 Lived in exile in France and Spain after World War II ended

4.  In the years following the end of World War II, Otto
von Habsburg denounced his claims to regain the
Austria throne by 1961 so he could be permitted return
to Austria; he was allowed to live in Austria again in
1966
 Declined an offer to success Spain’s dictator Francisco
Franco as King of Spain after Franco’s own death
 As an early supporter of a unified Europe, he served as
a Member of the European Parliament for the
Conservative German CSU party from 1979-1999

5.  Married Princess Regina von
Sachsen-Meiningen in 1951;
they have seven children and
21 grandchildren and lived at
the “Villa Austria” in Pöcking,
Bavaria, Germany until Otto’s
death in 2011 (they had been
married 60 years)
 Their oldest son Karl (Charles)
Habsburg (born January 11,
1961) is be future head of the
Habsburg family; he married
Baroness Francesca of
Thyssen-Bornemisza in 1993
and they have three children
and live in Salzburg, Austria

6.  Otto von Habsburg died on July 4,
2011 at age 98
 Was honored by no less than five
funeral masses including one in
St. Stephen’s cathedral attended
by 1,000 mourners from across
Europe
 More than 100,000 spectators
attended his funeral procession
together with 300 journalists
 Was buried alongside his
ancestors in the Chapel of the
Capuchins in Vienna and his heart
was buried in Hungary
 His long life of almost 100 years
was so well lived that he deserved
the title of a “great European”

7.  http://www.biographybase.com/biography/
Habsburg_Otto_von.html