(Ed's Note: Another borrowed essay, this one about a Bohemian countess and her love, Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Contemporary of the times of Josef and Mary Gill, their departure for America and up to the commencement of WWI, this essay portrays the flavor of the politics of marriage at the highest levels of royalty in the late 19th century. As complex as middle European history can be, this article is simplistic in many ways, yet touches some of those complexities. With Prince Rudolf's death in 1889, the next decade would bring this love story to world attention, and was probably followed in the many German language newspaper publications of the times, a news line for Josef and Mary and many other German speaking people in America. I've taken the liberty to change the title to suit my tastes for our story, the author originally titled the essay Franz Ferdinand.)
by Kerry R. J. Tattersall
When Franz Ferdinand was born on 18th December, 1863, in the Styrian capital of Graz, he was merely the youngest archduke in the Imperial Family with no immediate expectations of succeeding to the crown. His father, Karl Ludwig, was the Emperor's second brother. Both the elder brother, Ferdinand Maximilian, as well as the young Crown Prince Rudolf stood between him and the throne. Franz Ferdinand's mother was Maria Annunziata, the second wife of Karl Ludwig and a woman of frail health. In 1871 she died of tuberculosis; a disease which her son unfortunately inherited. Two years later Karl Ludwig married the Portuguese princess, Marie Therese, to whom Franz Ferdinand formed a devoted and lasting attachment.
As with all archdukes, Franz Ferdinand's career lay with the army. In 1878 at the age of 14 he was appointed Lieutenant with the Infantry Regiment No. 32, although his active duty did not begin until the age of 19 with the Dragoon Regiment Kaiser Ferdinand No. 4 in the town of Enns.
Meanwhile his status in the Imperial Family was changing. The execution of his uncle, Ferdinand Max, as Emperor of Mexico in 1867, and the tragic death of Crown Prince Rudolf at Mayerling in 1889, moved his family to the very steps of the throne itself. It was common knowledge that Karl Ludwig had no ambitions to become emperor, so Franz Ferdinand was de facto the next in line. Emperor Franz Joseph, however, made no official recognition of his heir. Considering the tragic circumstances of the loss of his only son, that was perhaps understandable, but the precarious condition of Franz Ferdinand's health certainly played its part as well.
In 1892 he embarked on a two year trip around the world on board the S.M.S. Kaiserin Elisabeth, stopping in India, Australia, China, Japan and North America. It was hoped that the sea air would do him good. Franz Ferdinand was impressed with the U.S.A. He saw parallels to the multi-national Monarchy of Austria-Hungary, and wondered if this might not present a solution to its future development. He began to consider changes in favor of the Slavonic races, which caused resentment and mistrust among the Hungarians.
On return from his world trip Franz Ferdinand resumed his military duties, this time in Bohemia. In the Autumn of 1894 he reputedly met the Countess Sophie Chotek von Chotkowa und Wognin at a soirée in Prague. They fell deeply in love with one another, but their relationship had to be kept discreetly quiet. For, although the Countess Chotek came from ancient Bohemian nobility, her family was not considered exalted enough to marry the heir to the throne. She had taken the position of lady-in-waiting in the household of Archduke Friedrich, where she had plenty of opportunities to meet Franz Ferdinand away from prying eyes.
The following year Franz Ferdinand was diagnosed to have tuberculosis. He now began a two year struggle against a disease that was usually fatal. He was by nature somewhat stubborn and strong-willed. Now this stood him in good stead. He was, however, a difficult patient. Apart from his stepmother, only the secret correspondence with Sophie seemed to exercise a quieting effect on him. In Court and government circles he was widely discounted as "already dead" and many turned instead to his younger brother, Otto.
But Franz Ferdinand triumphed over his illness and in 1898 he became recognized as the Emperor's deputy, immediately under the "All Highest Command". His status as heir to the throne was assured.
As it became clear that the serious nature of his feelings for Sophie was likely to made public, Franz Ferdinand decided to approach the Emperor himself with his request to marry her. Franz Joseph was horrified. A Countess Chotek was no match for the future Emperor-King! The Archduke did not give in. With the same willpower he used to fight tuberculosis, he now fought for his love. After a year of conflict the Emperor finally agreed to the idea of a morganatic marriage. Sophie would never bear the title of Empress, and her children would not be members of the Imperial Family, would never be eligible to succeed to the crown. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but the Emperor would go no further.
On 28th June, 1900, Franz Ferdinand swore a solemn oath in the Hofburg Palace renouncing the rights of his unborn children to the titles and privileges of members of the Imperial House. He then left for his stepmother's residence in Reichstadt in Bohemia where on the 1st July, 1900, he was married to his beloved Sophie. Franz Joseph bestowed on her the title of Princess of Hohenberg, which he then raised to Duchess of Hohenberg in 1909 with the title of Highness. At Court she still ranked behind the youngest archduchess, and was subject to all kinds of slights of protocol, which never failed to enrage her husband. The marriage itself remained a love-match, from which three children were born: Sophie 1901, Maximilian 1902 and Ernst 1904.
An Assassination that destroyed a World
The morganatic marriage and Franz Ferdinand's critical views on politics led to an increasing estrangement between him and his uncle, the Emperor. The military chancellery in Franz Ferdinand's Vienna residence, the Belvedere Palace, became a kind of shadow cabinet in opposition to government of Franz Joseph. The Emperor distrusted his nephew's views. He found him difficult and impatient. Franz Ferdinand in turn found his uncle inflexible and lacking in understanding. Like most heirs, he had to watch helplessly as the years slipped by. In 1913, however, he was appointed Inspector General of the Entire Armed Forces, and it was in this capacity that he was to attend the army maneuvers in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1914.
The fact that he allowed his wife to join him there is an indication that the Archduke was not seriously worried about security. The maneuvers went off well and Franz Ferdinand was in an excellent mood. An official visit to the provincial capital of Sarajevo was planned for Sunday, 28th June, to end off the trip. They traveled the short distance from their hotel to Sarajevo by special Court train. There they joined an convoy of some six cars to drive through the streets to the official welcome at the town hall. No-one realized that seven young assassins, who had been trained and armed in neighboring Serbia, were waiting in the streets to put an end to the life of the Austrian Archduke.
The first attempt was a bomb thrown at his car, which bounced off the back and exploded under the following vehicle. After a rather embarrassed welcoming speech at the town hall, it was decided to avoid driving through the narrow streets of the Old Town and to proceed to the governor's residence for lunch. Unfortunately the drivers were not informed of the change in plans. The first two cars turned off into Franz Joseph Street as originally planned. The Archduke's car followed. The governor shouted at the driver to stop and to go on straight ahead. In this moment as the driver tried to put the car into reverse gear, an assassin drew his pistol and fired two shots.
The first struck the Duchess in the abdomen. Franz Ferdinand was hit in the throat. The car raced off to the governor's residence, but it was too late. Sophie was already dead when they arrived. Franz Ferdinand died from internal bleeding shortly thereafter.
The consequence of this shocking crime are well known. The murders in Sarajevo sparked off the events that erupted into the First World War. Over a period of four years a generation of young men bled to death on the battlefields of Europe. The war destroyed the world that Franz Ferdinand had known, a world that he may have been able to save, had he lived.
The bodies of Franz Ferdinand and Sophie were brought back via Trieste to Vienna for a very short lying-in-state. The morganatic marriage ruled out any chance of a state funeral, and they were buried on the 4th July in the crypt Franz Ferdinand had prepared for his family at his castle of Artstetten in Lower Austria.