Eduard I of Austria

Eduard I (German: Eduard Ferdinand Franz Joseph, English: Edward Ferdinand Francis Joseph) (7 March 1835) is the current Emperor of Austria from 1848. He was also President of the German Confederation from 1850 until 1866. In 1848 Emperor Ferdinand I abdicated as a part of the plan to end the revolutions of 1848. Eduard then became the Emperor and that ended most of the revolutions except the Hungarian revolution which was later suppressed with the aid of the Russian Empire. During Eduard's early reign(1848 - 1866) there were numerous wars to settle the Italian question(1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Italian war of Independence) however Austria prevailed, at a great cost. Then in 1866 Prussia won the Fraternal war which settled the German question which prevented the unification of Germany under the House of Habsburg.

Political views and problems
Eduard I has always been troubled by nationalism during his reign. For that reason, in 1867 he agreed to a compromise with the Hungarians(Ausgleich of 1867). That gave more autonomy to the Hungarian part of the Empire. His domains were peaceful until 1876 when Eduard assumed absolute power and revoked the compromise as he deemed it unneccessary and restricting.

Constitutional Monarch
In 1876 Eduard was forced to agree to a Constitution which he tried to revoke later on but was met with fierce opposition and a threat of the collapse of the Empire, therefore he left it and accepted the fact that he was not longer the absolute monarch. That lead to parliamentarism. Up until now there was one war with the Ottoman Empire which settled the Bosnian problem in favour of Austria.

Orders, decorations and honours

 * Sovereign of the Order of the Golden Fleece
 * Sovereign of the Military Order of Maria Theresa
 * Grand Master of the Royal Hungarian Order of Saint Stephen
 * Sovereign of the Imperial Austrian Order of Leopold
 * Sovereign of the Imperial Austrian Order of the Iron Crown
 * Knight of the Order of the Red Eagle(Prussian order)
 * Knight of the Military Order of Max Joseph(Bavarian order)

Marriage and issue
In 1856, Eduard was looking to secure the succession. He travelled to France to see if there is any noblewomen who would be fitting the demands of the Austrian court. There he met Catherine de Viglis, daughter of a French nobleman. The roots of the family were royal, therefore, the young Emperor decided to marry her. There was a great procession down the Danube to Vienna, where the two were married in St. Stephans Cathedral. Eduard had the following children with her:
 * Wilhelm Franz, Crown Prince of Austria(27 November, 1858)
 * Leopold Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria(8 March 1860 - 3 January 1884)
 * Joachim Joseph Salvator, Archduke of Austria(27 April, 1861)
 * Elisabeth Maria, Archduchess of Austria(3 May, 1863)

Official Grand title
His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty, Eduard I, by the Grace of God Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, Bohemia, of Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia, Galicia, Lodomeria and Illyria; King of Jerusalem etc., Archduke of Austria; Grand Duke of Tuscany and Cracow, Duke of Lorraine, of Salzburg, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola and of the Bukovina; Grand Prince of Transylvania; Margrave of Moravia; Duke of Upper and Lower Silesia, of Modena, Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla, of Auschwitz, Zator and Teschen, Friuli, Ragusa (Dubrovnik) and Zara (Zadar); Princely Count of Habsburg and Tyrol, of Kyburg, Gorizia and Gradisca; Prince of Trent (Trento) and Brixen; Margrave of Upper and Lower Lusatia and in Istria; Count of Hohenems, Feldkirch, Bregenz, Sonnenberg, etc.; Lord of Trieste, of Cattaro (Kotor), and over the Windic march..