1 00:00:00,840 --> 00:00:05,240 Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grim 2 00:00:05,240 --> 00:00:18,760 Speaker 1: and Mild from Aaron Manky listener Discretion advised Oscar Podoiac's 3 00:00:18,840 --> 00:00:23,639 Speaker 1: reign as the Austro Hungarian Governor General of Bosnia did 4 00:00:23,640 --> 00:00:26,639 Speaker 1: not get off to a good start. Oscar was a 5 00:00:26,720 --> 00:00:31,320 Speaker 1: career military officer with graying, close cropped hair and a 6 00:00:31,360 --> 00:00:36,120 Speaker 1: thick mustache, and he was appointed governor general in nineteen eleven. 7 00:00:36,920 --> 00:00:41,080 Speaker 1: He had arrived in Sarajevo, Bosnia's capital city, and been 8 00:00:41,159 --> 00:00:45,559 Speaker 1: shocked to find it a hotbed of Serb nationalism and 9 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:51,800 Speaker 1: anti Habsburg sentiment. In response, Oscar enacted a plan of oppression. 10 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:56,440 Speaker 1: He suspended the parliament and censored the press, and called 11 00:00:56,440 --> 00:01:01,680 Speaker 1: in additional troops. Surprisingly, that did much to endere the 12 00:01:01,720 --> 00:01:07,320 Speaker 1: people of Sarajevo to their Habsburg rulers. Despite the tension, 13 00:01:07,560 --> 00:01:12,000 Speaker 1: in September nineteen thirteen, Oscar Potriarch invited the heir to 14 00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:16,440 Speaker 1: the Austro Hungarian throne, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, to visit 15 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:20,120 Speaker 1: the following year. You might think that such a visit 16 00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:24,160 Speaker 1: in such a context would call for heightened security, but 17 00:01:24,280 --> 00:01:29,919 Speaker 1: the planning for the Archduke's visit was surprisingly laxadaisical, even 18 00:01:30,319 --> 00:01:35,520 Speaker 1: as hindsight would reveal negligent. Potriarch had refused to allow 19 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:39,360 Speaker 1: additional soldiers into the city, and much of the security 20 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:43,520 Speaker 1: fell to the sixty police officers from the city's forces 21 00:01:43,840 --> 00:01:47,080 Speaker 1: scheduled to be on duty that day, the twenty eighth 22 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:52,720 Speaker 1: of June nineteen fourteen. The chief of police was horrified. 23 00:01:53,040 --> 00:01:56,480 Speaker 1: He tried to tell Poteorec that more security was needed. 24 00:01:56,840 --> 00:02:01,960 Speaker 1: Poteorec scoffed, telling the chief of police, you see phantoms everywhere. 25 00:02:02,560 --> 00:02:05,920 Speaker 1: He dismissed the chief's advice that the Archduke's route be 26 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:10,600 Speaker 1: kept private, and instead Potriarach allowed it to be published 27 00:02:10,639 --> 00:02:15,200 Speaker 1: ahead of the visit. He ignored warnings from Bosnian politicians 28 00:02:15,280 --> 00:02:19,840 Speaker 1: and from Austrian politicians, from military intelligence and members of 29 00:02:19,880 --> 00:02:23,840 Speaker 1: his own staff, all about the potential dangers of the visit, 30 00:02:24,360 --> 00:02:27,600 Speaker 1: and yet despite seeming to have done nothing at all 31 00:02:27,680 --> 00:02:31,880 Speaker 1: in terms of security arrangements, poto Riac insisted that he 32 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:36,520 Speaker 1: had it all under control. Soon enough, it would become 33 00:02:36,800 --> 00:02:41,760 Speaker 1: crystalline clear that he did not. The Archduke of Austria 34 00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:47,000 Speaker 1: Hungary would visit Sarajevo on June twenty eighth, nineteen fourteen, 35 00:02:47,600 --> 00:02:51,160 Speaker 1: and the event would begin with a bombing and end 36 00:02:51,320 --> 00:02:55,760 Speaker 1: in bloodshed within a month. That day would spark the 37 00:02:55,840 --> 00:03:01,440 Speaker 1: deadliest conflict that the world had ever seen. I'm Danish 38 00:03:01,440 --> 00:03:13,280 Speaker 1: swartz and this is noble blood. Just a year into 39 00:03:13,320 --> 00:03:17,920 Speaker 1: her marriage to Archduke Karl Ludwig, Princess Maria, a nunciata 40 00:03:17,960 --> 00:03:22,920 Speaker 1: of the two Sicilies, was diagnosed with tuberculosis. Her delicate 41 00:03:22,960 --> 00:03:27,280 Speaker 1: condition was made worse by bearing four children in quick succession. 42 00:03:28,080 --> 00:03:32,240 Speaker 1: Afraid of infecting her children with her disease, she refused 43 00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:34,880 Speaker 1: to touch them, to kiss them, or to spend a 44 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:38,280 Speaker 1: long period of time with them. One of those four 45 00:03:38,360 --> 00:03:43,520 Speaker 1: children was the future Archduke Franz Ferdinand. His mother died 46 00:03:43,640 --> 00:03:47,760 Speaker 1: when he was seven years old in eighteen seventy one. 47 00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:51,520 Speaker 1: She was a ghost of a woman that Franz Ferdinand 48 00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:56,040 Speaker 1: had barely known. Nonetheless, the young prince mourned her, which 49 00:03:56,080 --> 00:04:01,320 Speaker 1: only compounded his reputation as a silent shy, a sad child. 50 00:04:02,120 --> 00:04:06,280 Speaker 1: Strangers and family alike commented on how withdrawn he was, 51 00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:12,119 Speaker 1: even from his own siblings. Franz's personality seemed particularly too 52 00:04:12,160 --> 00:04:16,160 Speaker 1: pale in comparison to the personality of his younger brother Otto, 53 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:20,400 Speaker 1: A charismatic, boisterous boy who filled the family home with 54 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:26,760 Speaker 1: his presence. Franz preferred solitary pursuits, reading long walks in 55 00:04:26,800 --> 00:04:31,000 Speaker 1: the woods, playing with his pet rabbits. Most of all, 56 00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:36,200 Speaker 1: he loved hunting, a lifelong passion. He made his first 57 00:04:36,360 --> 00:04:40,640 Speaker 1: kill at age nine. He was a lonely boy who 58 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:44,600 Speaker 1: seemed unable to connect with those around him, who loved 59 00:04:44,640 --> 00:04:50,359 Speaker 1: his pets, and paradoxically