Franz Joseph I of Austria
If Greater Germany was to prevail, the crown would necessarily have to go to Franz Joseph, who had no desire to cede it in the first place to anyone else. On the other hand, if the idea of a smaller Germany won out, the German crown could of course not possibly go the Emperor of Austria, but would naturally be offered to the head of the largest and most powerful German state outside of Austria—the King of Prussia. The contest between the two ideas, quickly developed into a contest between Austria and Prussia. After Prussia decisively won the Seven Weeks War, this question was solved; Austria lost no territories as long as they remained out of German affairs.
History of Austria
When Duke Albert V (1404–1439) was elected as emperor in 1438 (as Albert II), as the successor to his father-in-law, Sigismund von Luxemburg (1433–1437) the imperial crown returned once more to the Habsburgs. Although Albert himself only reigned for a year (1438–1439), from then on, every emperor was a Habsburg (with only one exception: Charles VII 1742–1745), and Austria's rulers were also the Holy Roman Emperors until its dissolution in 1806.