The Life of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

nationalism and anti Habsburg sentiment. In response, Oscar enacted a plan of oppression. He suspended the parliament and censored the press, and called in additional troops. Surprisingly, none of that did much to endear the people of Sarajevo to their Habsburg rulers. Despite the tension, in September nine thirteen, Oscar Potriarch invited the heir to the Austro Hungarian throne, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand,

to visit the following year. You might think that such a visit in such a context would call for heightened security, but the planning for the Archduke's visit was surprisingly laxadaisical, even as Heinsett would reveal negligent. Potioac had refused to allow additional soldiers into the city, and much of the security fell to the sixty police officers from the city's forces scheduled to be on duty that day, the twenty eighth of June nineteen fourteen. The chief of police was horrified.

He tried to tell Potiorec that more security was needed. Potiorex scoffed, telling the chief of police, you see phantoms everywhere. He dismissed the chief's advice that the Archduke's route be kept private, and instead Potiorek allowed it to be published

ahead of the visit. He ignored warnings from Bosnian politicians and from Austrian politicians, from military intelligence and members of his own staff, all about the potential dangers of the visit, and yet despite seeming to have done nothing at all in terms of security arrangements, Potoreac insisted that he had it all under control. Soon enough, it would become crystalline

clear that he did not. The Archduke of Austria Hungary would visit Sarajevo on June twenty eighth, nineteen fourteen, and the event would begin with a bombing and end in bloodshed within a month. That day would spark the deadliest conflict that the world had ever seen. I'm Danishchwartz and this is noble blood. Just a year into her marriage to Archduke Carl Ludwig, Princess Maria Annunciata of the Two Sicilies was diagnosed with tuberculosis. Her delicate condition was made

worse by bearing four children in quick succession. Afraid of infecting her children with her disease, she refused to touch them, to kiss them, or to spend a long periods of time with them. One of those four children was the future Archduke Franz Ferdinand. His mother died when he was seven years old in eight seventy one. She was a ghost of a woman that Franz Ferdinand had barely known. Nonetheless, the young prince mourned her, which only compounded his reputation

as a silent shy, a sad child. Strangers and family alike commented on how withdrawn he was, even from his own siblings. France's personality seemed particularly to pale in comparison to the personality of his younger brother Otto, a charismatic, boisterous boy who filled the family home with his presence. Franz preferred solitary pursuits, reading, long walks in the woods, playing with his pet rabbits. Most of all, he loved hunting, a lifelong passion. He made his first kill at age nine.

He was a lonely boy who seemed unable to connect with those around him, who loved his pets, and paradoxically took pleasure in hunting animals on his family's vast estates. On the afternoon of January nine, Franz Ferdinand received the telegram that would change his life. His cousin Rudolph, five years his senior, had shot himself and his teenage mistress

Mary bet Sarah at his mere Ling hunting lodge. It's a tragedy now known as the Maryland Incident, and we've spoken about it a few times on this podcast since it was a major event that shifted the global royal houses of Europe. The death upbended the Habsburg line of succession, shifting Carl Ludwig, Emperor fran Joseph's brother into the position

of air presumptive. Franz Joseph was nearly sixty at the time, and his brother Carl Ludwig was fifty six, making it very possible now that Carl Ludwig's eldest son, Franz Ferdinand would be the next on the throne. At age twenty five, the young Archduke was thrust reluctantly into a role that he had not prepared for, that of air to the Austrian throne. With one fatal gunshot, Franz Ferdinand had inherited responsibility for what James Joyce once called the most physically

corrupt royal house in Europe. Viennese noble society of the late nineteenth century was notoriously snobbish. Admission to court events was predicated on the rule of sixteen quarterings, which meant that only those with an unbroken descent from eight paternal and eight maternal noble ancestors were allowed to socialize at

the palace. Those privileged few who did meet this requirement were welcomed into a life of nearly unparalleled luxury, a glittering world of wealth notable in part for its shallowness. The main topics of conversation, noted one contemporary newspaper were the quote births, marriages and deaths of their acquaintances and friends, and the sayings and doings of the impure real court. As the nobles waltz oblivious to the world around them.

