What the Present-Day Habsburgs Think About World War One

Karl Habsburg-Lothringen 

Karl Habsburg-Lothringen—grandson of the last Austrian emperor Charles I and current head of the House of Habsburg–Lorraine—is a politician, public figure, and journalist. He today resides in Salzburg and was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2023, which was followed by surgery.

In October 1996, Habsburg was elected to the European Parliament for Austria as a member of the Austrian People’s Party. His father, Otto von Habsburg, championed the concept of a united Europe, even before the creation of the EU. Karl continues this legacy as an honorary president of the Pan-European Movement of Austria, which he led from 1986 to 2024.

Speaking as the current head of the House of Habsburg, he believes that World War I was a tragedy driven fundamentally by nationalism rather than the fault of any single state.  In a 2014 interview with The Guardian he stated the major powers were ready for war anyway when heir to Habsburg empire was assassinated and that his family should not be blamed for causing the war. 

He believes, "If you were to simplify it, you could say that the shooting in Sarajevo started the first world war. But if there hadn't been the shooting in Sarajevo, it would have kicked off three weeks later somewhere else."

He maintains, and there's considerable evidence to support him, that his grandfather, the last Austro-Hungarian Emperor Charles I,  "inherited the war" and actively sought to end it. "He had nothing to do with it. In addition, he had made several attempts to pacify the situation, which he was criticized for at the time, and he used family contacts to lead peace talks."

Charles I "clearly saw that a basic problem was the situation of the Slavic people within the Habsburg empire. Maybe he also realized that the Serbs saw him as their main enemy," Habsburg-Lothringen said, "because he wanted to balance out, but essentially minimize, the dominating influence of the Serbs among the Slavic people."

Ferdinand Habsburg-Lothringen

Incidentally, his successor (heir apparent) to the headship of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine line  is his son, successful race car driver Ferdinand Habsburg-Lothringen.