Archduke Felix of Austria, Prince Royal of Hungary and Bohemia (given names: Felix Friedrich August Maria vom Siege Franz Joseph Peter Karl Anton Robert Otto Pius Michael Benedikt Sebastian Ignatius Marcus d'Aviano; 31 May 1916 – 6 September 2011) was the last-surviving child of the last Emperor of Austria, Charles I, and a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. He was a younger brother of former Crown Prince Otto of Austria, who predeceased Felix by two months.
Contents
Early life and exile
Archduke Felix was born in the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, the third son of the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary, the Archduke Charles and his wife Zita of Bourbon-Parma. He was christened at Schönbrunn on 8 June 1916 in the presence of his great-grand uncle Emperor Franz Joseph. His godfather was his great-uncle King Frederick Augustus III of Saxony, brother of his grandmother Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony. On 21 November 1916 Emperor Franz Joseph died and Felix's father succeeded as Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary.
Archduke Felix was less than three years old when Austria-Hungary collapsed following its defeat in the First World War. Republics were declared in the now-separate countries Austria and Hungary, which led to exile of the imperial family. Originally exiled at Wartegg Castle in Switzerland, the imperial family was taken to Portuguese island of Madeira in 1921 after Archduke Felix's father's failed attempts to claim the throne in the Kingdom of Hungary from the regent Miklós Horthy. Colonel John Orlando Summerhayes served as his protector and escort to Switzerland during Archduke Felix's exile. On 1 April 1922 his father Emperor Charles died in Madeira.