The Habsburg Empire was beginning to crumble, torn apart by the ethnic, nationalist, and political conflicts that were snaking through nearly every empire of the age, but the aristocratic elite weren't concerned with any of that, preferring instead to gossip about their shy new air presumptive. In contrast to Rudolph, who, though mentally ill and erratic, had still been notoriously charming,

the new heir, Franz Ferdinand, was awkward and unprepossessing. He had pale skin, prominent ears, and heavy lidded eyes that made him seem perpetually sleepy. A dangerous battle with tuberculosis in the mid eight nineties left him emaciated and weakened. In eighteen nine, his father died of typhoid, a further blow to France Ferdinand that pushed the delicate boy to the brink of death for a time. There was talk of replacing him in the line of succession with his

charismatic younger brother Otto known as Otto the Handsome. These rumors were certainly not dispelled by the emperor's well known dislike for his nephew, Franz Ferdinand. Emperor Franz Joseph projected the disdain that he still held for his deceased son onto his nephew, harboring an abiding contempt that would only fester and grow through the years. By eighteen seven, however, Franz Ferdinand had recovered from his bout with tuberculosis and

he began to make royal appearances more regularly. But the years of doubt and rejection that had come from the noble establishment had embittered him, and things would only get worse when in eighteen Franz Ferdinand committed the worst sin for someone with noble lad he declared his love for someone entirely unsuitable. Sophie Hotech, known to her family as Sophil, was the fifth of eight children born to a Bohemian

noble family. Her mother, Countess Wilhelmina kinskyvon Vinet, was a member of one of Bohemia's most prominent families, passionate supporters of the arts who had once served as patrons to Beethoven. Her father Count Behooslav Hotek came from a distinguished line of ambassadors. At the time of Sophie's birth in eighteen sixty eight, Count Behoslav was serving in the Austrian embassy in Stutgart, and Sophie's childhood would be spent traveling across

Europe as her father transferred from posting to posting. Though both of her parents came from privileged backgrounds, they had little money of their own, and Sophie's childhood was a financially precarious one. She and her siblings frequently rode public trams to save money, but though she lacked the luxuries that Franz Ferdinand had had growing up, Sophie's family was warmer and more informal than his. She often spoke of

political affairs with her father. She received a good education, spoke German, English, French, and some check and rode, painted and played tennis with skill. But as Sophie grew older, even those qualifications didn't guarantee her a comfortable life, and by twenty still unmarried, Sophie faced the two options for an impoverished noblewoman in the nineteenth century. First enter a nunnery or second become a lady in waiting. Sophie chose the latter, and in eighteen eight she joined the household

of Archduchess Isabella of Croy. Isabella was the quintessential status obsessed noble woman. She had a quick temper, poorly disc guised contempt for her ladies in waiting, and enormous ambition for her daughters. For her eldest daughter, the Archduchess Maria Christina, Isabella had her sight set on the Habsburg's most eligible bachelor, Franz Ferdinand. Throughout the eight nineties, Isabella frequently invited the Archduke to join their family for hunting trips and house parties.

Along the way, the lonely Archduke did form a connection not with the Archduchess's daughter, Maria Christina, but with her young lady in waiting, Sophie. Quick to laugh, knowledgeable, and an easy conversationalist, Sophie provided Franz Ferdinand with the kind of warm, non judgmental companionship that he had so rarely found in his life. Here was a woman who could serve as an antidote to the anarchic formalities of the Hapsburg court, who could offer Franz Ferdinand the happiness that

had proved so elusive to him. For Sophie, Franz Ferdinand offered a future one of stability and comfort. Their relationship, though transcended the transactional, By all accounts, they loved each other deeply. They shared similar values, both were devout Catholics, and they had similar dreams for the future. By the mid eighteen nineties, the two were exchanging letters frequently. Franz Ferdinand addressed his letters to his darling Soap. Their affections

did not go entirely unnoticed by those around them. In fact, Isabella actually thought that she saw an advantage in the Archduke's apparent infatuation with her lady in waiting. She used mentions of Countess Hotech to make her party invitations more enticing to Franz Ferdinand, but no one realized how serious his intentions were or how far he would go to

