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.
List of Hungarian monarchs
The Principality of Hungary established 895 or 896, following the 9th-century Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin. The Kingdom of Hungary existed from 1000 (or arguably from 1001; the coronation of Saint Stephen) until 1918 (when Charles IV "renounced participation" in state affairs, but did not abdicate). The Árpád dynasty, the male-line descendants of Grand Prince Árpád, ruled Hungary continuously from 895 to 1301.