Dear historians,
I am working on a project for history and researching the history of Habsburg and French-German enmity. However, when I was reading about how the Habsburg Empire had gotten so big, I stumbled upon something I haven't been able to find an answer to. How come Maximilian the First of Austria was a Holy Roman Emperor, Philip the Handsome wasn't, but then Charles V was? Why? Both Maximilian and Charles V carry the title of Holy Roman Emperor but not one source has mentioned that title in relation to Philip.
I am struggling to find the answer and it's ruining the coherency in my research paper. Please help!
Thanks in advance,
A very desperate history student.
I want to quickly clarify a few things first.
First of all, the title of the Holy Roman Emperor is elective. So technically it doesn't carry over to the emperor's son (But practically it often did).
Secondly, Philip the Handsome died very young in 1506, and Maximilian I was still alive then. When he died, with his grandson Charles having inherited Low Countries, Spain and Austria (and some bribes), he was the perfect candidate for the emperorship.
This answer is pretty short for AH, but the question is simple and I would have had to derail the subject if I wanted to get into more detail. So I'm linking a previous post instead for more detail on the inheritance of Charles V.
Please ask if you have further questions and I'll try to answer them.