Archduke Franz Ferdinand

He met Countess Sophie Chotek at a ball in Prague in 1894, and fell in love with her. But since Sophie was not a member of any reigning or formerly reigning dynasties of Europe, Franz’s uncle, the Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria forbade him from marrying her.

Franz Ferdinand was deeply in love with Sophie and made it clear that he would not marry anyone else. The emperor finally permitted him to marry her after the Pope Leo XIII, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, and the German Emperor Wilhelm II all argued with the emperor in support of the young couple.

He married Sophie on 1 July 1900. The emperor and several of his other family members did not attend the wedding. His wife was never accorded the high status, which the other women of the royal family enjoyed, and the emperor enforced the condition that no descendants of Franz and his new wife would succeed to the throne.

He was born on 18 December 1863 in Graz, Austrian Empire as the eldest son of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria and of his second wife, Princess Maria Annunciata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.

He was a member of the House of Habsburg, rulers of the Holy Roman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Spanish Empire and his father was the younger brother of Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph.

He received his primary education from private tutors and joined the Austro-Hungarian Army at a young age.

His cousin Prince Rudolf, who was the Crown Prince to the Austrian Empire committed suicide at his hunting lodge in Mayerling in 1889. This event meant that Franz’s own father, Karl Ludwig became the first in line to the throne.

His military career included service with an infantry regiment in Prague and with the hussars in Hungary. He rose through the ranks quickly, becoming captain at the age of 22, colonel at 27, and major general at 31.

He had a busy military career but in spite of his hectic life, he managed to find time for his leisurely pursuits which included traveling and hunting. In 1893, he traveled to several places all over the world covering New Hebrides, Solomon Islands, New Guinea, Sarawak, Hong Kong and China. He was a passionate trophy hunter who reportedly kept track of around 300,000 game kills. He also loved collecting antiques.

Franz’s life changed dramatically when his father died of typhoid fever in 1896. Now he became the new heir to the empire, the one who would succeed the throne after the death of the elderly king, his uncle, Franz Joseph.

Even though he had never received any formal staff training, he was considered eligible for command and led the primarily Hungarian 9th Hussar Regiment at one point. He was given a commission to enquire into the affairs of the military services and authorized to access the papers of the military agencies.

Being the heir presumptive, he was appointed Inspector General of all the armed forces of Austria-Hungary in 1913.