keep his darling so in his life. In April eighteen ninety nine, as the story goes, the Archduke departed Isabella's home after a visit, accidentally leaving a few belongings behind. A servant brought the belongings, including a pocket watch, to Isabella believing that she might discover a miniature of her daughter in the watch, Isabella was shocked to find a portrait of Sophie instead. A furious Isabella berated Sophie and dismissed her from the household. Humiliated, Sophie fled to her

sister's home in Dresden. Isabella, still reeling, decided to get her revenge on Franz Ferdinand and Sophie by telling the Emperor that his heir had betrayed her daughter by carrying on an affair with a lowly servant in her household. Emperor Franz Joseph, loathed to spend any more time than absolutely necessary ry with his least favorite nephew, reluctantly agreed to look into the matter. Calling Franz Ferdinand to the palace, the Emperor asked for his side of the story. It

was simple. Franz Ferdinand explained he had no connection to Maria Christina and he was in love with Sophie. In fact, he said he planned to marry Sophie. Horrified, Emperor friends Joseph encouraged his nephew to rethink his decision. By the laws of the eighteen fifteen Act of German Confederation and the Habsburg family statutes, Sophie's family were not equals of the Imperial family, which made Sophie ineligible to marry Franz Ferdinand,

but Franz Ferdinand refused to change his mind. Thus began a year long battle fought in private and in public, over the future of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and Countess Sophie Hotech. All of Europe seemed weighed in, with reports on this scandalous match appearing in newspapers across the continent. In the fall of the Emperor threatened to take away Franz Ferdinand's titles, but still Franz was not swayed. The controversy split Franz

Ferdinand's immediate family apart. His beloved stepmother and half sister supported him, while his brothers and his eldest sister urged him to give up. Even playboy Otto told Franz Ferdinand that quote duty for our kind goes beyond happiness, A tad hypocritical considering that Otto was living openly with his mistress at the time, but after all, he wasn't the heir. Franz Ferdinand was undeterred, telling one friend this fire has been blazing in me for five years. It will never

burn out. But uncle was just as stubborn as nephew. Emperor friends Joseph would not be swayed, even when Pope Leo of the twelfth himself wrote in support of the marriage, reminding Emperor Franz Joseph that the continual talk of the marriage was bad press for the Catholic dynasty. What moved Franz Joseph in the end was a set of two

threats from Franz Ferdinand. The first threat was that if his uncle would not give him permission to marry now, he would simply wait until his uncle died and he became emperor, and he would marry then and make Sophie his equal as empress, an unthinkable outcome for the ultra traditional friend Joseph. The second threat was that if he was denied, Franz Ferdinand was willing to commit some nebulous act that would bring even greater shame on the Empire

than the Maryland incident. With the specter of further disgrace on the family name hanging over them, Franz Joseph finally agreed to the marriage in June of nineteen hundred. However, the Emperor made it very clear that the couple had to make certain concessions. Most importantly, he demanded that Franz Ferdinand acknowledge that Sophie was not his equal in rank,

making their marriage a morgan attic one. A Morganatic marriage is just a term for a marriage between two people of unequal rank, but the practice was regarded with special disdain in the status obsessed royal households of the Habsburg and German empires. The most important consequence of a morganatic marriage in most cases was that any children that the couple might have must renounce or give up their right

to inherit the titles of the higher ranking parent. Realizing that this was the best offer he was likely to get, Franz Ferdinand reluctantly agreed. On June, he arrived at Hofburg Palace and entered the Privy Council chamber, where he was joined by a small group of Habsburg officials. The Emperor to speak. Inspired by the wish to give my nephew new proof of my special love, he began, and, apparently not a trace of irony, I have consented to his

marriage with Countess Sophie Hotech. The countess descends, it is true from noble lineage, but her family is not one of those that, according to the customs of our house we regard as our equals. As only women from equal houses can be regarded as equal in birth, this marriage must be regarded in the light of a morganatic marriage, and the children of which, with God's blessing, will spring forward from it, cannot be given the rights of the

members of the Imperial House. Franz Ferdinand stepped to the front of the room, removed his right glove, and placed his bare hand on the document containing the Oath of Renunciation. Speaking quietly, he swore to obey the oath, swore that his children would never rule, and swore that Countess Sophie Hotech, his darling soph was never and could never be his equal.

