He was the last of the monarchs belonging to the House of Habsburg-Lorraine to rule over Austria-Hungary. In , he married Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma. Charles succeeded to the thrones in November following the death of his great-uncle, Franz Joseph.
He began secret negotiations with the Allies, hoping to peacefully end the First World War , but was unsuccessful. Despite Charles's efforts to preserve the empire by returning it to federalism and by championing Austro-Slavism , Austria-Hungary hurtled into disintegration: Czechoslovakia and the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs were proclaimed, and Hungary broke monarchic ties to Austria by the end of October Following the Armistice of 11 November , Charles "renounced any participation" in government affairs, but did not abdicate.
However, the Republic of German-Austria was proclaimed the following day, and in April the National Assembly formally dethroned the Habsburgs and banished Charles from German-Austria for life. Charles spent the early part of his exile in Switzerland. He spent the remaining years of his life attempting to restore the monarchy.
Charles was exiled for a second time to the Portuguese island of Madeira , where he soon fell ill and died of respiratory failure in A deeply religious man, Charles was beatified by the Catholic Church in , with October 21 as his feast day. However, his death in from typhoid made his eldest son, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the new heir presumptive. Archduke Charles was raised a devout Catholic.
He spent his early years wherever his father's regiment happened to be stationed; later on, he lived in Vienna and Reichenau an der Rax. He was privately educated, but, contrary to the custom ruling in the imperial family, he attended a public gymnasium the Schottengymnasium for the sake of demonstrations in scientific subjects. On the conclusion of his studies at the gymnasium, he entered the army, spending the years from to as an officer chiefly in Prague , where he studied Law and Political Science concurrently with his military duties.
