The House of Lorraine originates as a cadet branch of the House of Metz.It inherited the Duchy of Lorraine in 1473 after the death of duke Nicholas I without a male heir.By the marriage of Francis of Lorraine to Maria Theresa in 1736, and with the success in the ensuing War of the Austrian Succession, the House of Lorraine was joined to the House of Habsburg, and was now known as Habsburg-Lorraine. Francis, his son Leopold II and grandson Francis II were the last three Holy Roman Emperors from 1745 to the dissolution of the empire in 1806.Habsburg-Lorraine inherited the Habsburg Empire, ruling the Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary) until the dissolution of the monarchy in 1918.