Otto von Habsburg, 1912–2011
The last crown prince of Austria-Hungary
The world first caught a glimpse of Otto von Habsburg in 1916, when the 4-year-old appeared dressed in a fur-trimmed tunic at the 1916 funeral of his great-great-uncle, Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Josef. A month later, when his father, Karl, assumed the imperial throne, the young Crown Prince of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia wore ermine and velvet with a large white feather in his cap. The pomp didn’t last. Within two years, Austria-Hungary was defeated in World War I, and the empire was abolished. Yet to the end of his long life, Otto von Habsburg preferred to be addressed as “Your Imperial Highness.”
Otto von Habsburg was always “the embodied echo of a different world,” said Germany’s Süddeutsche Zeitung. Born in a royal villa in Reichenau, Austria, he grew up in European exile. Habsburg offered to restore Austria’s throne in 1938 to stave off the country’s annexation by the Nazis, and would likely have been eliminated by Hitler had that bid succeeded. Instead he spent most of the war in the U.S. Only once he formally relinquished his royal claim, in 1961, was he allowed to set foot in Austria again; there he was known merely as Dr. Otto Habsburg-Lothringen, since the country had banned aristocratic titles. So he became a citizen of Germany, where he could style himself Archduke Otto and retain the aristocratic “von” before Habsburg.
Once the prospect of monarchy faded, Habsburg embraced the idea of uniting Europe within what would become the European Union. In 1979 he was elected member of the European Parliament for Bavaria’s conservative Christian Social Union. In his 20 years in the Parliament, Habsburg “proved an accomplished debater with a fluent command of seven European languages,” said the London Telegraph.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
He remained controversial for his archconservative politics and his conviction that Austrians had been Hitler’s victims rather than his accomplices, said the Associated Press. But Habsburg’s efforts to bridge the gap between eastern and western Europe gained him broad respect. His body will be buried in Vienna’s Emperor Tomb, and his heart in a Benedictine abbey in Hungary.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
‘A legacy news brand brings a visibility of its own’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
8 of the best ‘cozy crime’ series of all time
The Week Recommends Murder mysteries don’t necessarily have to make us miserable, and these shows have perfected a feel-good crime formula
-
Youth revolts rattle Morocco as calls against corruption grow louder
THE EXPLAINER Snowballing controversy over World Cup construction and civic services has become a serious threat to Morocco’s political stability
-
Robert Redford: the Hollywood icon who founded the Sundance Film Festival
Feature Redford’s most lasting influence may have been as the man who ‘invigorated American independent cinema’ through Sundance
-
Patrick Hemingway: The Hemingway son who tended to his father’s legacy
Feature He was comfortable in the shadow of his famous father, Ernest Hemingway
-
Giorgio Armani obituary: designer revolutionised the business of fashion
In the Spotlight ‘King Giorgio’ came from humble beginnings to become a titan of the fashion industry and redefine 20th-century clothing
-
Ozzy Osbourne obituary: heavy metal wildman and lovable reality TV dad
In the Spotlight For Osbourne, metal was 'not the music of hell but rather the music of Earth, not a fantasy but a survival guide'
-
Brian Wilson: the troubled genius who powered the Beach Boys
Feature The musical giant passed away at 82
-
Sly Stone: The funk-rock visionary who became an addict and recluse
Feature Stone, an eccentric whose songs of uplift were tempered by darker themes of struggle and disillusionment, had a fall as steep as his rise
-
Mario Vargas Llosa: The novelist who lectured Latin America
Feature The Peruvian novelist wove tales of political corruption and moral compromise
-
Dame Maggie Smith: an intensely private national treasure
In the Spotlight Her mother told her she didn't have the looks to be an actor, but Smith went on to win awards and capture hearts