Archduke Franz Ferdinand: 1863-1904

Franz Ferdinand, eldest son of Carl Ludwig, the brother of Emperor Franz Josef, was born in 1863. Educated by private tutors, he joined the Austro-Hungarian Army in 1883. His military career included service with an infantry regiment in Prague and with the hussars in Hungary. While in the army Ferdinand received several promotions: captain (1885), major (1888), colonel (1890) and general (1896).

In 1889, Crown Prince Rudolf, the son of Franz Josef, shot himself at his hunting lodge. The succession now passed to Franz Ferdinand's father, Carl Ludwig. When he died in 1896, Franz Ferdinand became the new heir to the throne.

Franz Ferdinand had first met Sophie von Chotkovato at a dance in Prague in 1888. The couple fell in love but although Sophie came from a noble Bohemian family, she was not considered a suitable woman to marry Franz Ferdinand. To be an eligible partner for a member of the Austro-Hungarian royal family, you had to be descended from the House of Hapsburg or from one of the ruling dynasties of Europe. Franz Ferdinand insisted he would not marry anyone else. Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and Pope Leo XIII all made representations to Franz Josef on Franz Ferdinand's behalf arguing that the the disagreement over Ferdinand's marriage was undermining the stability of the monarchy.

In 1899 Emperor Franz Josef agreed a deal with Franz Ferdinand. He was allowed to marry Sophie von Chotkovato but it was stipulated that her descendants would not be allowed to succeed to the throne. It was also pointed out that Sophie would not be allowed to accompany her husband in the royal carriage nor could she sit by his side in the royal box.

Franz Josef did not attend the wedding. Nor did his brothers or their families. The only people of the royal family who went to the ceremony was Franz Ferdinand's stepmother, Maria Theresia, and her two daughters. Over the next few years the couple had three children: Sophie (1901), Maximilian (1902) and Ernst (1904).

Primary Sources

(1) Archduke Franz Ferdinand, letter to his stepmother Maria Theresia a week after his marriage to Sophie von Chotkova (July, 1900)

Soph is a treasure, I am indescribably happy. She looks after me so much, I am doing wonderfully. I am so healthy and much less nervous. I feel as though I had been born again.

(2) Archduke Franz Ferdinand, letter to Maria Theresia (1904)

The most intelligent thing I've ever done in my life has been the marriage to my Soph. She is everything to me: my wife, my adviser, my doctor, my warner, in a word: my entire happiness. Now, after four years, we love each other as on our first year of marriage, and our happiness has not been marred for a single second.