took pleasure in hunting animals on 60 00:04:50,480 --> 00:04:55,839 Speaker 1: his family's vast estates. On the afternoon of January thirtieth, 61 00:04:55,960 --> 00:05:01,080 Speaker 1: eighteen eighty nine, Franz Ferdinand received the tes that would 62 00:05:01,200 --> 00:05:05,760 Speaker 1: change his life. His cousin Rudolph, five years his senior, 63 00:05:06,200 --> 00:05:10,800 Speaker 1: had shot himself and his teenage mistress Mary Vetsarah at 64 00:05:10,839 --> 00:05:14,800 Speaker 1: his Myerling hunting lodge. It's a tragedy now known as 65 00:05:14,839 --> 00:05:18,039 Speaker 1: the Maryling Incident, and we've spoken about it a few 66 00:05:18,080 --> 00:05:21,279 Speaker 1: times on this podcast since it was a major event 67 00:05:21,440 --> 00:05:25,440 Speaker 1: that shifted the global royal houses of Europe. The death 68 00:05:25,680 --> 00:05:30,480 Speaker 1: upended the Habsburg line of succession, shifting Karl Ludwig, Emperor 69 00:05:30,560 --> 00:05:35,480 Speaker 1: fran Joseph's brother into the position of heir presumptive. Franz 70 00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:38,479 Speaker 1: Joseph was nearly sixty at the time and his brother 71 00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:42,680 Speaker 1: Karl Ludwig was fifty six, making it very possible now 72 00:05:42,960 --> 00:05:47,160 Speaker 1: that Karl Ludwig's eldest son, Franz Ferdinand would be the 73 00:05:47,200 --> 00:05:51,280 Speaker 1: next on the throne. At age twenty five, the young 74 00:05:51,440 --> 00:05:55,640 Speaker 1: Archduke was thrust reluctantly into a role that he had 75 00:05:55,680 --> 00:06:00,800 Speaker 1: not prepared for, that of air to the Austrian throne. 76 00:06:00,839 --> 00:06:06,640 Speaker 1: With one fatal gunshot, Franz Ferdinand had inherited responsibility for 77 00:06:06,760 --> 00:06:11,040 Speaker 1: what James Joyce once called the most physically corrupt royal 78 00:06:11,080 --> 00:06:15,960 Speaker 1: house in Europe. Viennese noble society of the late nineteenth 79 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:21,680 Speaker 1: century was notoriously snobbish. Admission to court events was predicated 80 00:06:21,720 --> 00:06:25,839 Speaker 1: on the rule of sixteen quarterings, which meant that only 81 00:06:25,920 --> 00:06:30,200 Speaker 1: those with an unbroken descent from eight paternal and eight 82 00:06:30,400 --> 00:06:34,440 Speaker 1: maternal noble ancestors were allowed to socialize at the palace. 83 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:38,760 Speaker 1: Those privileged few who did meet this requirement were welcomed 84 00:06:38,800 --> 00:06:43,320 Speaker 1: into a life of nearly unparalleled luxury, a glittering world 85 00:06:43,480 --> 00:06:47,720 Speaker 1: of wealth notable in part for its shallowness. The main 86 00:06:47,839 --> 00:06:54,640 Speaker 1: topics of conversation noted one contemporary newspaper were the quote births, marriages, 87 00:06:54,680 --> 00:06:58,640 Speaker 1: and deaths of their acquaintances and friends, and the sayings 88 00:06:58,680 --> 00:07:03,240 Speaker 1: and doings of the impure court. As the nobles waltzed 89 00:07:03,360 --> 00:07:07,200 Speaker 1: oblivious to the world around them. The Habsburg Empire was 90 00:07:07,240 --> 00:07:11,760 Speaker 1: beginning to crumble, torn apart by the ethnic, nationalist, and 91 00:07:11,920 --> 00:07:16,400 Speaker 1: political conflicts that were snaking through nearly every empire of 92 00:07:16,440 --> 00:07:20,400 Speaker 1: the age, but the aristocratic elite weren't concerned with any 93 00:07:20,440 --> 00:07:24,480 Speaker 1: of that, preferring instead to gossip about their shy new 94 00:07:24,560 --> 00:07:30,280 Speaker 1: air presumptive. In contrast to Rudolph, who, though mentally ill 95 00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:34,880 Speaker 1: and erratic, had still been notoriously charming, the new heir, 96 00:07:35,120 --> 00:07:40,920 Speaker 1: Franz Ferdinand, was awkward and unprepossessing. He had pale skin, 97 00:07:41,320 --> 00:07:45,239 Speaker 1: prominent ears, and heavy lidded eyes that made him seem 98 00:07:45,280 --> 00:07:50,040 Speaker 1: perpetually sleepy. A dangerous battle with tuberculosis in the mid 99 00:07:50,120 --> 00:07:55,760 Speaker 1: eighteen nineties left him emaciated and weakened. In eighteen ninety six, 100 00:07:56,120 --> 00:08:00,000 Speaker 1: his father died of typhoid, a further blow to France 101 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:03,400 Speaker 1: Ferdinand that pushed the delicate boy to the brink of 102 00:08:03,480 --> 00:08:07,040 Speaker 1: death for a time. There was talk of replacing him 103 00:08:07,080 --> 00:08:10,760 Speaker 1: in the line of succession with his charismatic younger brother Otto, 104 00:08:11,240 --> 00:08:15,560 Speaker 1: known as Otto the Handsome. These rumors were certainly not 105 00:08:15,680 --> 00:08:19,440 Speaker 1: dispelled by the emperor's well known dislike for his nephew 106 00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:24,360 Speaker 1: Franz Ferdinand. Emperor Franz Joseph projected the disdain that he 107 00:08:24,480 --> 00:08:28,600 Speaker 1: still held for his deceased son onto his nephew, harboring 108 00:08:28,640 --> 00:08:32,560 Speaker 1: an abiding contempt that would only fester and grow through 109 00:08:32,600 --> 00:08:37,959 Speaker 1: the years. By eighteen ninety seven, however, Franz Ferdinand had 110 00:08:38,040 --> 00:08:41,480 Speaker 1: recovered from his bout with tuberculosis and he began to 111 00:08:41,559 --> 00:08:45,880 Speaker 1: make royal appearances more regularly. But the years of doubt 112 00:08:46,080 --> 00:08:49,640 Speaker 1: and rejection that had come from the noble establishment had 113 00:08:49,640 --> 00:08:53,720 Speaker 1: embittered him, and things would only get worse when, in 114 00:08:53,840 --> 00:08:58,920 Speaker 1: eighteen ninety nine, Franz Ferdinand committed the worst sin for 115 00:08:59,040 --> 00:09:02,960 Speaker 1: someone with noble black blood. He declared his love for 116 00:09:03,080 --> 00:09:09,559 Speaker 1: someone entirely unsuitable. Sophie Hotek, known to her family as Sofril, 117 00:09:10,120 --> 00:09:13,599 Speaker 1: was the fifth of eight children born to a Bohemian 118 00:09:13,760 --> 00:09:19,480 Speaker 1: noble family. Her mother, Countess Wilhelmina kinskivon Weinis, was a 119 00:09:19,480 --> 00:09:24,439 Speaker 1: member of one of Bohemia's most prominent families. Passionate supporters 120 00:09:24,480 --> 00:09:27,960 Speaker 1: of the arts, who had once served as patrons to Beethoven. 