 With the Nazi invasion of Belgium on 10 May 1940 , Zita and her family became war refugees . They narrowly missed being killed by a direct hit on the castle by German bombers and fled to Prince Xavier 's French Castle in Bostz . The Habsburgs then fled to the Spanish border , reaching it on 18 May . They moved on to Portugal where the U.S. Government granted the family exit visas on 9 July . After a perilous journey they arrived in New York on 27 July , having family in Long Island and Newark , New Jersey . ; at one point , Zita and several of her children lived , as long @-@ term house @-@ guests , in Tuxedo Park , New York . 
