Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria
Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria-Este (December 18, 1863 – June 28, 1914) was an Archduke of Austria, Prince Imperial of Austria, Prince Royal of
Hungary and Bohemia, and from 1896 until his death,
heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian
throne. His assassination in Sarajevo precipitated the Austrian declaration of war. This caused
countries allied with Austria-Hungary (the Central Powers) and countries allied with Serbia (the
Entente Powers) to declare war on each other, starting World War I.[1][2]
Birth and early life
Franz Ferdinand (Full Name: Franz Ferdinand Karl Ludwig Josef von Habsburg-Lothringen), was born in Graz, Austria, the eldest son of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria (younger brother of Emperor Franz Joseph and Maximilian I of
Mexico) and of his second wife, Princess Maria Annunciata of the
Two Sicilies. When he was only twelve years old, his cousin Duke Francis V of
Modena died, naming Franz Ferdinand his heir on condition that he add the name Este to his own. Franz Ferdinand thus
became one of the wealthiest men in Austria.
When he was born, there was no reason to think that Franz Ferdinand would ever be heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. He was
given the normal strict education of an archduke with an emphasis on history and moral character. From 1876 to 1885 his tutor was
the historian Onno Klopp. In 1883 Franz Ferdinand entered the army with the rank of third
lieutenant.
As a young man, Franz Ferdinand developed two great passions: hunting and travel. It is estimated that he shot more than 5,000
deer in his lifetime. In 1883, he visited Italy for the first time in order to see the properties left to him by Duke Francis V
of Modena. In 1885, he visited Egypt, Palestine,
Syria, and Turkey. In 1889, he visited Germany.
In 1889, Franz Ferdinand's life changed dramatically. His cousin Crown
Prince Rudolf committed suicide at his hunting lodge in Mayerling, leaving Franz Ferdinand's father, Archduke Karl Ludwig, as first in line to the throne.
Henceforth, Franz Ferdinand was groomed to succeed.
Ancestors
Marriage and family
Archduke Franz Ferdinand (right) with his family.
In 1895 Franz Ferdinand met Countess Sophie
Chotek at a ball in Prague. To be an eligible marriage partner for a member of the House
of Habsburg, one must be a member of one of the reigning or formerly reigning
dynasties of Europe. The Choteks were not one of these families, although they did include among their ancestors, in the female
line, princes of Baden, Hohenzollern-Hechingen,
and Liechtenstein. Sophie was a lady-in-waiting
to Archduchess Isabella, wife of Archduke
Friedrich, Duke of Teschen. Franz Ferdinand began to visit Archduke Friedrich's villa in Pressburg (now Bratislava). Sophie wrote to Franz Ferdinand during his convalescence from tuberculosis when he went to the island of Lošinj in the Adriatic. They kept their relationship a secret for more than two years.
Archduchess Isabella assumed that Franz Ferdinand was enamored with one of her daughters. In 1898, however, he left his watch
lying on a tennis court at her home. She opened the watch, expecting to find there a photograph of one of her daughters; instead,
she found a photograph of Sophie. Sophie was immediately dismissed from her position.
Franz Ferdinand refused to consider marrying anyone else. Pope Leo XIII,
Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, and the German Emperor Wilhelm II all made representations on Franz Ferdinand's behalf to the Emperor
Franz Joseph of Austria, arguing that the disagreement between Franz Joseph
and Franz Ferdinand was undermining the stability of the monarchy.
Finally, in 1899, the Emperor Franz Joseph agreed to permit Franz Ferdinand to marry Sophie, on condition that the marriage
would be morganatic and that their descendants would not have succession rights to
the throne. Sophie would not share her husband's rank, title, precedence, or privileges; as such, she would not normally appear
in public beside him. She would not be allowed to ride in the royal carriage, or sit in the royal box.
