SMS Szent István
Montecuccoli's plans for the construction of "Szent István" and her sister ships earned the approval of Emperor Franz Joseph I in January 1909, and by April plans for the design, construction, and financing for the battleships had been laid out. For a full year, the Austro-Hungarian Navy attempted to keep the looming construction of the first two battleships a state secret. This did not prevent rumors from circulating across Europe of two dreadnought battleships being constructed in Austria-Hungary. The French Naval Attaché in Vienna complained to Paris in 1910 of extensive secrecy within the Austro-Hungarian Navy, which manifested itself in several ways. Among these were a ban on photography in the Pola, future home port of "Szent István", and near-constant observation by the Austro-Hungarian police.
Regent of Hungary
On 1 March 1920, the National Assembly of Hungary re-established the Kingdom of Hungary, but chose not to recall the deposed Habsburg ruler of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (Emperor Charles I of Austria who was King Charles (Karoly) IV of Hungary) from exile as the return of a Habsburg on the Hungarian throne was unacceptable to the Entente powers (Archduke Joseph August, a Habsburg, had been rejected by them as a regent after assuming the position for a few weeks in 1919). Instead, with National Army officers controlling the parliament building, the assembly voted to install the former Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Fleet (Austro-Hungarian Navy), and current Minister of War and Commander of the National Army, Admiral Horthy as head of state; he defeated Count Albert Apponyi by a vote of 131 to 7 and became the new Regent of Hungary.