Editing Prince-elector (section)

=== After the Empire ===

After the abolition of the Holy Roman Empire in August 1806, the Electors continued to reign over their territories, many of them taking higher or alternative titles. The Electors of Bavaria, Württemberg, and Saxony styled themselves Kings, while the Electors of Baden, [[Principality of Regensburg|Regensburg]], and [[Grand Duchy of Würzburg|Würzburg]] became [[Grand duke|Grand Dukes]]. The Elector of Hesse-Kassel, however, retained the meaningless title "[[Electorate of Hesse|Elector of Hesse]]", thus distinguishing himself from other Hessian princes (the [[Grand Duchy of Hesse|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 King of Great Britain remained at war with Napoleon and continued to style himself Elector of Hanover, while the Hanoverian government continued to operate in London.

The [[Congress of Vienna]] accepted the Electors of Bavaria, Württemberg, and Saxony as Kings, along with the newly created Grand Duke of Baden. The Elector of Hanover finally joined his fellow Electors by declaring himself the [[King of Hanover]]. The restored Elector of Hesse tried to be recognized as the King of the [[Chatti]]. The European powers refused to acknowledge this title at the [[Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle (1818)]], however, and instead listed him with the Grand Dukes as a "Royal Highness".<ref name="satow1932">{{cite book |last1=Satow |first1=Ernest Mason |title=A Guide to Diplomatic Practice |url=https://archive.org/details/guidetodiplomati00satouoft |date=1932 |publisher=Longmans |location=London}}</ref> Believing the title of Prince-Elector to be superior in dignity to that of Grand Duke, the Elector of Hesse-Kassel chose to remain an Elector, even though there was no longer a Holy Roman Emperor to elect. Hesse-Kassel remained the only Electorate in Germany until 1866, when the country backed the losing side in the [[Austro-Prussian War]] and was absorbed into Prussia.