archduke franz ferdinand of austria portrait

#Archduke franz ferdinand of austria portrait series

Franz Ferdinand was allowed to retain his place in the order of succession and a suitable title was promised for his future wife. In 1899, under pressure from family members (especially the Archduchess Maria Theresa, the emperor's formidable sister-in-law and Franz Ferdinand's stepmother) the couple were granted permission to wed. Seal of Albert IV, Count of Habsburg, mutual ancestor of Sophie and Franz Ferdinand.įranz Ferdinand refused to renounce Sophie to marry equally and beget an heir to the throne, compounding the scandal surrounding the death and illicit affair of the emperor's previous heir. Although the Chotek family were noble since at least the 14th century and had been made counts of the Holy Roman Empire in 1745, they were not of dynastic rank (although Sophie was of royal blood by also being a descendant of Habsburgs, from Elisabeth, sister of King Rudolph I of Germany, Franz Ferdinand's ancestor). To be an eligible consort for any member of the Imperial House of Habsburg- Lorraine, one needed to belong to one of the reigning or formerly reigning dynasties of Europe. As such his uncle, the Emperor Franz Joseph, informed him that he could not marry Sophie, who could not become an empress consort. From this, a scandal ensued.įranz Ferdinand had become heir presumptive to the throne, after the suicide of his cousin Crown Prince Rudolf in 1889 and the death of his father Karl Ludwig of typhoid in 1896. Instead, the locket contained a photo of Sophie. When Isabella discovered Franz Ferdinand's locket lying on the tennis court, she opened it, expecting a photo of her daughter. The liaison was discovered by Archduchess Isabella, herself only born into a mediatised family (the House of Croÿ). Franz Ferdinand, who was stationed at a military garrison in Prague, paid frequent visits to Halbturn Castle, the home of Archduke Friedrich, and it was assumed that he had fallen in love with Friedrich's eldest daughter, Archduchess Marie Christine. It is unknown where Sophie first met Archduke Franz Ferdinand, although it may have been at a ball in Prague in 1894. Īs a young woman, Sophie became a lady-in-waiting to Archduchess Isabella, the wife of Archduke Friedrich, Duke of Teschen, head of the Bohemian cadet branch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. Her father was a Bohemian aristocrat, by birth member of an old House of Chotek, who served as Austrian Ambassador to the royal courts Stuttgart, Saint Petersburg and Brussels.

#Archduke franz ferdinand of austria portrait series

Their assassination in Sarajevo sparked a series of events that led, four weeks later, to World War I.Ĭountess Sophie Chotek von Wognin was born in Stuttgart as the fourth daughter of Count Bohuslav Chotek von Chotkow und Wognin and his wife, Countess Wilhelmine Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau (1838–1886). Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg ( German: Sophie Marie Josephine Albina Gräfin Chotek von Chotkow und Wognin Czech: Žofie Marie Josefína Albína hraběnka Chotková z Chotkova a Vojnína 1 March 1868 – 28 June 1914) was the wife of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne.

Count Bohuslaw Chotek von Chotkow und WogninĬountess Wilhelmine Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau