Empress Who Championed Secret Peace Negotiations

Zita of Bourbon-Parma

A princess of the House of Bourbon-Parma, born as the daughter of Robert I, Duke of Parma, and Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal. In 1911, she married Archduke Charles of Austria (later Emperor Charles I), becoming Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary upon her husband's accession in 1916. During World War I, she supported her husband's peace initiatives and was deeply involved in secret peace negotiations during the Sixtus Affair in 1917. Following the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918, she went into exile with her husband. After Charles died on Madeira in 1922, she raised their eight children while continuing to support the restoration of the Habsburg monarchy. She lived in exile in Spain, Belgium, Canada, and Switzerland, and was finally permitted to re-enter Austria in 1982. She died in Zizers, Switzerland, in 1989 at the age of 96; her body was buried in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna, while her heart was enshrined at Muri Abbey in Switzerland. Known for her devout Catholic faith, she was bestowed the title "Servant of God" by the Catholic Church after her death.

Timeline

Category
Element

Year	Zita of Bourbon-Parma
1892	Birth of Zita of Bourbon-Parma (Period: May 9, 1892, Location: Camaiore (present-day Tuscany, Italy, Capezzano Pianore area)) Birth as Princess of Bourbon-Parma (Period: May 9, 1892, Location: Villa Borbone delle Pianore, Camaiore (present-day Italy))
1903	Education at the Zangberg Convent School (Age: 10 years old, Period: 1903–1908, Location: Zangberg (present-day Bavaria, Germany))
1908	Reunion and Courtship with Karl (Age: 15 years old, Period: 1908–1911, Location: Austria, Schwarzau, etc.)
1911	Engagement to Karl (Age: 19 years old, Period: June 13, 1911, Location: Villa Pianore, Camaiore (present-day Italy)) Marriage to Karl (Age: 19 years old, Period: October 21, 1911, Location: Schloss Schwarzau (present-day Lower Austria)) Marriage (Zita of Bourbon-Parma, Karl I, Age: 19 years old, Period: October 21, 1911, Location: Schloss Schwarzau (present-day Schwarzau am Steinfeld, Lower Austria))
1914	World War I (Age: 21 years old, Period: 1914–1918, Location: Europe, Middle East, and Africa)
1916	Residence at Schönbrunn Palace (Age: 23 years old, Period: 1916, Location: Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna) Activities as Empress During World War I (Age: 23 years old, Period: 1916–1918, Location: Vienna, Various Parts of Austria-Hungary) Death of Franz Joseph I and Accession of Karl (Age: 24 years old, Period: November 21, 1916, Location: Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna (present-day Austria)) Becoming Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary (Age: 24 years old, Period: November 21 – December 30, 1916, Location: Vienna, Budapest)
1919	Exile to Switzerland (Zita of Bourbon-Parma, Age: 26 years old, Period: 1919–1921, Location: Switzerland) Life in Exile After the Collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (Zita of Bourbon-Parma, Age: 26 years old, Period: 1919–1922, Location: Switzerland, Madeira)
1920	Ban on Entry to Austria (Zita of Bourbon-Parma, Age: 27 years old, Period: 1920s–1982, Location: Austria)
1922	Preservation of the Dynasty After Karl's Death (Age: 29 years old, Period: 1922–1989, Location: Spain, Belgium, Canada, Switzerland, etc.)
1982	Permission to Enter Austria (Age: 89 years old, Period: 1982, Location: Vienna, Austria)
1989	Death of Zita of Bourbon-Parma (Age: 96 years old, Period: March 14, 1989)
2004	Beatification of Karl I (Age: 15 years after death, Period: October 3, 2004, Location: Rome (present-day Italy))

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Europe World

Group	List
German Leader	Friedrich III Wilhelm II Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg Georg Michaelis Georg von Hertling Max von Baden
Emperors of Austria-Hungary	Franz Joseph I Charles I Archduke Franz Ferdinand Archduke Friedrich Archduke Eugen Zita of Bourbon-Parma
The Sarajevo Incident	Archduke Franz Ferdinand Sophie Chotek Gavrilo Princip Nedeljko Čabrinović Danilo Ilić Leopold Berchtold
Science and Medicine	Albert Einstein Max Planck Sigmund Freud Erwin Schrödinger Lise Meitner Paul Ehrlich

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Empress Who Championed Secret Peace Negotiations

Zita of Bourbon-Parma

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