121 00:09:28,720 --> 00:09:33,000 Speaker 1: Her father, Count Behusliv Hottek, came from a distinguished line 122 00:09:33,080 --> 00:09:36,760 Speaker 1: of ambassadors. At the time of Sophie's birth in eighteen 123 00:09:36,920 --> 00:09:40,840 Speaker 1: sixty eight, Count Bohuslav was serving in the Austrian embassy 124 00:09:40,880 --> 00:09:45,080 Speaker 1: in Stutgart, and Sophie's childhood would be spent traveling across 125 00:09:45,200 --> 00:09:49,520 Speaker 1: Europe as her father transferred from posting to posting. Though 126 00:09:49,520 --> 00:09:52,959 Speaker 1: both of her parents came from privileged backgrounds, they had 127 00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:56,679 Speaker 1: little money of their own, and Sophie's childhood was a 128 00:09:57,040 --> 00:10:01,520 Speaker 1: financially precarious one. She and her s siblings frequently rode 129 00:10:01,520 --> 00:10:04,840 Speaker 1: public trams to save money. But though she lacked the 130 00:10:04,960 --> 00:10:09,439 Speaker 1: luxuries that Franz Ferdinand had had growing up, Sophie's family 131 00:10:09,679 --> 00:10:13,720 Speaker 1: was warmer and more informal than his. She often spoke 132 00:10:13,760 --> 00:10:17,480 Speaker 1: of political affairs with her father. She received a good education, 133 00:10:17,840 --> 00:10:22,080 Speaker 1: spoke German, English, French, and some check and rode, painted 134 00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:26,000 Speaker 1: and played tennis with skill. But as Sophie grew older, 135 00:10:26,240 --> 00:10:30,760 Speaker 1: even those qualifications didn't guarantee her a comfortable life, and 136 00:10:30,920 --> 00:10:36,000 Speaker 1: by twenty still unmarried, Sophie faced the two options for 137 00:10:36,080 --> 00:10:40,559 Speaker 1: an impoverished noblewoman in the nineteenth century, first enter a 138 00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:45,480 Speaker 1: nunnery or second become a lady in waiting. Sophie chose 139 00:10:45,520 --> 00:10:49,080 Speaker 1: the latter, and in eighteen eighty eight she joined the 140 00:10:49,080 --> 00:10:55,480 Speaker 1: household of Archduchess Isabella of Croix. Isabella was the quintessential 141 00:10:55,600 --> 00:10:59,880 Speaker 1: status obsessed noblewoman. She had a quick temper, poorly disc 142 00:11:00,040 --> 00:11:03,800 Speaker 1: guised contempt for her ladies in waiting, and enormous ambition 143 00:11:03,960 --> 00:11:08,439 Speaker 1: for her daughters. For her eldest daughter, the Archduchess Maria Christina, 144 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:13,640 Speaker 1: Isabella had her sight set on the Habsburg's most eligible bachelor, 145 00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:19,680 Speaker 1: Franz Ferdinand. Throughout the eighteen nineties, Isabella frequently invited the 146 00:11:19,800 --> 00:11:23,920 Speaker 1: Archduke to join their family for hunting trips and house parties. 147 00:11:24,520 --> 00:11:28,079 Speaker 1: Along the way, the lonely Archduke did form a connection 148 00:11:28,880 --> 00:11:33,000 Speaker 1: not with the Archduchess's daughter, Maria Christina, but with her 149 00:11:33,080 --> 00:11:38,480 Speaker 1: young lady in waiting, Sophie. Quick to laugh, knowledgeable, and 150 00:11:38,600 --> 00:11:43,520 Speaker 1: an easy conversationalist, Sophie provided Franz Ferdinand with the kind 151 00:11:43,559 --> 00:11:48,280 Speaker 1: of warm, non judgmental companionship that he had so rarely 152 00:11:48,320 --> 00:11:50,960 Speaker 1: found in his life. Here was a woman who could 153 00:11:51,040 --> 00:11:54,680 Speaker 1: serve as an antidote to the anarchic formalities of the 154 00:11:54,720 --> 00:11:59,440 Speaker 1: Habsburg court. Who could offer Franz Ferdinand the happiness that 155 00:11:59,520 --> 00:12:04,400 Speaker 1: had proved so elusive to him. For Sophie, Franz Ferdinand 156 00:12:04,440 --> 00:12:09,080 Speaker 1: offered a future one of stability and comfort. Their relationship, 157 00:12:09,120 --> 00:12:13,360 Speaker 1: though transcended the transactional. By all accounts, they loved each 158 00:12:13,400 --> 00:12:18,359 Speaker 1: other deeply. They shared similar values, both word devout Catholics, 159 00:12:18,679 --> 00:12:22,320 Speaker 1: and they had similar dreams for the future. By the 160 00:12:22,400 --> 00:12:27,560 Speaker 1: mid eighteen nineties, the two were exchanging letters frequently. Franz 161 00:12:27,640 --> 00:12:32,840 Speaker 1: Ferdinand addressed his letters to his darling sof Their affections 162 00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:37,280 Speaker 1: did not go entirely unnoticed by those around them. In fact, 163 00:12:37,440 --> 00:12:41,000 Speaker 1: Isabella actually thought that she saw an advantage in the 164 00:12:41,120 --> 00:12:45,480 Speaker 1: Archduke's apparent infatuation with her lady in waiting. She used 165 00:12:45,520 --> 00:12:50,079 Speaker 1: mentions of Countess Hotec to make her party invitations more 166 00:12:50,320 --> 00:12:55,200 Speaker 1: enticing to Franz Ferdinand, but no one realized how serious 167 00:12:55,240 --> 00:12:58,600 Speaker 1: his intentions were or how far he would go to 168 00:12:58,679 --> 00:13:03,520 Speaker 1: keep his darling soap in his life. In April eighteen 169 00:13:03,640 --> 00:13:08,760 Speaker 1: ninety nine, as the story goes, the Archduke departed Isabella's 170 00:13:08,800 --> 00:13:13,040 Speaker 1: home after a visit, accidentally leaving a few belongings behind. 171 00:13:13,720 --> 00:13:18,319 Speaker 1: A servant brought the belongings, including a pocket watch, to Isabella, 172 00:13:19,080 --> 00:13:22,280 Speaker 1: believing that she might discover a miniature of her daughter 173 00:13:22,520 --> 00:13:26,720 Speaker 1: in the watch. Isabella was shocked to find a portrait 174 00:13:26,800 --> 00:13:33,160 Speaker 1: of Sophie instead. A furious Isabella berated Sophie and dismissed 175 00:13:33,200 --> 00:13:37,559 Speaker 1: her from the household. Humiliated, Sophie fled to her sister's 176 00:13:37,640 --> 00:13:42,640 Speaker 1: home in Dresden. Isabella, still reeling, decided to get her 177 00:13:42,679 --> 00:13:46,640 Speaker 1: revenge on Franz Ferdinand and Sophie by telling the Emperor 178 00:13:46,920 --> 00:13:50,600 Speaker 1: that his heir had betrayed her daughter by carrying on 179 00:13:50,800 --> 00:13:55,360 Speaker 1: an affair with a lowly servant in her household. Emperor 180 00:13:55,400 --> 00:13:59,439 Speaker 1: Franz Joseph, loathed to spend any more time than absolutely 181 00:13:59,520 --> 00:14:04,200 Speaker 1: necessary with his least favorite nephew, reluctantly agreed to look 182 00:14:04,240 --> 00:14:08,240 Speaker 1: into the matter. Calling Franz Ferdinand to the palace, the 183 00:14:08,320 --> 00:14:11,920 Speaker 1: Emperor asked for his side of the story. It was simple. 