William Tyler
Karl and Zita: The End
Summary
William Tyler discusses the life and story of the very last Habsburg Emperor, Charles I (1887–1922), and his wife Zita (1892–1989).
William Tyler
William Tyler has spent his entire professional life in adult education, beginning at Kingsgate College in 1969. He has lectured widely for many public bodies, including the University of Cambridge and the WEA, in addition to speaking to many clubs and societies. In 2009, William was awarded the MBE for services to adult education, and he has previously been a scholar in residence at the London Jewish Cultural Centre.
To the Austrians, the Habsburgs had previously been emperors of the Holy Roman Empire and emperors of the Austrian Empire. But when they had been crowned as kings of Hungary, separately in a separate coronation service in Budapest, and Hungarians thought of a quite distinct relationship. That relationship was underlined by Sisi and her attraction to tight-trousered Hungarian cavalry officers, and to, indeed, to Franz Joseph’s interest in Hungary. So the Hungarians thought of themselves as with a king, while the Austrians thought, well, this is just an emperor, because they don’t think of themselves as Austrian. This is another German emperor.