CHARLES TI

(1887-1922), Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary as Charles IV.; b. Vienna. He was s. of Archduke Otto Franz Joseph of the Hapsburg royal house. The a a ination of his uncle, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, at Serajevo, Bosnia, in 1914, which furnished the occasion for the outbreak of the World War, made Charles the heir apparent, and he acceded to the throne on the death of his granduncle, Emperor Francis Joseph, on Nov. 21, 1916. His character was amiable but not strong enough to cope with the problems of his country. He had no heart for the war and the letters written to his wife’s brother, Sixtus of Bourbon, in which he proposed a plan for ending it, roused the wrath of Germany and created a state of tension between the Central Powers. Following the armistice Charles escaped to Switzerland. Twice he returned from exile in the hope of regaining his throne 3 but failed and as a result of the second fy attempt: was banished by the Allied Powers to the Island of Madeira, pr where he died shortly afterward.