The seven prince-electors called to elect Maximilian's successor were: Charles could count on the vote of Louis II, who was married to his younger sister Mary of Hungary.
[2] Pope Leo X sent his legates to lobby on behalf of Francis I, out of fear that the Papal States would be sandwiched between Habsburg Naples and Imperial fiefs in northern Italy.
[citation needed] Another factor in favour of Charles was that he, as the ruler of sparse states in the Low Countries, Spain, and Austria, was less likely to impose his personal ambitions over German princes as he would also be pre-occupied on his other affairs.
At the same time, the threat of military force from the Swabian League, formed in 1488 and sympathetic towards Charles's Habsburg background, also influenced the result.
[citation needed] Charles was crowned at Aachen on October 26, 1520 and later by Pope Clement VII in Bologna on February 22, 1530.