184 00:14:12,120 --> 00:14:16,319 Speaker 1: Franz Ferdinand explained he had no connection to Maria Christina 185 00:14:16,440 --> 00:14:19,760 Speaker 1: and he was in love with Sophie. In fact, he 186 00:14:19,840 --> 00:14:25,520 Speaker 1: said he planned to marry Sophie. Horrified Emperor friends Joseph 187 00:14:25,720 --> 00:14:30,400 Speaker 1: encouraged his nephew to rethink his decision. By the laws 188 00:14:30,520 --> 00:14:34,120 Speaker 1: of the eighteen fifteen Act of German Confederation and the 189 00:14:34,160 --> 00:14:39,160 Speaker 1: Habsburg Family statutes, Sophie's family were not equals of the 190 00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:43,800 Speaker 1: Imperial family, which made Sophie ineligible to marry Franz Ferdinand. 191 00:14:44,440 --> 00:14:48,960 Speaker 1: But Franz Ferdinand refused to change his mind. Thus began 192 00:14:49,240 --> 00:14:53,080 Speaker 1: a year long battle fought in private and in public, 193 00:14:53,480 --> 00:14:58,200 Speaker 1: over the future of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and Countess Sophie Hotec. 194 00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:02,560 Speaker 1: All of Europe seemed weighed in, with reports on this 195 00:15:02,680 --> 00:15:06,400 Speaker 1: scandalous match appearing in newspapers across the continent. In the 196 00:15:06,400 --> 00:15:10,200 Speaker 1: fall of eighteen ninety nine, the Emperor threatened to take 197 00:15:10,240 --> 00:15:14,400 Speaker 1: away Franz Ferdinand's titles, but still Franz was not swayed. 198 00:15:14,880 --> 00:15:20,040 Speaker 1: The controversy split Franz Ferdinand's immediate family apart. His beloved 199 00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:24,080 Speaker 1: stepmother and half sister supported him, while his brothers and 200 00:15:24,160 --> 00:15:28,520 Speaker 1: his eldest sister urged him to give up. Even Playboy 201 00:15:28,640 --> 00:15:33,000 Speaker 1: Otto told Franz Ferdinand that quote duty for our kind 202 00:15:33,120 --> 00:15:37,800 Speaker 1: goes beyond happiness, a tad hypocritical considering that Otto was 203 00:15:37,840 --> 00:15:41,280 Speaker 1: living openly with his mistress at the time, but after all, 204 00:15:41,400 --> 00:15:46,400 Speaker 1: he wasn't the heir. Franz Ferdinand was undeterred, telling one friend, 205 00:15:46,720 --> 00:15:49,480 Speaker 1: this fire has been blazing in me for five years. 206 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:53,880 Speaker 1: It will never burn out. But uncle was just as 207 00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:58,200 Speaker 1: stubborn as nephew. Emperor Friendz Joseph would not be swayed, 208 00:15:58,680 --> 00:16:02,240 Speaker 1: even when Pope Leo the twelfth himself wrote in support 209 00:16:02,320 --> 00:16:06,800 Speaker 1: of the marriage, reminding Emperor Franz Joseph that the continual 210 00:16:06,880 --> 00:16:10,720 Speaker 1: talk of the marriage was bad press for the Catholic dynasty. 211 00:16:11,680 --> 00:16:14,840 Speaker 1: What moved Franz Joseph in the end was a set 212 00:16:14,920 --> 00:16:18,760 Speaker 1: of two threats from Franz Ferdinand. The first threat was 213 00:16:18,800 --> 00:16:21,040 Speaker 1: that if his uncle would not give him permission to 214 00:16:21,080 --> 00:16:24,120 Speaker 1: marry now, he would simply wait until his uncle died 215 00:16:24,200 --> 00:16:26,880 Speaker 1: and he became emperor, and he would marry then and 216 00:16:27,080 --> 00:16:31,320 Speaker 1: make Sophie his equal as empress, an unthinkable outcome for 217 00:16:31,440 --> 00:16:36,120 Speaker 1: the ultra traditional Franz Joseph. The second threat was that 218 00:16:36,160 --> 00:16:39,600 Speaker 1: if he was denied, Franz Ferdinand was willing to commit 219 00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:43,400 Speaker 1: some nebulous act that would bring even greater shame on 220 00:16:43,480 --> 00:16:47,400 Speaker 1: the Empire than the Marriling incident with the specter of 221 00:16:47,480 --> 00:16:51,240 Speaker 1: further disgrace on the family name hanging over them. Franz 222 00:16:51,320 --> 00:16:57,160 Speaker 1: Joseph finally agreed to the marriage in June of nineteen hundred. However, 223 00:16:57,360 --> 00:17:00,800 Speaker 1: the Emperor made it very clear that the couple had 224 00:17:00,840 --> 00:17:06,360 Speaker 1: to make certain concessions. Most importantly, he demanded that Franz 225 00:17:06,440 --> 00:17:10,280 Speaker 1: Ferdinand acknowledge that Sophie was not his equal in rank, 226 00:17:10,760 --> 00:17:15,119 Speaker 1: making their marriage a morganatic one. A morganatic marriage is 227 00:17:15,359 --> 00:17:18,119 Speaker 1: just a term for a marriage between two people of 228 00:17:18,280 --> 00:17:22,879 Speaker 1: unequal rank, but the practice was regarded with special disdain 229 00:17:23,119 --> 00:17:26,800 Speaker 1: in the status obsessed royal households of the Habsburg and 230 00:17:26,880 --> 00:17:31,600 Speaker 1: German empires. The most important consequence of a morganatic marriage, 231 00:17:31,600 --> 00:17:34,720 Speaker 1: in most cases was that any children that the couple 232 00:17:34,800 --> 00:17:37,720 Speaker 1: might have must renounce or give up their right to 233 00:17:37,840 --> 00:17:43,080 Speaker 1: inherit the titles of the higher ranking parent. Realizing that 234 00:17:43,119 --> 00:17:45,520 Speaker 1: this was the best offer he was likely to get, 235 00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:51,159 Speaker 1: Franz Ferdinand reluctantly agreed. On June twenty eighth, he arrived 236 00:17:51,200 --> 00:17:55,160 Speaker 1: at Hofburg Palace and entered the Privy Council chamber, where 237 00:17:55,200 --> 00:17:58,280 Speaker 1: he was joined by a small group of Habsburg officials. 