Prince-elector - Rights and Privileges

Rights and Privileges

Electors were reichsstände (Imperial Estates), enjoying precedence over the other princes. They were, until the 18th century, exclusively entitled to be addressed with Durchlaucht ( Serene Highness). In 1742, the electors became entitled to the superlative Durchläuchtigste (Most Serene Highness), while other princes were promoted to Durchlaucht.

As rulers of States of the Empire, the electors enjoyed all the privileges of the other princes, including the right to enter into alliances, autonomy in relation to dynastic affairs and precedence over other subjects. The Golden Bull recognised certain additional rights belonging to the electors. For instance, electors were granted a monopoly over all mines of gold, silver, and other metals within their territories, to tax Jews, to collect tolls, and to mint money; these powers belonged to the Emperor in the other territories, and princes who wrongly assumed them could be deprived of their status. Thus, the electors were among the most powerful princes in the Empire. Electors also enjoyed several judicial powers within their territories. Their subjects could not be tried in the imperial courts, and appeal from their courts lay only in cases where denial of justice was claimed.

After the abolition of the Holy Roman Empire in August 1806, the electors continued to reign over their territories, many of them taking higher titles. The Dukes of Bavaria, Württemberg, and Saxony made themselves Kings, as later did the Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, who was already King of Great Britain. Meanwhile, the Margrave of Baden elevated himself to the Grand-Ducal dignity. The Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, however, retained the meaningless title "Elector of Hesse", thus distinguishing himself from other Hessian princes (the Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt and the Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg). Napoleon soon exiled him and Kassel was annexed to the Kingdom of Westphalia, a new creation. The Congress of Vienna accepted that all old secular electorates were entitled to be kingdoms, but generally did not want to accept kingship for new, Napoleon-era electorates. This was one reason why Hanover became a kingdom. Württemberg, already having adopted royal rank in Napoleon era, was ultimately not stripped of it. Baden did not even try. But the restored elector of Hesse (a new electorate) tried to get recognition to title of king (King of Chatti), and was unsuccessful in that pursuit. They being not willing to give up the electoral rank, this led to the situation that this principality, which never cast an electoral vote in any imperial election, was the one which preserved the title of prince-elector. In 1866, however, the last Elector of Hesse was dethroned under Otto von Bismarck's plan for German Unification.