Wilhelm Franz von Habsburg-Lothringen is an Austrian archduke, Ukrainian political activist and Pretender to the Ukrainian throne, with the name of Vasyl I Vyshyvanyi.
Important notice: This page contains lore relevant to the upcoming Eastern Europe rework, and it may not reflect the current in-game setup that well. The ultimate goal, to eventually fully transpose the changes made to the lore in-game, still stands. This lore also may not be final, and some minor changes may occur.
History[]
Early Life[]
Archduke Wilhelm was the youngest son of Archduke Karl Stephan and Archduchess Maria Theresia, Princess of Tuscany. Accommodating the nineteenth century rise of nationalism, Archduke Karl Stephan decided that his branch of the Habsburg family would adopt a Polish identity and would combine a loyalty to their Habsburg family with a loyalty to Poland. Accordingly, he had his two children learn Polish from an early age and tried to instill in them a sense of Polish patriotism. His oldest son became a Polish officer and his two younger daughters married into the Polish noble families of Radziwill and Czartoryski.
Wilhelm, the youngest child, rebelled, and came to identify with the Poles' traditional rivals, the Ukrainians. He developed a fascination with Ukrainian culture, and as a youth escaped from his family's estate, traveling incognito to Hutsul villages in the nearby Carpathian mountains. This interest in the relatively impoverished Ukrainian people earned him the nickname of the "Red Prince". Eventually, the Habsburgs came to accept and encourage this interest, and he was groomed by them to take a leadership role amongst the Ukrainian people in a manner similar to the one in which his father and older brother were to take amongst the Habsburgs' Polish subjects.
Activities in Ukrainian Nation-building[]
Eventually approved by his father, his as well as his father's ambition became for Wilhelm to become the King of Ukraine. Despite his youth, he played an important historical role. As a member of the Habsburg imperial house he came to work closely with Ukrainian deputies to the parliament of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in an effort to gain more rights for the Ukrainian minority, serving as a liaison between the Ukrainian community leaders and Austria's Emperor Karl I. During the Weltkrieg, he commanded a detachment of Ukrainians from Halychyna, serving as a Lieutenant with the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen. During the German and Austrian occupation of Ukraine in 1918, he commanded a Ukrainian Sich Riflemen regiment stationed in Southern Ukraine.
During the time of his stay in Southern Ukraine, Wilhelm became the focal point of a quiet struggle between the two Central Power allies, Austria-Hungary and the German Empire, for the future of Ukraine - which they both occupied. The Habsburgs hoped for Ukraine to be a politically self-sufficient ally in order to counter German power. Accordingly, they planned for Wilhelm to eventually become Ukraine's King, and supported his efforts to gain popularity among Ukraine's people as well as to promote Ukrainian patriotism. The Germans, on the other hand, were primarily concerned with obtaining grain and supported Pavlo Skoropadsky's rule.
Promoted to the rank of Captain, Wilhelm was made commander of "Battle Group Archduke Wilhelm," created by Emperor Karl I, and provided with approximately 4,000 Ukrainian soldiers and officers under his command. His troops occupied a small area near the site of the old Zaporozhian Sich, and were tasked with supporting the Ukrainian National Cause in any way possible. This was done by screening officials by ethnicity, creating a newspaper, and engaging in cultural work with local peasants. Wilhelm mixed easily with the local peasants, who admired his ability to live simply like his soldiers. Within Wilhelm's personal occupation zone, peasants were allowed to keep the lands that they had taken from the landlords in 1917, and Wilhelm prevented the Habsburg armed forces from requisitioning grain. Ukrainians who had resisted requisitioning elsewhere - including those who had killed German or Austrian soldiers - were given refuge within Wilhelm's territory. These actions outraged Germany and Austrian officials in Kyiv, but increased his popularity among local Ukrainians, who referred to him as affectionately as "Prince Vasyl".
Flight from Ukraine[]
Despite the best efforts of himself, his father, and the Austrian Emperor; Wilhelm was forced to flee Ukraine on March 2nd, 1919. After months of dwindling support from the struggling Austrian government, and mounting resistance from Skoropadsky's German backed regime, Wilhelm escaped to the Kingdom of Galicia-Lodomeria with a number of other figures deemed a threat to the newly established Ukrainian State. At this point, Germany was firmly in control of Ukraine, with no hope of Austria's ambitions ever being realized.
Current Politics[]
For the next few years, Wilhelm lived among the Ukrainian community in Galicia-Lodomeria, mingling with other exiled republicans and intellectuals such as Symon Petliura and Mykhailo Hrushevsky. Disillusioned with the current state of Ukraine, he has become a major advocate for Anti-Hetman movements based in Galicia-Lodomeria with it being an open secret that much of the Republicans' funding comes from him. Wilhelm has been known to hold talks and attend political rallies in Galicia-Lodomeria and Western Ukraine. Regarding the issue of his claims to the Ukrainian throne, Wilhelm makes no attempt to press his claims but would not oppose taking the position assuming it would be for the betterment of Ukraine.