Francis Ferdinand was born on December 18, 1863, in Graz, Austria, 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.
At the age of 15, he started a military career, joining the Austro-Hungarian Army.
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 Francis’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 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.
Francis’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 Emperor, his uncle, Franz Joseph.
In the meantime he advanced in rank (becoming general of the cavalry in 1899), but this did not lessen his long-standing contempt for Viennese high society or his differences with the Emperor. He crowned his contempt by his morganatic marriage on July 1, 1900.
Francis Ferdinand regarded the nationality question as the most serious problem of the empire. Initially he sought a solution in terms of "crownland federalism, " with the historic borders more or less retained (except for Hungary). Later he favored the idea of the "United States of Greater Austria, " which called for a thorough restructuring along ethnic lines. Simultaneously, Francis Ferdinand also toyed with the "trialistic" solution, which was to be achieved by granting the South Slavs an equal partnership with the Austrians and Hungarians in the empire. Finally, due largely to threatening Serbian irredentism, he returned to a modified dualism, calling for a special position for Bosnia-Herzegovina as the "Kingdom of Rama. "
In foreign affairs Francis Ferdinand favored the pro-German orientation but also wished to restore understanding with Russia. This desire prevented him from advocating a policy of final solution against the growingly bellicose Serbia.
Francis Ferdinand's influence grew, and by 1913 he was inspector general of the combined armed forces. In this capacity on June 28, 1914, he visited Sarajevo and was assassinated by a group of Serbian conspirators. The fateful bullet, which unleashed the war, was fired by Gavrilo Princip.
The Austrian archduke, Francis Ferdinand was a prominent statesman, whose assassination by the Bosnian Serb nationalist Gavrilo Princip was the immediate cause of World War I.
Francis Ferdinand and his Castle of Artstetten were selected as a main motif for the Austrian 10 euro The Castle of Artstetten commemorative coin, minted on October 13, 2004.
Francis Ferdinand received numerous orders, including the Order of the Golden Fleece (Austria-Hungary), the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary (Austria-Hungary), the Order of St. Andrew (Russian Empire), the Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky (Russian Empire), the Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky (Russian Empire), the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian Empire, Russian Poland), the Order of the White Eagle (Russian Empire, Russian Poland), the Order of the Garter (United Kingdom), the Order of the Bath (United Kingdom), the Order of the Black Eagle (Kingdom of Prussia), the Order of the Most Holy Annunciation (Kingdom of Italy), the Order of the Elephant (Denmark), the Order of Charles III (Spain) and the Order of the Chrysanthemum (Japan).
Politically, Francis Ferdinand aligned himself with centralism and Catholic conservatism. Striving to give more freedom to ethnic groups in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, he supported the Czechs as well as the Croatians and Bosnians. The Archduke also promoted federalism that would make the empire into 16 states and saw Hungarian nationalism as a serious threat. He also believed that if Serbia was treated harshly, Russia would react violently.
Quotations: "What is the good of your speeches? I come to Sarajevo on a visit, and I get bombs thrown at me. It is outrageous. "
Francis Ferdinand was a prince of absolutist inclinations, but he had certain intellectual gifts and undoubted moral earnestness.
Francis Ferdinand was also a man of uninspired energy, dark in appearance and emotion, who radiated an aura of strangeness and cast a shadow of violence and recklessness.
In 1894, Francis Ferdinand met Countess Sophie Chotek at a ball in Prague, 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.
On July 1, 1900, at Reichstadt, in Bohemia (now Zákupy, Czech Republic), Francis Ferdinand married Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg.
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 Francis and his new wife would succeed to the throne.
The emperor’s dissent, however, did not deter the couple who went on to have a happy marriage which produced three children.
Margarete Sophie of Austria was a member of the House of Habsburg and an Archduchess of Austria by birth.
Elisabeth Amalie of Austria was an Archduchess of Austria by birth.
Maria Annunciata of Austria was Princess-Abbess of the Theresian Royal and Imperial Ladies Chapter of the Castle of Prague.
Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, was the fourth daughter of Count Bohuslav Chotek von Chotkow und Wognin, a Bohemian aristocrat and Ambassador, and his wife Countess Wilhelmine Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau.
Otto Franz Joseph Karl Ludwig Maria was Prince Imperial and Archduke of Austria, Prince Royal of Hungary and Bohemia.
Ferdinand Karl of Austria was a member of the House of Habsburg and an Archduke of Austria by birth.
