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The 1792 imperial election was the final imperial election, held to select the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire following the death of Leopold II on 1 March 1792. It took place in Frankfurt on 5 July; his son Francis II was elected.
Background
editWar of the First Coalition
editThe election took place following growing tensions with revolutionary France, echoing the deepening crisis between King Louis XVI, whose wife Marie Antoinette was Leopold II's sister, and the National Constituent Assembly. After the royal couple’s failed attempt to flee the country in June 1791 (the Flight to Varennes), Leopold II and Frederick William II of Prussia issued the Declaration of Pillnitz on 27 August, calling for their release and promising that, if the King’s safety was threatened, they would go to war to restore him with the support of the other European monarchs. The National Assembly interpreted this as a declaration of war against France. On 20 April 1792, it declared war on Leopold's son Francis, his successor as king of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia, starting the War of the First Coalition.
Electors
editThe prince-electors called to choose Leopold's successor were:
- Friedrich Karl Joseph von Erthal, Archbishop-Elector of Mainz
- Clemens Wenceslaus of Saxony, Archbishop-Elector of Trier
- Archduke Maximilian Francis of Austria, Archbishop-Elector of Cologne
- Francis, King of Bohemia
- Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria
- Frederick Augustus I, Elector of Saxony
- Frederick William II (also King of Prussia), Elector of Brandenburg
- George III (also King of Great Britain), Elector of Hanover
Result
editFrancis was elected. He was crowned as Francis II in Frankfurt on 14 July.