House of Lorraine

House of Lorraine
Haus Lothringen
Original arms of the House of Lorraine
Parent houseArdennes–Metz which in turn can possibly be a cadet branch of either the Etichonids or the Matfridings
CountryAlsace, Austria, Bohemia, Brabant, France, Flanders, Hungary, Lorraine, Luxembourg, Mexico, Modena and Tuscany
Current headKarl von Habsburg-Lothringen
Titles (see more)
DepositionLorraine:
1738 – Francis I ceded title in accordance with the Treaty of Vienna, gaining Tuscany

Holy Roman Empire, Luxembourg,
Brabant, and Flanders
:

1805 – Francis II & I ceded titles in accordance with the Peace of Pressburg

Parma:
1847 – Marie Louise died with issue

Tuscany:
1859 – Leopold II abdicated due to pressure from Italian nationalists

Mexico:
1867 – Maximilian I executed by Liberal republicans.

Austria, Hungary and Bohemia:
1918 – Charles I & IV relinquished participation in state affairs following the end of World War I
Cadet branches

The House of Lorraine (German: Haus Lothringen) originated as a cadet branch of the House of Metz. It inherited the Duchy of Lorraine in 1473 after the death without a male heir of Nicholas I, Duke of Lorraine. By the marriage of Francis of Lorraine to Maria Theresa of Austria in 1736, and with the success in the ensuing War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748), the House of Lorraine was joined to the House of Habsburg and became known as the House of Habsburg-Lorraine (German: Haus Habsburg-Lothringen). Francis, his sons Joseph II and Leopold II, and his grandson Francis II were the last four Holy Roman emperors from 1745 until the dissolution of the empire in 1806. The House of Habsburg-Lorraine inherited the Habsburg Empire, ruling the Austrian Empire and then Austria-Hungary until the dissolution of the monarchy in 1918.

Although its senior agnates are the dukes of Hohenberg, the house is currently headed by Karl von Habsburg (born 1961), grandson of the last emperor Charles I.[1]

  1. ^ Gordon Brook-Shepherd. Uncrowned Emperor: the Life and Times of Otto von Habsburg. Continuum International Publishing Group, 2003. ISBN 1-85285-439-1. pp. xi, 179, 216.