Talk:Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor
|
|
There might be something wrong here. I don't think Francis succeeded him, Charles VI daughter, Maria Theresa did. She was Holy Roman Emperor, not her husband Francis who was only the Duke of Lorraine.
- I don't think that's the usual understanding. The Pragmatic Sanction sought to make Maria Theresa the Habsburg heir, but Holy Roman Emperor was an elective office, not a heritable one. Maria Theresa was never elected Holy Roman Emperor, though her husband was, on September 13, 1745. Francis was Duke of Lorraine when he married Maria Theresa in 1736, but he exchanged his ancestral duchy for the right of succession to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany because of French objections to the union of Lorraine with the Habsburg lands. -- Someone else 02:17 Dec 16, 2002 (UTC)