A bust of the last King of Hungary, Charles IV, has been inaugurated at Városháza Park, Budapest in the presence of Zsolt Semjén, deputy prime minister, and the King's grandson, George von Habsburg.
During the ceremony, the deputy prime minister reminded guests that during communist times it was forbidden in Hungary to remember parts of national history that “did not fit into Marxist ideology”, including the heritage of the Habsburg dynasty.
On behalf of the Hasburg family, George von Habsburg thanked Hungary for erecting the bust of his late grandfather and said that the King was not only the sole European ruler who served in the war as a soldier, but also one of very few statesmen who did their very best to stop the pointless bloodshed.
King Charles IV ruled Hungary and Austria as its Emperor, between 1916 and 1919. Although he never abdicated, he was forced to renounce participation in state affairs. He attempted to unsuccessfully reclaim the throne on two occasions before his death in 1922.