Scion of the Habsburg dynasty dies at 98

OTTO von Habsburg - the eldest son of Austria-Hungary's last emperor -died yesterday aged 98.

By The Newsroom

Published 4th Jul 2011, 19:00 BST

Updated 5th Jul 2011, 01:17 BST

Habsburg died in his sleep at his home in Poecking in southern Germany, where he had lived since the 1950s, with his seven children nearby, his spokeswoman said.

He used his influence in a vain struggle to keep the Nazis from annexing Austria before the Second World War, then campaigned against the Soviet empire in the decades after that.