238 00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:03,800 Speaker 1: The emperor to speak, inspired by the wish to give 239 00:18:03,840 --> 00:18:07,480 Speaker 1: my nephew new proof of my special love. He began, 240 00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:12,000 Speaker 1: and apparently not a trace of irony. I have consented 241 00:18:12,040 --> 00:18:16,240 Speaker 1: to his marriage with Countess Sophie Hotek. The countess descends 242 00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:19,960 Speaker 1: it is true from noble lineage, but her family is 243 00:18:20,119 --> 00:18:23,080 Speaker 1: not one of those that, according to the customs of 244 00:18:23,119 --> 00:18:27,480 Speaker 1: our house, we regard as our equals. As only women 245 00:18:27,520 --> 00:18:30,760 Speaker 1: from equal houses can be regarded as equal in birth, 246 00:18:31,200 --> 00:18:33,760 Speaker 1: this marriage must be regarded in the light of a 247 00:18:33,800 --> 00:18:38,040 Speaker 1: morganatic marriage, and the children of which, with God's blessing, 248 00:18:38,119 --> 00:18:41,520 Speaker 1: will spring forward from it, cannot be given the rights 249 00:18:41,560 --> 00:18:45,840 Speaker 1: of the members of the Imperial House. Franz Ferdinand stepped 250 00:18:45,840 --> 00:18:48,760 Speaker 1: to the front of the room, removed his right glove, 251 00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:52,439 Speaker 1: and placed his bare hand on the document containing the 252 00:18:52,560 --> 00:18:57,920 Speaker 1: oath of renunciation. Speaking quietly, he swore to obey the oath, 253 00:18:58,320 --> 00:19:01,520 Speaker 1: swore that his children would never rule, and swore that 254 00:19:01,600 --> 00:19:06,680 Speaker 1: Countess Sophi Jotec, his darling sof was never and could 255 00:19:06,680 --> 00:19:12,080 Speaker 1: never be his equal. With this sacrifice complete, the wedding 256 00:19:12,119 --> 00:19:17,439 Speaker 1: could proceed. Past imperial weddings had been grand affairs, with 257 00:19:17,680 --> 00:19:22,640 Speaker 1: days of festivities celebrated by enormous crowds. But this would 258 00:19:22,640 --> 00:19:26,440 Speaker 1: not be the case for Franz Ferdinand and Sophie. Instead 259 00:19:26,480 --> 00:19:29,800 Speaker 1: of marrying in the Augustine Querche in Vienna, as Crown 260 00:19:29,880 --> 00:19:33,840 Speaker 1: Prince Rudolph and Emperor Franz Joseph had, the couple was 261 00:19:33,920 --> 00:19:38,080 Speaker 1: married in the remote home of Franz Ferdinand's stepmother. The 262 00:19:38,160 --> 00:19:42,560 Speaker 1: Emperor had refused to attend, instead making a principled stand 263 00:19:42,640 --> 00:19:46,320 Speaker 1: on the issue of marital propriety by spending the weekend 264 00:19:46,440 --> 00:19:51,439 Speaker 1: in a Spa town with his mistress. The Lord High Chamberlain, 265 00:19:51,680 --> 00:19:55,600 Speaker 1: Alfred de Montenuovo, had long been one of the staunchest 266 00:19:55,680 --> 00:19:58,720 Speaker 1: opponents of the wedding, and he was determined that the 267 00:19:58,760 --> 00:20:02,960 Speaker 1: couple enjoy none of the giddy celebration that should accompany 268 00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:08,200 Speaker 1: a day of love. With the Emperor's consent, Montenuovo engineered 269 00:20:08,280 --> 00:20:13,119 Speaker 1: a particularly devious plan. He had the court to create 270 00:20:13,160 --> 00:20:18,359 Speaker 1: a formal twelve days of mourning for Princess Josephine Hohenzollern, 271 00:20:18,680 --> 00:20:22,240 Speaker 1: who had died on June nineteenth. Never Mind that she 272 00:20:22,440 --> 00:20:25,840 Speaker 1: was a distant relative of the Habsburgs and she was 273 00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:30,160 Speaker 1: little known at court. A formal period of mourning meant 274 00:20:30,200 --> 00:20:33,760 Speaker 1: that members of the royal family were forbidden to attend 275 00:20:33,920 --> 00:20:38,360 Speaker 1: festive celebrations, and so the decree meant that no family 276 00:20:38,400 --> 00:20:43,200 Speaker 1: members could go to Franz Ferdinand's wedding, which conveniently fell 277 00:20:43,320 --> 00:20:47,600 Speaker 1: on the last day of the morning period. Only Maria Teresa, 278 00:20:47,760 --> 00:20:52,399 Speaker 1: Franz Ferdinand's stepmother, and his two half sisters risked the 279 00:20:52,440 --> 00:20:57,520 Speaker 1: Emperor's wrath by attending the wedding. Despite all of this, 280 00:20:57,880 --> 00:21:00,879 Speaker 1: despite the rain that drizzled down from the gray skies 281 00:21:00,880 --> 00:21:05,560 Speaker 1: over Reichstadt, both Franz Fernand and Sophie declared their wedding 282 00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:09,680 Speaker 1: day the most beautiful day of our lives. They were 283 00:21:09,680 --> 00:21:14,000 Speaker 1: married in a simple ceremony, with Maria Teresa's confessor presiding. 284 00:21:14,600 --> 00:21:18,560 Speaker 1: As they exchanged vows, the confessor blessed the couple's rings, 285 00:21:18,880 --> 00:21:22,600 Speaker 1: praying for them to be quote witnesses for all time 286 00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:26,960 Speaker 1: to your untroubled marital happiness. And though the love that 287 00:21:27,040 --> 00:21:30,439 Speaker 1: Franz Ferdinand and Sophie filt for one another would not falter, 288 00:21:31,280 --> 00:21:35,520 Speaker 1: their marriage would not be untroubled. Instead of ending the 289 00:21:35,600 --> 00:21:39,960 Speaker 1: gossip and whispers over Sophie's lower status, the marriage simply 290 00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:44,080 Speaker 1: seemed to exacerbate them. Sophie was to endure more than 291 00:21:44,119 --> 00:21:49,399 Speaker 1: a decade of snubs, insults, and exclusion by European royal society. 292 00:21:50,119 --> 00:21:52,800 Speaker 1: She could not sit by her husband at court events, 293 00:21:53,240 --> 00:21:56,120 Speaker 1: walk by his side as they entered rooms, or even 294 00:21:56,200 --> 00:21:59,680 Speaker 1: appear with him on some public occasions. On her first 295 00:21:59,760 --> 00:22:02,280 Speaker 1: of official appearance at court, at a ball for the 296 00:22:02,320 --> 00:22:07,160 Speaker 1: Shah of Persia, Montenuovo had designed another humiliation for her. 297 00:22:07,840 --> 00:22:11,120 Speaker 1: After the rest of the imperial family had proceeded into 298 00:22:11,160 --> 00:22:14,720 Speaker 1: the ballroom through a wide set of double doors, Sophie, 299 00:22:14,760 --> 00:22:18,080 Speaker 1: at the end of the line, prepared to enter, but 300 00:22:18,240 --> 00:22:21,840 Speaker 1: before she could step through the doors, one door was 301 00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:26,520 Speaker 1: loudly slammed closed, leaving only a single, narrow space for 302 00:22:26,600 --> 00:22:30,120 Speaker 1: her to walk through. The wide skirts of her ball 303 00:22:30,160 --> 00:22:34,200 Speaker 1: gown being so wide, Sophie was forced to turn sideways 304 00:22:34,280 --> 00:22:39,760 Speaker 1: and slide through. The message was obvious Sophie wasn't welcome 305 00:22:39,800 --> 00:22:45,040 Speaker 1: here and she didn't fit. Furious over the continued mistreatment 306 00:22:45,119 --> 00:22:50,119 Speaker 1: of his wife, Franz Ferdinand increasingly withdrew