I am planning to play Europa Universalis IV as Austria, which starts off as the HRE Emperor.

The Prince-Electors at the start of the game are *Bohemia, Burgundy, Cologne, Mainz, Saxony, Trier,* and *The Palatinate*.

Austria has five diplomacy slots available at the start of the game, and I'm thinking of allying & royal marrying *Bohemia, Castille, Hungary, and Poland*. That leaves one slot for a Prince-Elector (probably The Palatinate?).

Moving forward, how do I keep the Prince-Electors pleased to keep me on as Emperor?

Is it advisable early on to use more than the five "free" diplomacy slots to ally Prince-Electors, and then get the *Diplomacy* idea group?

Also – if a member state within the HRE is fully-annexed by a neighbour and I issue "Demand Unlawful Territory", is IA (Imperial Authority) awarded if the demand is accepted? Or do I have to release the member state through war?