#emperor charles
March 27 1921, Budapest–The Romanians, after their successful invasion, had allowed monarchists to take over the government in Hungary. Many Hungarian monarchists were still loyal to the Habsburgs, but the Allies and Hungary’s neighbors were adamant that neither former Emperor Charles nor any other Habsburg would be allowed to rule in Hungary. As a result, when the monarchy was officially restored in March 1920, there was no monarch, and Horthy was declared Regent.
Charles wanted to return and claim the throne, and believed he would have support from the Hungarian people and French PM Briand, while Hungary’s neighbors would not again intervene in an internal Hungarian matter. He shaved his mustache and arrived in Hungary on March 26, hoping that the Easter holidays would smooth his return to the throne. The next day, Easter Sunday, Charles met with Hungarian PM Teleki near the Austrian border early in the morning. Teleki told Charles he had come back “too soon, too soon” and that he should head back to Switzerland; an attempt to claim the throne now could lead to civil war and another round of invasions.
Undeterred, Charles proceeded to Budapest to meet with Horthy, dragging him away from his Easter dinner. Teleki’s car conveniently made a wrong turn on the way, and he was not present at the meeting. Charles attempted to appeal to Horthy’s oaths he had taken to him personally as his Emperor, and while this did have an effect, he reminded Charles that he had also sworn an oath to the nation of Hungary. Horthy eventually gave Charles three weeks to leave Hungary, whether to return back to Switzerland or to attempt to claim the Austrian throne in Vienna. Charles incorrectly interpreted this as Horthy telling him he would try to arrange his restoration to the throne within three weeks.
Over the coming days, it became clear that Charles’ optimism was ungrounded; the Czechs and Yugoslavs threatened war if he were restored, the Hungarian Diet voted in favor of Horthy’s continuation as Regent, and Briand refused to offer any support; Charles returned to Switzerland, defeated, on April 5.
