Emperor of Austria - The Emperor

The Emperor

In the face of aggressions by Napoleon, who had promoted himself to Emperéur des Francais on May 18, 1804, Francis feared for the future of the Holy Roman Empire and wished to maintain his and his family's Imperial status in the event that the Holy Roman Empire should be dissolved. Therefore on August 11, 1804 he created the new title Emperor of Austria for himself and his successors as heads of the Habsburg Lothringen dynasty. For two years, Francis now carried two imperial titles, being Holy Roman Emperor Francis II and "by the grace of God" (Von Gottes Gnaden) Emperor Francis I of Austria.

In 1805, an Austrian-led army suffered a humiliating defeat at the Battle of Austerlitz and the victorious Napoleon proceeded to dismantle the old Reich (which at this time was only a powerless confederation) by motivating or pressing several German dukes and grand-dukes to enter the separate Confederation of the Rhine with their lands in July. This led Francis I / II on August 6, 1806 to declare the Reich extinct and to lay down the crown of the Holy Roman Empire created in the second half of the 10th century (today displayed at the Treasury of Hofburg Palace in Vienna).

From 1806 onwards, Francis was Emperor of Austria only. He had three successors - Ferdinand I, Francis Joseph I and Charles I - before the Empire broke apart in 1918. A coronation ceremony was never established; the successor to the throne became emperor in the moment the emperor died or resigned. The symbol of the Austrian Emperor was the dynasty's private crown dating back to Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor (called Rudolfinische Hauskrone by the experts), which should convey the dignity and myth of the Habsburgs.