Quote Originally Posted by Kralizec View Post
Yes, the claimants would need to be crowned by the Pope to be Emperor in name; but even when they didn't bother they still legally ruled the HRE as "King of the Romans". I did not know about that particular document though.

When we're speaking of the HRE, as in the collection of German states that had appropriated the title of "Emperor", in order to be King of the Romans (a prerequisite for coronation) one would need to be approved by the electors. And as said, the HRE was dissolved by Franz - even though he wasn't empowered to so from a legal perspective.

I'm pretty sure that Juan Carlos is not a male-line descendant of the Habsburgs, and even if he were, that alone would not sufficient in the days the HRE actually existed.
You are mistaken as to the nature of the Holy Roman Empire: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Roman_Empire

As I said, the Emperor's authority derives from the Pope - the later arrangement with the "Electors" was Papally endorsed, tacitely at least, because all temporal monarchs derive their authority ultamately from God.