<P> From the 13th century onwards , the Prince - Electors had the privilege of electing the King of the Romans , who would be crowned by the Pope as Holy Roman Emperor . Charles V was the last to be a crowned Emperor ( elected 1519 , crowned 1530 ) ; his successors were elected Emperors directly by the electoral college , each being titled `` Elected Emperor of the Romans '' ( German : erwählter Römischer Kaiser ; Latin : electus Romanorum imperator ) . In practice , all but one Emperor ( Charles VII from the House of Wittelsbach ) from 1440 onwards came from the Austrian House of Habsburg , and the Electors merely ratified the Habsburg succession . </P>
the german princes who chose the holy roman empire were called
the Prince - Electors