With this sacrifice complete, the wedding could proceed. Past imperial weddings had been grand affairs, with days of festivities celebrated by enormous crowds, but this would not be the case for Franz Ferdinand and Sophie. Instead of marrying in the Augustine Kirche in Vienna as crowned Prince, Rudolph and Emperor Franz Joseph had The couple was married in the remote

home of Franz Ferdinand's stepmother. The Emperor had refused to attend, instead making a principled stand on the issue of marital propriety by spending the weekend in a spa town with his mistress. The Lord High Chamberlain, Alfred de Montenuovo had long been one of the staunchest opponents of the wedding, and he was determined that the couple enjoy none of the giddey celebration that should accompany a day of love. With the Emperor's consent, Montenuovo engineered a particularly devious plan.

He had the court to create a formal twelve days of mourning for Princess Josephine Hohenzollern, who had died on June. Never mind that she was a distant relative of the Habsburgs and she was little known at court. A formal period of mourning meant that members of the royal family were forbidden to attend festive celebrations, and so the decree meant that no family members could go to Franz Ferdinand's wedding, which conveniently fell on the last day of the morning period.

Only Maria Teresa, France, Fernand's stepmother, and his two half sisters risked the Emperor's wrath by attending the wedding. Despite all of this, despite the rain that drizzled down from the gray skies over Reichstad, both France, Ferinand and Sophie declared their wedding day the most beautiful day of our lives. They were married in a simple ceremony, with Maria Teresa's

confessor presiding. As they exchanged vows, the confessor blessed the couple's rings, praying for them to be quote witnesses for all time to your untroubled marital happiness. And though the love that France, Fernand and Sophie felt for one another would not falter, their marriage would not be untroubled. Instead of ending the gossip and whispers over Sophie's lower status, the marriage simply seemed to exacerbate them. Sophie, it was to endure more than a decade of snubs, insults, and

exclusion by European royal society. She could not sit by her husband at court events, walked by his side as they entered rooms, or even appear with him on some public occasions. On her first ficial appearance at court, at a ball for the Shah of Persia, Monte Nuovo had

designed another humiliation for her. After the rest of the imperial family had proceeded into the ballroom through a wide set of double doors, Sophie, at the end of the line, prepared to enter, but before she could step through the doors, one door was loudly slammed closed, leaving only a single, narrow space for her to walk through. The wide skirts of her ballgown being so wide, Sophie was forced to turn sideways and slide through. The message was obvious Sophie

wasn't welcome here and she didn't fit. Furious over the continued mistreatment of his wife, Franz Ferdinand increasingly withdrew from court, especially once the couple welcomed their first child, Sophie in July. On the family called the baby little Sophie or Pinky Orful that his daughter would endure the same treatment as his wife, Franz Ferdinand decided that they would spend more time at their country estate. He and Sophie were determined

to enjoy life with the family. They were creating, and they joyfully welcomed his son Max in September nine two and Ernst in May nineteen o four. Describing their time away from court, Franz Ferdinand wrote quote, I sit with my children all day and admire them because I love them so much. Soph not and the children roll around and throw everything from the tables, and it is also

incredibly delightful and cozy. But the retreat that Franz Ferdinand hoped would help take the heat off of Sophie instead only incensed Viennese society, who saw it as an aloof declaration of superiority by the somewhat tactless Archduke Franz Ferdinand, it was true, could be simultaneously cold and hot tempered, demanding much from those around him. Many who did not know him found him forbidding and imperious, but at his family's country estate he thrived, fulfilling his favorite role of

devoted father and husband. It was only at court, forced to play the role of air, that he struggled, chafing against the structures of society, becoming terse and awkward, and alienating other nobles. The couple was not entirely friendless. One particular ally of the couple was the German Kaiser Wilhelm the Second. Wilhelm understood the pains of being an outsider.

