On this day in 1921, deposed Austro Hungarian Emperor Charles I arrived at his former palace in Hungary and attempted to persuade the regent, Admiral Horthy, to return the thrown of Hungary back to him. Horthy declined. Charles would try again, and fail, later that year.
Charles I as an archduke.
There's some interesting religious elements to this in the background, although they are in the background.
Charles I, who came to power in 1916 and who worked for peace while the Emperor, was a devout Catholic and a cause for his sainthood has been established (he has been declared "blessed" by the Church). Horthy was a protestant and from a prominent Hungarian protestant family, in a country not associated with protestantism. Indeed, two of his sons, in exile after World War Two, would be associated with Catholic scouting organizations even though they were also protestants.
Horthy was being realistic in his assessment of the times and while there are those who at the time accused him of treason, in reality, the country had endured a civil war against Communist only three years prior and the status of the government was not so well established that a return of a king was realistic.
On the same day, an earthquake in Tokyo destroyed 1,000 buildings.
Moroccan independence leader Mouha ou Hammou Zayani died in battle. While he was famous for fighting the French, the battle in which he died was against forces under the command of his son, who has surrendered the forces under his control to the French.
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