The marriage of Archduke Charles and Zita of Parma and the expectations associated with the future emperor
Abstract
Although the possibility of Archduke Karl Franz Joseph's accession to the throne grew during the 1890s and it became inevitable, after the morganatic marriage of the heir to the throne, Franz Ferdinand d'Este, that he would one day become emperor, the young archduke remained out of the public eye for a long time. This disinterest did not change much, even at the moment of his marriage to Zita of Bourbon-Parma.
However, by October 1911, Archduke Charles was already the second heir to the throne. Nevertheless, the young couple's marriage received a great deal of press coverage.
This paper examines precisely the discourse surrounding the wedding of the future imperial couple. In particular, the focus will be on the fact that a future emperor is getting married and the expectations associated with his future rule.
The author will analyze leading Bohemian newspapers from Czech- and German-speaking milieus comparatively.