from court, especially 307 00:22:50,160 --> 00:22:53,840 Speaker 1: once the couple welcomed their first child, Sophie, in July 308 00:22:54,080 --> 00:22:58,320 Speaker 1: nineteen oh one. The family called the baby Little Sophie 309 00:22:58,400 --> 00:23:02,399 Speaker 1: or Pinky, Fearful that his daughter would endure the same 310 00:23:02,480 --> 00:23:06,080 Speaker 1: treatment as his wife. Franz Ferdinand decided that they would 311 00:23:06,119 --> 00:23:10,000 Speaker 1: spend more time at their country estate. He and Sophie 312 00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:13,520 Speaker 1: were determined to enjoy life with the family they were creating, 313 00:23:13,840 --> 00:23:17,720 Speaker 1: and they joyfully welcomed a son, Max in September nineteen 314 00:23:17,760 --> 00:23:22,800 Speaker 1: oh two and Ernst in May nineteen oh four. Describing 315 00:23:22,880 --> 00:23:26,800 Speaker 1: their time away from court, Franz Ferdinand wrote quote, I 316 00:23:26,880 --> 00:23:29,800 Speaker 1: sit with my children all day and admire them because 317 00:23:29,800 --> 00:23:33,600 Speaker 1: I love them so much. Sof notts and the children 318 00:23:33,840 --> 00:23:37,040 Speaker 1: roll around and throw everything from the tables, and it 319 00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:41,760 Speaker 1: is also incredibly delightful and cozy. But the retreat that 320 00:23:41,800 --> 00:23:44,399 Speaker 1: Franz Ferdinand hoped would help take the heat off of 321 00:23:44,440 --> 00:23:49,320 Speaker 1: Sophie instead only incensed Viennese society, who saw it as 322 00:23:49,359 --> 00:23:54,679 Speaker 1: an aloof declaration of superiority by the somewhat tactless Archduke 323 00:23:55,400 --> 00:23:59,800 Speaker 1: Franz Ferdinand. It was true, could be simultaneously cold and 324 00:24:00,080 --> 00:24:03,840 Speaker 1: hot tempered, demanding much from those around him. Many who 325 00:24:03,880 --> 00:24:07,760 Speaker 1: did not know him found him forbidding and imperious, but 326 00:24:07,840 --> 00:24:12,040 Speaker 1: at his family's country estate he thrived, fulfilling his favorite 327 00:24:12,119 --> 00:24:16,040 Speaker 1: role of devoted father and husband. It was only at 328 00:24:16,119 --> 00:24:20,160 Speaker 1: court forced to play the role of air that he struggled, 329 00:24:20,480 --> 00:24:25,200 Speaker 1: chafing against the structures of society, becoming terse and awkward, 330 00:24:25,320 --> 00:24:30,399 Speaker 1: and alienating other nobles. The couple was not entirely friendless. 331 00:24:30,800 --> 00:24:34,160 Speaker 1: One particular ally of the couple was the German Kaiser 332 00:24:34,200 --> 00:24:38,560 Speaker 1: Wilhelm the Second. Wilhelm understood the pains of being an outsider. 333 00:24:39,040 --> 00:24:42,760 Speaker 1: His left arm had been badly damaged during his traumatic birth, 334 00:24:43,160 --> 00:24:46,119 Speaker 1: leaving it six inches shorter than the right arm, a 335 00:24:46,200 --> 00:24:49,679 Speaker 1: disability he was highly self conscious of and forced to 336 00:24:49,800 --> 00:24:54,919 Speaker 1: compensate for for his entire life. Historians have theorized that 337 00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:58,639 Speaker 1: this understanding of exclusion was why Wilhelm was one of 338 00:24:58,640 --> 00:25:02,560 Speaker 1: the first monarchs to publicly show any kindness to Sophie. 339 00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:08,880 Speaker 1: Though Franz Ferdinand often complained about the Kaiser's eccentricities and ego, 340 00:25:09,400 --> 00:25:13,959 Speaker 1: Wilhelms acceptance of Sophie did create a lifelong connection between 341 00:25:13,960 --> 00:25:17,480 Speaker 1: the two men. As the years progressed, there were signs 342 00:25:17,520 --> 00:25:20,800 Speaker 1: of a slight thawing forward the couple by the European elite. 343 00:25:21,359 --> 00:25:25,720 Speaker 1: They conducted successful visits to other royal families, including those 344 00:25:25,760 --> 00:25:29,520 Speaker 1: of Great Britain and Romania, whose monarchs were impressed by 345 00:25:29,600 --> 00:25:33,920 Speaker 1: Sophie's grace and strength in the face of ongoing hostility 346 00:25:33,960 --> 00:25:37,520 Speaker 1: from the Habsburgs, and even the Habsburgs had begun to 347 00:25:37,600 --> 00:25:42,440 Speaker 1: admire the quiet dignity of the archducal couple, though detractors 348 00:25:42,480 --> 00:25:46,919 Speaker 1: still maligned Sophie as a social climber and friends Ferdinand 349 00:25:47,080 --> 00:25:52,119 Speaker 1: as a holier than thou snob. Despite these challenges, though 350 00:25:52,280 --> 00:25:55,800 Speaker 1: the love the couple had for one another remained shortly 351 00:25:55,880 --> 00:25:59,919 Speaker 1: before they left for Bosnia in June nineteen fourteen, so 352 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:03,560 Speaker 1: Sophie had remarked, it will be fourteen years since I 353 00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:07,560 Speaker 1: married His Imperial and Royal Highness, the Archduke. I wish 354 00:26:07,680 --> 00:26:11,800 Speaker 1: I could relive every single day again. They had endured 355 00:26:11,880 --> 00:26:17,399 Speaker 1: cruelties from every corner, faced in dignities, and weathered malicious insults. 356 00:26:17,760 --> 00:26:21,280 Speaker 1: Having suffered so long and fought so hard for their love, 357 00:26:21,800 --> 00:26:25,680 Speaker 1: Sophie and Franz Ferdinand finally felt as though dawn had 358 00:26:25,720 --> 00:26:29,080 Speaker 1: begun to break on their future. They could not have 359 00:26:29,200 --> 00:26:32,960 Speaker 1: known then they were only days away from the greatest 360 00:26:32,960 --> 00:26:38,480 Speaker 1: tragedy of them all. Franz Ferdinand did not want to 361 00:26:38,520 --> 00:26:41,399 Speaker 1: go to Sarajevo. He had barely wanted to go to 362 00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:45,280 Speaker 1: Bosnia at all back. In nineteen oh eight, the Archduke 363 00:26:45,320 --> 00:26:50,639 Speaker 1: had fervently opposed Austria Hungary's annexation of Bosnia, believing that 364 00:26:50,680 --> 00:26:53,040 Speaker 1: the move would draw them ever nearer to a war 365 00:26:53,080 --> 00:26:57,119 Speaker 1: with Russia. Russia had backed the Serbian government's right to 366 00:26:57,160 --> 00:27:01,400 Speaker 1: the lands. Although Franz Ferdinand had had sometimes been portrayed 367 00:27:01,440 --> 00:27:06,240 Speaker 1: as a warmonger eager to establish Austro Hungarian supremacy in Europe, 368 00:27:06,520 --> 00:27:10,520 Speaker 1: he was more often than not pragmatic and