 In the close vicinity of Schwarzau castle was the Villa <unk> , residence of Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria , Zita ’ s maternal aunt . She was the stepmother of Archduke Otto , who died in 1906 , and the step @-@ grandmother of Archduke Charles of Austria @-@ Este , at that time second @-@ in @-@ line to the Austrian throne . The two daughters of Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria were Zita ’ s first cousins and Charles ’ half @-@ aunts . They had met as children but did not see one another for almost ten years , as each pursued their education . In 1909 , his Dragoon regiment was stationed at Brandeis an der Elbe ( <unk> on the Elbe ) , from where he visited his aunt at <unk> . It was during one of these visits that Charles and Zita became reacquainted . Charles was under pressure to marry ( Franz Ferdinand , his uncle and first @-@ in @-@ line , had married morganatically , and his children were excluded from the throne ) and Zita had a suitably royal genealogy . Zita later recalled , " We were of course glad to meet again and became close friends . On my side feelings developed gradually over the next two years . He seemed to have made his mind up much more quickly , however , and became even more keen when , in the autumn of 1910 , rumours spread about that I had got engaged to a distant Spanish relative , Don Jaime , the Duke of Madrid . On hearing this , the Archduke came down post haste from his regiment at Brandeis and sought out his grandmother , Archduchess Maria Theresa , who was also my aunt and the natural confidante in such matters . He asked if the rumor was true and when told it was not , he replied , ' Well , I had better hurry in any case or she will get engaged to someone else . ' " 
