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The young Archduchess of Austria is set to wed her Belgian racing driver boyfriend, it has been reported. Eleonore von Habsburg, whose full title is Archduchess of Austria, Royal Princess of Hungary, Bohemia and Croatia, is set to tie the knot with Formula E racer Jérôme d’Ambrosio, according to Royal Central. While the betrothal has not yet been confirmed by Austria's royal court, the mother of the bride took to Instagram on Tuesday to heap praise on the couple for 'embarking on a lifetime commitment' as she posted pictures from inside the lavish engagement party. Born in Salzburg, the glamorous...

By the end of the 19th century, it was commonly held that four European powers possessed great foreign services: the Habsburg Monarchy (known after 1867 as Austria-Hungary or the "Double Monarchy"), the Ottoman Empire, the Holy See, and Russia.Retrospectively, it appears that there was much truth about that opinion. Presently, we should take notice that these powers -- now treated by "progressive" discourse as expired, dusty tales no longer relevant to our modern conflicts -- are in fact pivotal instruments in world politics today.Agreed, we can preclude the Habsburg service, arguably the most prestigious of all four in 1914, which...

Within that neatly closed circle lay all the major political dramas of the 20th century, most of which he witnessed and some of which he influenced. He was centre stage for one of them — the unequal struggle against Hitler for the survival of his Austrian homeland, which he tried to conduct as an exiled Pretender in the 1930s. Not for nothing did the Führer call the triumphant march-in of March 12 1938 “Operation Otto”. All that seemed unimaginable to the world in which young Otto, as he was known, started life during the deceptively tranquil Indian summer of the...

An heir to the house of Habsburg has called on the European Court of Human Rights to overturn Austria's ban on members of former ruling families running for president, his lawyer said Tuesday. Because of this constitutional rule, Ulrich Habsburg-Lothringen was not allowed to stand as a candidate for the presidential election in April. His lawyer, Rudolf Vouk, said the Strasbourg court's ruling would take several years. "But it should work out until the next election," he said, looking ahead to the 2016 polls. Citizens have shown little interest in the campaign of Habsburg- Lothringen, a third-degree nephew of Otto...

The powerful Habsburg dynasty that ruled Spain for nearly 200 years came to an abrupt end in 1700 with the death of King Charles II, who left no heirs to the throne. The termination of that royal lineage may be the result of frequent inbreeding of the line, which may have left Charles II ill and infertile, a new study suggests. .... Historical data show that "in order to keep their heritage in their own hands, the Spanish Habsburgs began to intermarry more and more frequently among themselves," the authors of the new study wrote. Records show that the Spanish...

His Holiness Pope John Paul II, Tuesday, 4 October 2004:The decisive duty of the Christian is in seeking the will of God in everything, in knowing it and carrying it out. This daily challenge was addressed by the man of state and Christian Charles, of the House of Austria. He was a friend of peace. In his eyes, war was “something horrible”. Ascending the throne in the midst of the storm of the First World War, he tried to take up the peace initiative of my predecessor Benedict XV. From the beginning, Emperor Charles understood his task of sovereign as...