The
Holy Roman Emperors called themselves
Kaiser, combining the imperial title with that of
King of the Romans (assumed by the designated heir before the imperial coronation); they saw their rule as a continuation of that of the
Roman Emperors and used the title derived from the title
Caesar to reflect their supposed heritage. From 1452 to 1806, except for the years 1742–1745, only members of the
Habsburg family were "Holy Roman Emperors". In 1806, the
Holy Roman Empire was dissolved, but the title of
kaiser was retained by the
House of Habsburg, the head of which, beginning in 1804, bore the title of Kaiser of Austria. In this regard, minorities in the Habsburg Monarchy, but also the Jews on the one hand and the Muslims on the other hand were particularly loyal to the emperor (German: "kaisertreu"). In 1867 the Austrian Empire was divided into the state of Austria-Hungary (the so-called Danube Monarchy), with
Franz Joseph I, like his successor
Karl I, being Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary. As a result of this centuries-long uninterrupted tradition, today family members of the Habsburgs are often referred to as Imperial Highnesses (German: Kaiserliche Hoheit) and, for example, the members of the
Imperial and Royal Order of Saint George as Imperial Knights. There were four kaisers of the Austrian Empire who all belonged to the
Habsburg dynasty. They had an official list of crowns, titles, and dignities (
Grand title of the emperor of Austria). The kaisers of the Austrian Empire (1804–1918) were: •
Franz I (1804–1835); •
Ferdinand I (1835–1848); •
Franz Joseph I (1848–1916); •
Karl I (1916–1918).
Karl von Habsburg is currently the head of the House of Habsburg. With the
unification of Germany (aside from Austria) in 1871, there was some debate about the exact title for the monarch of those German territories (such as free imperial cities, principalities, duchies, and kingdoms) that agreed to unify under the leadership of
Prussia, thereby forming the new German Empire. The first kaiser himself preferred either ("Emperor of Germany"). In the end, his chancellor
Bismarck's choice ("German Emperor") was adopted as it simply connoted that the new emperor, hearkening from Prussia, was a German, but did not imply that this new emperor had dominion over all German territories, especially since the Austrian kaiser would have been offended as Austria, inhabited by Germans, was still considered part of the German lands. There were only three kaisers of the (second) German Empire. All of them belonged to the
Hohenzollern dynasty, which, as kings of Prussia, and had been
de facto leaders of lesser Germany (Germany excluding Austria). The kaisers of the German Empire (1871–1918) were: •
Wilhelm I (1871–1888); •
Friedrich III (9 March – 15 June 1888), who ruled for 99 days; •
Wilhelm II (1888–1918), during whose reign the monarchy in Germany ended near the end of
World War I.
Georg Friedrich Ferdinand, Prince of Prussia, is currently head of the House of Hohenzollern, which was the former ruling dynasty of the German Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. == See also ==