It was a council of four members who ruled on behalf of Emperor Ferdinand I who was unfit to rule due to lacking mental faculties. The Council included Chancellor Metternich, Count Kolowrat, Archduke Louis (Ludwig) and Archduke Franz Karl.

Franz Joseph is the protagonist of Holy Roman Empire.

Archduchess Sophie is the mother of Franz Joseph I, the Emperor of Austria, and Maximilian I, the, brief, Emperor of Mexico. She is an Archduchess of Austria as the wife of Archduke Franz Karl, a son of Emperor Francis II and I.

She is also a princess of Bavaria since she hails from the royal Bavarian House of Wittelsbach as the daughter of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria. She also received the title of Queen Mother after her son, Franz Joseph I, became the Emperor of Austria.

Archduchess Sophie is a serious woman who adheres to the long-established rules protocol and etiquette. She is forced to act in such a manner as her husband's easy-going and laid-back temperament would make their family an easy target of dishonest men. She had been strict with her eldest son, Franz Joseph, from his youth to make him disciplined since he was named the heir-apparent at his birth. In contrast, she favors her second son, Maximilian Joseph, much to chagrin of her two younger sons, Karl Ludwig and Ludwig Viktor.

Prince Metternich is an Austrian statesman who served as Austria's Foreign Minister from 1809 – 1858 and State Chancellor from 1821 – 1848.

He was a member of Emperor Ferdinand I's Regency Council until it was dissolved, following the rebellion in Vienna in March, 1848.

Although he was briefly ousted from the government by the nobles, he was reinstated by Emperor Franz Joseph I when he became Emperor Ferdinand I's Regent. He continued to serve as Austria's Foreign Minister Emperor Franz Joseph I until his death.

His greatest political achievement as a diplomat was holding the Congress of Vienna in 1815 where he led the creation of the Vienna System as a method of balance of power on Continental Europe following Napoleon Bonaparte's defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

Archduke Albrecht is the eldest son of deceased Archduke Karl, Duke of Teschen.

He is one of Austria's most decorated military officers. After the death of the Field Marshals from the reigns of Emperor Francis II and Emperor Ferdinand I, he remained the only Field Marshal in Austria for a long time due to the military reforms brought by Emperor Franz Joseph which made promotion in the Austrian Armed Forces based strictly on merit.

Archduke Franz Karl is the father of Franz Joseph I, the Emperor of Austria, and Maximilian I, briefly, Emperor of Mexico. As an Archduke of Austria, Franz Karl is the third son of Emperor Francis II and I and a brother to Ferdinand I, the Emperor of Austria directly preceding Franz Joseph I.

Unlike his brother Emperor Ferdinand I, he was not lacking the mental faculties required to rule, rather, he was entirely uninterested in becoming the Emperor. Instead, he preferred spending his time hunting and fishing. Even as a member of his brother's Regency Council, he avoided contesting for authority, allowing Chancellor Metternich and his political adversary, Count Kolowrat, to duke it out amongst themselves.

He was the member of his brother's Regency Council until it was dissolved, following the rebellion in Vienna in March, 1848.

Archduke Ludwig is a son of Emperor Leopold II, a brother to Emperor Francis II and I, Archduke Karl and Archduke John, an uncle to Emperor Ferdinand I, and a great-uncle to Emperor Franz Joseph I.

He is one of the leaders of the nobles and conservatives in Austria, alongside Count Kolowrat, therefore, he holds a very reactionary stance against the reforms put forward by Franz Joseph I and his Minister-President, Prince Felix Schwarzenberg.

He was a member of Emperor Ferdinand I's Regency Council until it was dissolved, following the rebellion in Vienna in March, 1848.

Count Kolowrat is a senior noble of the Austrian Empire. He is one of the leaders of the nobles and conservatives in Austria, alongside Archduke Ludwig, still, he holds a somewhat moderate stance towards the reforms put forward by Franz Joseph I and his Minister-President, Prince Felix Schwarzenberg.

He was a member of Emperor Ferdinand I's Regency Council until it was dissolved, following the rebellion in Vienna in March, 1848.

Archduke Maximilian is the younger brother of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. He briefly reigned as the Emperor of Mexico. He is the favorite of his mother, Archduchess Sophie of Bavaria, much to chagrin of his two younger brothers, Karl Ludwig and Ludwig Viktor.

Archduke John is a son of Emperor Leopold II, a brother to Emperor Francis II and I, Archduke Karl and Archduke Ludwig, an uncle to Emperor Ferdinand I, and a great-uncle to Emperor Franz Joseph I.

He is a moderate liberal, despite his birth as an Archduke, therefore, he is usually in opposition to the nobles in the Court of Vienna. He was one of the few nobles who readily supported the reforms put forward by Franz Joseph I and his Minister-President, Prince Felix Schwarzenberg.

Prince Felix Schwarzenberg is an Austrian statesman who served as Austria's Minister-President from 1848 – 1878.

During his youth, he became a protégé of State Chancellor Prince Klemens Metternich and served in several Austrian embassies at St. Petersburg, London, Paris, Turin, and Naples. He is also the nephew of Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg, who was the commander of the Austrian armies near the end of the Napoleonic wars.

Marshal Radetzky is the most senior and prestigious Field Marshal of the Austrian Empire.

Marshal Radetzky became famous during the latter phases of the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Field Marshal after his strategy led to the first personal defeat of Napoleon in the Battle of Aspern-Essling. Afterwards, he became the Chief of the General Staff where he formed the strategies used by the Austrian army. There, he planned the Battle of Leipzig under the new Commander-in-Chief, Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg (the uncle of Minister-President Felix, Prince of Schwarzenberg) after Archduke Karl, Duke of Teschen, was replaced by Emperor Francis II, who was worried that his talented brother would overshadow himself.

Prince Alfred Windisch-Grätz is Chief of the General Staff of the Austrian Empire.

He is also the brother-in-law of Prince Felix Schwarzenberg, Minister-President of Austria.

Archduke Frederick is the eldest son of Emperor Franz Joseph I. He became the Imperial Crown Prince and heir-apparent to his father's throne at his birth.

Similar to his distant relative Edward VII of England, Frederick remained the Crown Prince of Austria until he was over 50 years of age. Still, he served as the Crown Prince Regent for his father for almost a decade before his reign began.

Archduke Peter is the second son of Emperor Franz Joseph I.

Archduke Wilhelm is the third son of Emperor Franz Joseph I.