a conservative 369 00:27:10,560 --> 00:27:14,280 Speaker 1: man who had a shrewd understanding of the tenuous position 370 00:27:14,600 --> 00:27:19,280 Speaker 1: of countries on the continent. In nineteen thirteen, he wrote 371 00:27:19,280 --> 00:27:22,560 Speaker 1: to the Emperor about his concerns over the situation in 372 00:27:22,600 --> 00:27:27,840 Speaker 1: the Balkans, predicting with unnerving accuracy the potential effects of 373 00:27:27,920 --> 00:27:33,200 Speaker 1: war between Russia and Austria. It would quote encourage revolution 374 00:27:33,400 --> 00:27:37,280 Speaker 1: in both countries and thereby cause both Emperor and Czar 375 00:27:37,640 --> 00:27:41,120 Speaker 1: to push each other from their thrones. For these reasons, 376 00:27:41,480 --> 00:27:46,680 Speaker 1: I consider war to be the lunacy. Unfortunately, this sentiment 377 00:27:46,920 --> 00:27:51,080 Speaker 1: was not shared by the Emperor's hawkish General of the Infantry, 378 00:27:51,480 --> 00:27:54,240 Speaker 1: who had spent the years leading up to nineteen fourteen 379 00:27:54,600 --> 00:27:59,000 Speaker 1: trying desperately to promote what he called a quote preventative 380 00:27:59,359 --> 00:28:05,480 Speaker 1: war again Serbia. This fundamental disagreement between Franz Ferdinand and 381 00:28:05,560 --> 00:28:08,680 Speaker 1: his uncle's general may have been part of why Franz 382 00:28:08,720 --> 00:28:13,760 Speaker 1: Ferdinand accepted the Bosnian governor General's invitation to observe military 383 00:28:13,800 --> 00:28:19,600 Speaker 1: maneuvers outside Sarajevo in June nineteen fourteen. The summer prior, 384 00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:23,199 Speaker 1: the Emperor had promoted Franz Ferdinand to the position of 385 00:28:23,280 --> 00:28:27,520 Speaker 1: Inspector General of the Empire's armed forces, and the Archduke 386 00:28:27,600 --> 00:28:30,240 Speaker 1: hoped that this title would give him more sway in 387 00:28:30,280 --> 00:28:33,960 Speaker 1: the conflict. Perhaps he thought that his presence in Bosnia 388 00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:38,760 Speaker 1: would present a more peaceful face of the Habsburgs. Nonetheless, 389 00:28:38,880 --> 00:28:42,160 Speaker 1: it's harder to understand why he accepted the invitation to 390 00:28:42,240 --> 00:28:47,040 Speaker 1: visit Sarajevo, given the tension in the city. Four years earlier, 391 00:28:47,160 --> 00:28:52,320 Speaker 1: Oscar Potriiec's predecessor as Austrian Governor General, had barely survived 392 00:28:52,360 --> 00:28:55,840 Speaker 1: an assassination attempt, the first in a chain of five 393 00:28:55,960 --> 00:29:01,880 Speaker 1: other attempted assassinations against Austro Hungarian figures. Some historians have 394 00:29:02,040 --> 00:29:04,720 Speaker 1: argued that the Archduke agreed to visit in order to 395 00:29:04,800 --> 00:29:09,560 Speaker 1: satisfy his need for Adelation, but this seems a little unlikely, 396 00:29:09,720 --> 00:29:13,240 Speaker 1: given how disdainful he was of appeals to public sympathy 397 00:29:13,280 --> 00:29:16,160 Speaker 1: for his private life. Others have claimed he went to 398 00:29:16,200 --> 00:29:19,160 Speaker 1: Sarajevo for Sophie so that they could spend more time 399 00:29:19,200 --> 00:29:23,120 Speaker 1: together in an official capacity, and so more Habsburg citizens 400 00:29:23,120 --> 00:29:27,880 Speaker 1: could behold his charming wife. The British historian A. J. P. Taylor, 401 00:29:28,200 --> 00:29:32,560 Speaker 1: discussing Franz Ferdinand's motives, wrote, thus, for love did the 402 00:29:32,680 --> 00:29:36,240 Speaker 1: Archduke go to his death? A pretty turn of phrase, 403 00:29:36,440 --> 00:29:40,000 Speaker 1: to be sure, but most likely an inaccurate one, or 404 00:29:40,040 --> 00:29:43,440 Speaker 1: at least an incomplete one. For one thing, the royal 405 00:29:43,480 --> 00:29:46,760 Speaker 1: couple had spent the past several years conducting a series 406 00:29:46,760 --> 00:29:51,400 Speaker 1: of highly successful imperial visits to Berlin and Great Britain. 407 00:29:51,840 --> 00:29:54,840 Speaker 1: They didn't need the affirmation of a dangerous visit to 408 00:29:54,880 --> 00:29:58,840 Speaker 1: Sarajevo to confirm what observers all over were already beginning 409 00:29:58,880 --> 00:30:03,000 Speaker 1: to understand that Sophie was an intelligent, grounded woman who 410 00:30:03,080 --> 00:30:06,040 Speaker 1: was well suited to her role. For another thing, though 411 00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:09,840 Speaker 1: Franz Ferdinand was well aware of the peril of the visit, 412 00:30:10,360 --> 00:30:12,960 Speaker 1: and he didn't want to subject his wife to the 413 00:30:13,040 --> 00:30:16,840 Speaker 1: risks it was actually Sophie herself who insisted that she 414 00:30:17,040 --> 00:30:20,840 Speaker 1: join him, telling a priest that quote, if there is danger, 415 00:30:21,000 --> 00:30:24,160 Speaker 1: my place is so much more by my husband's side. 416 00:30:24,960 --> 00:30:28,480 Speaker 1: Maybe the real answer as to why Franz Ferdinand wanted 417 00:30:28,480 --> 00:30:32,840 Speaker 1: to go to Sarajevo is that he didn't. For the 418 00:30:32,880 --> 00:30:35,640 Speaker 1: rest of the summer, Franz Ferdinand tried to get out 419 00:30:35,640 --> 00:30:38,880 Speaker 1: of the trip, citing his own ill health and the 420 00:30:38,920 --> 00:30:42,040 Speaker 1: ill health of the Emperor, among other things. But on 421 00:30:42,160 --> 00:30:45,440 Speaker 1: June seventh, in a meeting with the Emperor, his fate 422 00:30:45,600 --> 00:30:48,720 Speaker 1: was sealed when he asked his uncle if he could 423 00:30:48,760 --> 00:30:54,280 Speaker 1: decline Potriarch's invitation. The Emperor replied, do as you wish. 424 00:30:55,320 --> 00:30:59,440 Speaker 1: This may sound ambiguous, but in the fraught oblique language 425 00:30:59,480 --> 00:31:03,600 Speaker 1: of the hahapse Burghs, it was basically a command. It 426 00:31:03,680 --> 00:31:08,720 Speaker 1: was an unsebtle reminder of Franz Ferdinand's highest responsibility, not 427 00:31:08,760 --> 00:31:12,480 Speaker 1: to himself but to the dynasty. If it would reflect 428 00:31:12,520 --> 00:31:17,000 Speaker 1: well on the Habsburgs to make a political appearance in Sarajevo, 429 00:31:17,080 --> 00:31:20,440 Speaker 1: Franz Ferdinand would do it, even if it meant risking 430 00:31:20,480 --> 00:31:32,080 Speaker 1: his life. The players were in place, blood would come next. 431 00:31:33,680 --> 00:31:36,840 Speaker 1: That's the start of the story of the assassination of 432 00:31:36,960 --> 00:31:41,120 Speaker 1: Archduke Franz Ferdinand. This is a two part episode, obviously, 433 00:31:41,200 --> 00:31:43,760 Speaker 1: because there is so much to talk about, and we'll 434 00:31:43,760 --> 00:31:47,080 Speaker 1: have a part two next week to discuss the famous 435 00:31:47,120 --> 00:31:51,200 Speaker 1: assassination itself. But in the meantime, keep listening after a 436 00:31:51,240 --> 00:31:54,280 Speaker 1: brief sponsor break to hear just a little bit more. 437 00:31:59,160 --> 00:32:03,920 Speaker 1: Schloss Konec, a thirteenth century castle overlooking a lake in 438 00:32:03,960 --> 00:32:07,920 Speaker 1: the present day Czech Republic, was the beloved childhood home 439 00:32:08,200 --> 00:32:12,760 Speaker 1: of Franz Ferdinand and Sophie's children, Max, Sophie and Ernst. 