by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2026
Karl Habsburg-Lothringen, also known as Karl von Habsburg, has been Head of the House of Habsburg-Lothringen, also known as the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, the former royal house of the defunct Austro-Hungarian thrones, since 2007, when his father, Otto von Habsburg (1912 – 2011), the last Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary, resigned as Head of the House. Karl Thomas Robert Maria Franziskus Georg Bahnam Habsburg-Lothringen was born on January 11, 1961, in Starnberg, Bavaria, then in West Germany, now in Germany. He was the sixth of the seven children and the elder of the two sons of Otto von Habsburg, the last Crown Prince of Austria, Hungary, Bohemia, and Croatia, and Regina von Habsburg, born Princess Regina of Saxe-Meiningen. Karl’s paternal grandparents were Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, and Zita of Bourbon-Parma. His maternal grandparents were Georg, Prince of Saxe-Meiningen and Head of the House of Saxe-Meiningen from 1941 to 1946, and Countess Klara Marie von Korff genannt Schmising-Kerssenbrock.
Karl had five elder sisters and one younger brother:
- Andrea von Habsburg (born 1953), married Hereditary Count Karl Eugen von Neipperg, had five children
- Monika von Habsburg (born 1954, twin of Michaela), married Luis María Gonzaga de Casanova-Cárdenas y Barón, 5th Duke of Santangelo, had four children
- Michaela von Habsburg (born 1954, twin of Monika), married (1) Eric Alba Teran d’Antin, had three children, divorced (2) Count Hubertus von Kageneck, divorced
- Gabriela von Habsburg (born 1956), married Christian Meister, had three children, divorced
- Walburga von Habsburg (born 1958), married Count Archibald Douglas, had one child
- Georg von Habsburg (born 1964), married Duchess Eilika of Oldenburg, had three children
Karl and his siblings grew up at their parents’ home, at Villa Austria in Pöcking on Lake Starnberg in Bavaria, Germany, because their father, Otto von Habsburg, was not able to return to Austria after World War I. In 1919, the Austrian Parliament passed the Habsburg Law, forbidding Otto’s parents, Karl and Zita, from returning to Austria. The law also prevented other Habsburgs from returning to Austria unless they renounced all intentions of claiming the throne and accepted the condition of living as ordinary citizens. In 1961, Karl’s father renounced all claims to the defunct Austrian throne as a necessary legal condition to being allowed to return to Austria. In 1966, Otto von Habsburg was permitted to visit Austria for the first time in forty-eight years. Karl traveled to Austria for the first time with his siblings in 1968.
In 1919, the Adelsaufhebungsgesetz (Law on the Abolition of the Nobility) abolished all Austrian and Hungarian noble, royal, and imperial titles. Their use is still illegal in Austria and Hungary. However, media from other countries often refer to Karl by his ancestral titles: Archduke of Austria, Royal Prince of Hungary, Bohemia, and Croatia. As a citizen of the Republic of Austria, Karl’s legal name is Karl Habsburg-Lothringen.
Karl attended an elementary school in Pöcking, Bavaria, Germany, and a modern language grammar school in Tutzing, Bavaria, Germany, both public schools. Between 1982 and 1989, Karl studied law, philosophy, and political science at the University of Salzburg, passing his first Staatsexamen in 1984. From 1984 to 1985, Karl spent a year studying law and philosophy at Michigan State University in the United States. In 2012, Karl received graduate degrees in business and law from IMADEC University in Vienna, Austria. However, there were investigations into IMADEC University because politicians, political operatives, and socialites were managing to earn degrees without spending any significant amount of time in either classrooms or libraries, including Karl.
On January 31, 1993, Karl married Baroness Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza at the Basilica of the Nativity of Mary in Mariazell, Austria. In 2003, Karl and Francesca separated and divorced in 2017. In 2022, Karl married his long-time Portuguese partner, Christian Nicolau de Almeida Reid.
Ferdinand Habsburg-Lothringen, Karl’s son and heir apparent to the headship of the House of Habsburg-Lothringen; Credit – Wikipedia by Morio
Karl and his first wife, Francesca, have three children:
Karl has been active in the Pan-European Union, the oldest still-existing European unification movement, since his youth, and in 1986, he took over the position of President of the Austrian branch. Karl was elected as a member of the European Parliament for Austria, representing the Austrian People’s Party from 1996 to 1999.
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Works Cited
- Autoren der Wikimedia-Projekte. (2005). österreichischer Politiker (ÖVP), MdEP, Oberhaupt des Hauses Habsburg. Wikipedia.org; Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Habsburg-Lothringen
- Flantzer, Susan. (2019). Otto von Habsburg. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/otto-von-habsburg/
- Karl von Habsburg: Die offizielle Website von Karl von Habsburg. (2024). Karlvonhabsburg.at. https://www.karlvonhabsburg.at/
- Wikipedia Contributors. (2025). Karl von Habsburg. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation.