The wedding took place on July 1, 1900, at Reichstadt (now
Zákupy) in Bohemia; Franz Joseph did not attend the affair, nor
did any archduke including Franz Ferdinand's brothers. The only members of the imperial family who were present were Franz
Ferdinand's stepmother, Maria Theresia, and her two daughters. Upon the marriage, Sophie was given the title Princess of
Hohenberg (Fürstin von Hohenberg) with the style Her Serene Highness (Ihre Durchlaucht). In 1909, she was given the
more senior title Duchess of Hohenberg (Herzogin von Hohenberg) with the style Her Highness (Ihre Hoheit). This
raised her status considerably, but she still took precedence at court after all the archduchesses. Whenever a function required
the couple to gather with the other members of royalty, Sophie was forced to stand far down the line of importance, separated
from her husband.
Franz Ferdinand's children were:
Assassination
-
1911
Gräf & Stift Rois De Blougne tourer in which the Archduke Franz Ferdinand was
riding at the time of his assassination.
On June 28, 1914, at approximately 11:00 am, Franz Ferdinand
and his wife were killed in Sarajevo, the capital of the Austro-Hungarian province of
Bosnia and Herzegovina, by Gavrilo
Princip, a member of Young Bosnia and one of several (seven) assassins organized by
The Black Hand (Crna Ruka). The event, known as the Assassination in
Sarajevo, was the trigger of World War I. Franz and Sophie had previously been attacked
when a bomb was thrown at their car. It missed them, but many civilians were injured. Franz Ferdinand and Sophie both insisted on
going to see all those injured at the hospital. As a result of this, Princip saw them and shot Sophie, who died instantly. Franz
Ferdinand was shot in the jugular and was still alive when witnesses arrived to his aid. The famous Browning .32 ACP light round
was to blame. His aids tried to undo his coat but by the time they realized they needed a scissors to cut the coat open, since
Ferdinand had himself sewn in so he would not look so over weight, it was too late - he died within minutes of being shot.
[3] The assassinations, along with the arms race,
nationalism and the alliance system all contributed to the beginning of World War I, which began less than two months after Franz
Ferdinand's death, with Austria-Hungary's declaration of war against Serbia.
Franz Ferdinand is interred with his wife Sophie in Artstetten Castle,
Austria.
A detailed account of the shooting can be found in 'Sarajevo' by Joachim Remak [4]
...one bullet pierced Franz Ferdinand's neck while the other pierced Sophie's abdomen.....As the car was reversing (to go back
to the Governor's residence because the entourage thought the Imperial couple were unhurt) a thin streak of blood shot from the
Archduke's mouth onto Count Harrach's right cheek (he was standing on the car's running board). Harrach drew out a handkerchief
to still the gushing blood. The Duchess, seeing this, called: "For Heaven's sake! What happened to you?" and sank from her seat,
her face falling between her husband's knees.
Harrach and Potoriek...thought she had fainted...only her husband seemed to have an instinct for what was happening. Turning
to his wife despite the bullet in his neck, Franz Ferdinand pleaded: " Sopherl! Sopherl! Sterbe nicht! Bleibe am Leben fur unsere
Kinder! - Sophie dear! Don't die! Stay alive for our children!" Having said this, he seemed to sag down himself. His plumed
hat...fell off; many of its green feathers were found all over the car floor. Count Harrach seized the Archduke by the uniform
collar to hold him up. He asked "Leiden Eure Kaiserliche Hoheit sehr? - Is Your Imperial Highness suffering very badly?" "Es ist
nichts - It is nothing" said the Archduke in a weak but audible voice. He seemed to be losing consciousness, but, his voice
growing steadily weaker, he repeated the phrase perhaps six or seven times more.
A rattle began to issue from his throat, which subsided as the car drew in front of the Konak (Town Hall). (Despite several
doctors' efforts, the Archduke died shortly after being carried into the building while his beloved wife was almost certainly
dead from internal bleeding before the motorcade reached the Konak.) - Les Gillard
External links
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References
- ^ Marshall, S.L.A. (2001). World War I.
Mariner Books, p.1. ISBN 0618056866.
- ^ Keegan, John (2000). First World War. Vintage, p.48. ISBN
0375700455.
- ^ THE LAST KAISER, p 351, by Giles MacDonogh
- ^ Remak, Joachim. "Sarajevo" (Wiedenfeld & Nicolson, 1959) (pp137 -
142)
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