His left arm had been badly damaged during his traumatic birth, leaving its six inches shorter than the right arm, a disability he was highly self conscious of and forced to compensate for for his entire life. Historians have theorized that this understanding of exclusion was why Wilhelm was one of the first monarchs to publicly show any kindness to Sophie.

Though Franz Ferdinand often complained about the Kaiser's eccentricities and ego, Wilhelms acceptance of Sophie did create a lifelong connection between the two men. As the years progressed, there were signs of a slight thawing toward the couple by the European elite.

They conducted successful visits to other royal families, including those of Great Britain and Romania, whose monarchs were impressed by Sophie's grace and strength in the face of ongoing hostility from the Habsburgs, and even the Habsburgs had begun to admire the quiet dignity of the archducal couple, though detractors still maligned Sophie as a social climber and friends Ferdinand as a holier than thou snob. Despite these challenges, though

the love the couple had for one another remained. Shortly before they left for Bosnia in June, Sophie had remarked, it will be fourteen years since I married His Imperial and Royal Highness, the Archduke. I wish I could relive every single day again. They had endured cruelties from every corner, faced in dignities, and weathered malicious insults. Having suffered so long and fought so hard for their love, Sophie and Franz Ferdinand finally felt as though dawn had begun to

break on their future. They could not have known then they were only days away from the greatest tragedy of them all. Franz Ferdinand did not want to go to Sarajevo. He had barely wanted to go to Bosnia at all. Back in the Archduke had fervently opposed Austria Hungary's annexation of Bosnia, believing that the move would draw them ever nearer to a war with Russia. Russia had backed the

Serbian government's right to the lands. Although Franz Ferdinand had has sometimes been portrayed as a war monger eager to establish Austro Hungarian supremacy in Europe, he was more often than not pragmatic and a conservative man who had a shrewd understanding of the tenuous position of countries on the continent.

In nineteen thirteen, he wrote to the Emperor about his concerns over the situation in the Balkans, predicting with unnerving accuracy the potential effects of war between Russia and Austria. It would quote encourage revolution in both countries and thereby cause both Emperor and Czar to push each other from

their thrones. For these reasons, I consider war to be lunacy. Unfortunately, this sentiment was not shared by the Emperor's hawkish General of the Infantry, who had spent the years leading up to nineteen fourteen trying desperately to promote what he called

a quote preventative war against Serbia. This fundamental disagreement between Franz Ferdinand and his uncle's general may have been part of why Franz Ferdinand accepted the Bosnian Governor General's invitation to observe military maneuvers outside sara Jevo in June nineteen fourteen. The summer prior, the Emperor had promoted Franz Ferdinand to the position of Inspector General of the Empire's armed forces, and the Arn't Duke hoped that this title would give

him more sway in the conflict. Perhaps he thought that his presence in Bosnia would present a more peaceful face of the Habsburgs. Nonetheless, it's harder to understand why he accepted the invitation to visit Sarajevo, given the tension in the city. Four years earlier, Oscar Poetoreac's predecessor as Austrian governor General, had barely survived an assassination attempt, the first in a chain of five other attempted assassinations against Austro

Hungarian figures. Some historians have argued that the Archduke agreed to visit in order to satisfy his need for adelation, but this seems a little unlikely given how disdainful he was of appeals to public sympathy for his private life. Others have claimed he went to Sarajevo for Sophie so that they could spend more time together in an official capacity, and so more Habsburg citizens could behold his charming wife.

