with a display of fireworks on her name day. As an enthusiastic pyrotechnician, he prepared the explosives himself. On 10 July, the day of the planned festivities, between 12 and 1 pm, something caught fire, causing all of the prepared rockets and the remaining gunpowder to explode. His brother Charles rushed to the rescue with servants, but they struggled to break down the door. This delay was probably what led to Alexander Leopold's death. He was found lying unconscious on the floor, his neck, back, and arms covered in burns from his clothes that had caught fire. He soon regained conscience and lived for another 40 hours in terrible agony, before passing away on 12 July. Governor of Hungary Background The death of Alexander Leopold was greatly mourned by progressive Hungarian nobles, who had hoped that he would help them establish a constitutional monarchy. Conspiracy theories emerged, claiming that the late palatine had wanted to seize the crown for himself with the help of Judge Royal , and the Viennese court had him murdered for this reason. A , Count , főispán of Békés and Ugocsa Counties told the king that it would be wise to allow for the election of another member of the imperial family to calm tensions. Moson County proposed Albert, Duke of Teschen, the king's uncle-in-law, who had served as governor of Hungary from 1765 to 1781, others would have preferred Archduke Charles who became popular with his military successes in the French Revolutionary Wars, and Count Teleki himself suggested Joseph. Although on 18 July Emperor-King Francis asked for more time to prepare an election, on the 20th he appointed Joseph governor of Hungary. The appointment of a governor instead of a palatine was seen as a step back on the road of constitutional development and a major win for the reactionary party of the Hungarian nobility led by Baron József Izdenczy. These circles had painted a grim picture of Hungary to the king, convincing him that a rebellion was imminent. While Francis had already decided that he would not gather the diet again because of the Martinovics uprising now Izdenczy's party hoped to abolish the office of palatine. Still, to avoid upsetting progressive circles, the baron advised the king to give more power to Joseph than that of the previous governor, so that his position would be more similar to that of a palatine. Thus,