440 00:32:13,480 --> 00:32:16,840 Speaker 1: Franz Ferdinand had bought the property in eighteen eighty seven, 441 00:32:17,280 --> 00:32:20,480 Speaker 1: and he spent more than five years transforming it into 442 00:32:20,520 --> 00:32:25,360 Speaker 1: an idyllic retreat perched atop a hillside. The white walled, 443 00:32:25,480 --> 00:32:30,080 Speaker 1: red roofed structure features a storybook turret, and it has 444 00:32:30,240 --> 00:32:33,840 Speaker 1: lush rose gardens and all of the most modern amenities 445 00:32:33,840 --> 00:32:38,080 Speaker 1: that had been available in the late nineteenth century, including electricity, 446 00:32:38,320 --> 00:32:42,760 Speaker 1: running hot water, even an elevator. Little Sophie would later 447 00:32:42,800 --> 00:32:45,840 Speaker 1: remember that the house was quote the place of our 448 00:32:45,880 --> 00:32:49,240 Speaker 1: first memories, the cocoon, where all our day to day 449 00:32:49,280 --> 00:32:54,280 Speaker 1: business took place. After their parents' deaths. The children faced 450 00:32:54,320 --> 00:32:59,600 Speaker 1: ostracization and uncertainty. They weren't quite Habsburg's, but they weren't 451 00:33:00,080 --> 00:33:03,200 Speaker 1: right not, and they struggled to find their footing while 452 00:33:03,240 --> 00:33:09,000 Speaker 1: also navigating the shocking murder of their beloved parents. Fortunately, 453 00:33:09,160 --> 00:33:14,520 Speaker 1: Sophie's sister Maria and her husband, Prince Yaroslav Antune Undhundstein, 454 00:33:15,120 --> 00:33:19,680 Speaker 1: stepped in as adopted parents. The trio provided the children 455 00:33:19,800 --> 00:33:23,320 Speaker 1: with love and affection, which was also supplied by their 456 00:33:23,360 --> 00:33:28,120 Speaker 1: grandmother Maria Teresa and their aunt Henriette, among others. The 457 00:33:28,240 --> 00:33:31,760 Speaker 1: children spent the war years mainly at Conopiste, where they 458 00:33:31,760 --> 00:33:35,160 Speaker 1: were sheltered from the worst of the fighting. But in 459 00:33:35,280 --> 00:33:38,880 Speaker 1: nineteen eighteen, as the First World War came to a close, 460 00:33:39,560 --> 00:33:43,880 Speaker 1: even the fairytale escape of Conopiste slipped from their hands. 461 00:33:44,440 --> 00:33:49,880 Speaker 1: In October, the new nation of Czechoslovakia declared independence from Austria, 462 00:33:50,080 --> 00:33:53,040 Speaker 1: and as a sign of rejection of the old ways, 463 00:33:53,400 --> 00:33:59,000 Speaker 1: they expropriated all Habsburg properties in the country. Conopiste was seized. 464 00:33:59,560 --> 00:34:02,760 Speaker 1: All of the family mementos, the photographs, the letters and 465 00:34:02,840 --> 00:34:06,600 Speaker 1: diaries which kept Sophie and Franz Ferdinand alive for their children, 466 00:34:07,120 --> 00:34:11,360 Speaker 1: were now property of the state. Over the next eighty years. 467 00:34:11,600 --> 00:34:15,880 Speaker 1: Conopiste would take several forms. During World War II, it 468 00:34:15,960 --> 00:34:19,120 Speaker 1: was taken over by Hitler's s S as a part 469 00:34:19,160 --> 00:34:22,320 Speaker 1: of the Soviet Union. It held offices of the Czech 470 00:34:22,360 --> 00:34:27,040 Speaker 1: Ministry of Agriculture, and the children's toys, still sitting where 471 00:34:27,080 --> 00:34:30,120 Speaker 1: they had left them in nineteen eighteen, were distributed to 472 00:34:30,200 --> 00:34:35,360 Speaker 1: local kindergarteners. But in two thousand, Princess Sophie van Hollenberg, 473 00:34:35,600 --> 00:34:40,800 Speaker 1: fran Ferdinand's great granddaughter, filed a lawsuit to reclaim the castle, 474 00:34:41,280 --> 00:34:44,880 Speaker 1: based on a loophole that even Alfred de Montenuovo would 475 00:34:44,880 --> 00:34:48,640 Speaker 1: have to acknowledge. The humor in her suit had argued 476 00:34:48,640 --> 00:34:52,200 Speaker 1: that the seizure of Conopiste was unlawful because it had 477 00:34:52,280 --> 00:34:55,120 Speaker 1: done so under a law which allowed for the seizure 478 00:34:55,239 --> 00:34:59,920 Speaker 1: of Habsburg properties, and her family, as her great grandfather 479 00:35:00,200 --> 00:35:03,000 Speaker 1: had been forced to declare in his oath of Renunciation, 480 00:35:03,760 --> 00:35:08,680 Speaker 1: were not Habsburgs. In two thousand and nine, Princess Sophie 481 00:35:08,880 --> 00:35:12,560 Speaker 1: lost her lawsuit and Conopiest remains in the hands of 482 00:35:12,600 --> 00:35:16,360 Speaker 1: the Czech government, who have opened it to the public. Today, 483 00:35:16,600 --> 00:35:19,520 Speaker 1: visitors can tour the grounds of the castle. They can 484 00:35:19,560 --> 00:35:23,160 Speaker 1: look inside a number of interior rooms and view a 485 00:35:23,239 --> 00:35:28,399 Speaker 1: collection of memorabilia related to the assassination, including the very 486 00:35:28,480 --> 00:35:32,799 Speaker 1: bullet that's alleged to have killed the Archduke. But more 487 00:35:32,840 --> 00:35:43,880 Speaker 1: on that next week. Noble Blood is a production of 488 00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:48,040 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild from Aaron Manky. Noble Blood 489 00:35:48,160 --> 00:35:52,160 Speaker 1: is hosted by me Danish Wartz. Additional writing and researching 490 00:35:52,320 --> 00:35:56,560 Speaker 1: done by Hannah Johnston, hannah's Wick, Mira Hayward, Courtney Sender, 491 00:35:56,600 --> 00:36:01,400 Speaker 1: and Lori Goodman. The show is produced by Remkali, with 492 00:36:01,520 --> 00:36:07,520 Speaker 1: supervising producer Josh Thain and executive producers Aaron Manke, Alex Williams, 493 00:36:07,560 --> 00:36:11,640 Speaker 1: and Matt Frederick. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the 494 00:36:11,719 --> 00:36:15,400 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 495 00:36:15,440 --> 00:36:16,160 Speaker 1: favorite shows.