House of Habsburg-Lorraine

The House of Lorraine (German: Haus Lothringen) originated as a cadet branch of the House of Metz. It inherited the Duchy of Lorraine in 1473 after the death without a male heir of Nicholas I, Duke of Lorraine. By the marriage of Francis of Lorraine to Maria Theresa of Austria in 1736, and with the success in the ensuing War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748), the House of Lorraine was joined to the House of Habsburg and became known as the House of Habsburg‑Lorraine (German: Haus Habsburg-Lothringen). Francis, his sons Joseph II and Leopold II, and his grandson Francis II were the last four Holy Roman Emperors from 1745 until the Napoleonic dissolution of the empire in 1806. The House of Habsburg-Lorraine inherited the Habsburg Empire, ruling the Austrian Empire and then Austria-Hungary until the dissolution of the monarchy enforced by Socialists at the end of 1918.

Although its senior agnates are the Dukes of Hohenberg, the house is currently headed by Karl von Habsburg (born 1961), grandson of the last emperor Charles I.