The year 2022 was notable for a double anniversary: while we celebrated the 110th anniversary of Otto von Habsburg’s birth with a series of events, we commemorated the centenary of his father’s death with an exhibition and two new publications. The fate of the last Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary was discussed at a conference in Gödöllő in the spring, while in the second half of 2022 we assembled a collection of sources – most of them previously unknown – on the last months of Charles von Habsburg’s life.
The publication of our Foundation’s colleagues – Deputy Scientific Director Gergely Fejérdy, Chief Archivist Gergely István Szűts and Librarian Ferenc Vasbányai – entitled in Hungarian Száműzöttként Madeirán covers the events of the final months of Emperor Charles’s exile, primarily from the perspective of Otto von Habsburg and his family. ‘Beato Carlos d’Austria’ – or ‘Blessed Charles of Austria’, as he is still known in Madeira – is portrayed in this volume above all as a private person, a husband and a father. It was on the island of Madeira that the monarch, who had previously reigned in a very turbulent and extremely busy period, was able to spend more quality time with his family.
This year, the volume was also published in English under the title Exiled in Madeira, Documents on the Last Months of the Life of Charles of Austria-Hungary. It will be presented on 17 October 2024, in a venue befitting the history of the book: in Funchal, the capital of the Portuguese island, with the support of the Madeira Regional Government.
The documents in the publication include extracts from the diaries of Charles and the daily notes of the governesses of the royal children. The written sources are supplemented by photographs, most of which have never been seen by the public before, taken in the family’s immediate surroundings, mostly by local professional photographers. The selection of images draws mainly on the unique collection of the Madeira Photography Museum, as well as on pieces from international public collections, offering readers a very rich material. The English edition is intended to offer a broader international audience a better understanding of the life and figure of the last Austrian Emperor and King of Hungary.
