List of heirs to the Austrian throne

This is a list of people who were heir apparent or heir presumptive to the Archduchy of Austria from when Charles III succeeded to the throne in 1711 to the end of the monarchy in Austria-Hungary in 1918. Those heirs who succeeded are shown in bold.

The position of heir to the Empire was often of great importance. More than once a younger brother of the emperor was persuaded to renounce his succession rights in his son's favour to provide a young male heir to the throne. The apparent suicide of the Crown Prince in 1889 and the assassination of the subsequent heir in 1914 (considered one of the great causes of World War I) led to instability in the monarchy, perhaps contributing to its abolition at the end of the War in 1918.

Heirs to the Austrian Archduchy

Archduke	Heir	Relationship to archduke and status	Became heir	Ceased to be heir	Next in line
Charles III	Archduchess Maria Josepha	Niece Heir presumptive	7 April 1711	13 May 1717	Archduchess Maria Amalia 1711–1717, sister
	Archduchess Maria Theresa	Daughter Heir presumptive	13 May 1717; born Pragmatic Sanction of 1713	20 October 1740; succeeded	Archduchess Maria Josepha 1717–1718, cousin
					Archduchess Maria Anna 1718–1740, sister
Maria Theresa and Francis I	Archduchess Maria Anna	Sister Heir presumptive	20 October 1740; sister succeeded	13 March 1741; son born to Archduchess	Archduchess Maria Josepha 1740–1741, cousin
	Archduke Joseph	Son Heir apparent	13 March 1741; born	18 August 1765; succeeded	Archduchess Maria Anna 1741–1744, aunt
					Archduchess Maria Josepha 1744–1745, cousin
					Archduke Charles Joseph 1745–1761, brother
					Archduke Leopold 1761–1765, brother
Maria Theresa and Joseph II	Pietro Leopoldo I of Tuscany	Son and Brother Heir presumptive	18 August 1765; brother succeeded	20 February 1790; succeeded	Archduke Ferdinand 1765–1768, brother
Joseph II					Archduke Francis 1768–1790, son
Leopold VII	Archduke Francis	Son Heir apparent	20 February 1790; father succeeded	1 March 1792; succeeded	Ferdinando III of Tuscany 1790–1792, brother
Francis II	Ferdinando III of Tuscany	Brother Heir presumptive	1 March 1792; brother succeeded	19 April 1793; son born to Archduke	Charles of Teschen 1792–1793, brother
	Archduke Ferdinand	Son Heir apparent	19 April 1793; born	11 August 1804; Archduchy replaced by Empire	Ferdinando III of Tuscany 1793–1799, uncle
					Archduke Joseph Franz 1799–1804, brother

Heirs to the Austrian Empire

Emperor	Heir	Relationship to emperor and status	Became heir	Ceased to be heir	Next in line
Francis II	Crown Prince Ferdinand	Son Heir apparent	11 August 1804; foundation of the Empire	2 March 1835; succeeded	Archduke Joseph Franz 1804–1807, brother
					Archduke Franz Karl 1807–1835, brother
Ferdinand I	Archduke Franz Karl	Brother Heir presumptive	2 March 1835; brother succeeded	2 December 1848; renounced his succession rights	Archduke Franz Joseph 1835–1848, son
Franz Joseph I	Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian	Brother Heir presumptive	2 December 1848; brother succeeded	21 August 1858; son born to Emperor	Archduke Karl Ludwig 1848–1858, brother
	Crown Prince Rudolf	Son Heir apparent	21 August 1858; born	30 January 1889; died	Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian 1858–1864, uncle
					Archduke Karl Ludwig 1864–1889, uncle
	Archduke Karl Ludwig	Brother Heir presumptive	30 January 1889; nephew died	19 May 1896; died	Archduke Franz Ferdinand 1889–1896, son
	Archduke Franz Ferdinand	Nephew Heir presumptive	19 May 1896; father died	28 June 1914; assassinated	Archduke Otto 1896–1906, brother
					Archduke Karl 1906–1916, nephew
	Archduke Karl	Grandnephew Heir presumptive	28 June 1914; uncle died	21 November 1916; succeeded	Archduke Otto 1914–1916, son
Karl I	Crown Prince Otto	Son Heir apparent	21 November 1916; father succeeded	12 November 1918; Empire replaced by republic	Archduke Robert 1916–1918, brother

References