The British historian A. J. P. Taylor, discussing friends Ferdinand's motives, wrote, thus, for love did the Archduke go to his death? A pretty turn of phrase, to be sure, but most likely an inaccurate one, or at least an incomplete one. For one thing, the royal couple had spent the past several years conducting a series of highly successful imperial visit to

Berlin and Great Britain. They didn't need the affirmation of a dangerous visit to Sarajevo to confirm what observers all over were already beginning to understand that Sophie was an intelligent,

grounded woman who was well suited to her role. For another thing, though Franz Ferdinand was well aware of the peril of the visit and he didn't want to subject his wife to the risks, it was actually Sophie herself who insisted that she joined him, telling a priest that quote, if there is danger, my place is so much more by my husband's side. Maybe the real answer as to I Franz Ferdinand wanted to go to Sarajevo is that

he didn't. For the rest of the summer, Franz Ferdinand tried to get out of the trip, citing his own ill health and the ill health of the Emperor, among other things. But on June seven, in a meeting with the Emperor, his fate was sealed. When he asked his uncle if he could decline Potiorec's invitation. The Emperor replied, do as you wish. This may sound ambiguous, but in the fraud oblique language of the apps Berg's it was

basically a command. It was an unsettle reminder of Franz Ferdinand's highest responsibility, not to himself but to the dynasty. If it would reflect well on the Habsburgs to make a political appearance in Sarajevo, Franz Ferdinand would do it, even if it meant risking his life. The players were in place, blood would come next. That's the start of

the story of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. This is a two part episode, obviously because there is so much to talk about, and we'll have a part two next week to discuss the famous assassination itself. But in the meantime, keep listening after a brief sponsor break to hear just a little bit more. Schlaus Kona Pitched, a thirteenth century castle overlooking a lake in the present day Czech Republic, was the beloved childhood home of Franz Ferdinand

and Sophie's children, Max, Sophie and Ernst. Franz Ferdinand had bought the property in eight seven, and he spent more than five years transforming it into an idyllic retreat perched atop a hillside. The white walled, red roofed structure features a storybook turret, and it has lush rose gardens and all of the most modern amenities that had been available in the late nineteenth century, including electricity, running hot water,

even an elevator. Little Sophie would later remember that the house was quote the place of our first memories, the cocoon, where all our day to day business took place. After their parents' deaths, the children faced ostracization and uncertainty. They weren't quite Hapsburgs, but they weren't not, and they struggled to find their footing while also navigating the shocking murder

of their beloved parents. Fortunately, Sophie's sister Maria and her husband, Prince Yaroslav an Thune und Unstein, stepped in as adopted parents. The trio provided the children with love and affection, which was also supplied by their grandmother Maria Teresa and their aunt Henriette, among others. The children spent the warriors mainly at Konopiste, where they were sheltered from the worst of

the fighting. But in nineteen eighteen, as the First World War came to a close, even the fairytale escape of Konopist slipped from their hands. In October, the new nation of Czechoslovakia declared independence from Austria, and as a sign of rejection of the old ways, they expropriated all Habsburg properties in the country. Konopiste was seized. All of family mementos, the photographs, the letters and diaries which kept Sophie and Franz Ferdinand alive for their children were now property of

the state. Over the next eighty years, Konopis would take several forms. During World War Two, it was taken over by Hitler's s s as a part of the Soviet Union. It held offices of the Czech Ministry of Agriculture and the children's toys, still sitting where they had left them

in nineteen eighteen, were distributed to local kindergarteners. But in two thousand, Princess Sophie von Hohenberg, fran Ferdinand's great granddaughter, filed a lawsuit to reclaim the castle, based on a loophole that even Alfred de Montenuovo would have to acknowledge.

The humor in her suit had argued that the seizure of Konopis was unlawful because it had done so under a law which allowed for the seizure of Habsburg properties and her family, as her great grandfather had been forced to declare in his oath of renunciation, we're not Hapsburgs. In two thousand nine, Princess Sophie lost her lawsuit, and Kono Beast remains in the hands of the Czech government, who have opened it to the public. Today, visitors can

tour the grounds of the castle. They can look inside a number of interior rooms and view a collection of memorabilia related to the assassination, including the very bullet that's alleged to have killed the Archduke. But more on that next week. Noble Blood is a production of I Heart Radio and Grim and Mild from Aaron Manky. Noble Blood is hosted by me Danish Wartz. Additional writing and researching done by Hannah Johnston, hannah's Wick, Miura Hayward, Courtney Sender,

and Laurie Goodman. The show is produced by re m El Kali, with supervising producer Josh Thame and executive producers Aaron Manky, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. For more podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.