Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria was an Archduke of Austria-Este, Austro-Hungarian and Royal Prince of Hungary and of Bohemia and, from 1896 until his death, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne.
Background
Franz Ferdinand was born in Graz, Austria, the eldest son of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria (younger brother of Franz Joseph and Maximilian) and of his second wife, Princess Maria Annunciata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. In 1875, when he was only eleven years old, his cousin Duke Francis V of Modena died, naming Franz Ferdinand his heir on condition that he add the name Este to his own. Franz Ferdinand thus became one of the wealthiest men in Austria.
Education
After the suicide of Crown Prince Rudolf in 1889, Francis Ferdinand was generally regarded as heir to the throne, although never formally installed as such by Emperor Francis Joseph. Lung disease compelled the archduke in 1892/1893 to undertake a trip around the world, and upon his return he commanded the Thirty-eighth Infantry Brigade in Budweis in the grade of major general. Lung problems continued to plague him, and, in order not to be precluded from inheriting the throne, Francis Ferdinand for four years vacationed in the Tyrol and in Mediterranean spas.
Career
In 1896 he was promoted field marshal and on March 29, 1898, placed "at the disposition" of the imperial supreme commander; in 1899 he was promoted general of cavalry.
Francis Ferdinand busied himself with military matters, and gained credit especially after his promotion to admiral in 1902 for his work with Admiral Rudolf von Montecuccoli in behalf of the navy. In politics, the archduke stood close to the Christian-Socialists at home, and distinctly disliked the Pan-Germans. His special animosity was reserved for the Magyars, although neither the Czechs nor the Poles enjoyed his favor; alone the Rumanians and the Slovaks consistently could count on his support. Initially Francis Ferdinand favored reorganization of the empire on the basis of Vienna-Budapest-Agram trialism, but a falling out with the Croats over their role in the future empire scrapped this project in favor of a plan to divide the monarchy along strictly linguistic lines. This, in turn, yielded to a proposal to accord each of the historic Crown Lands an equal voice in the administration of the empire; finally, the heir presumptive arrived back at dualism, albeit with reform of the excessive rights that he felt the Magyars had been granted in 1867. In terms of foreign policy, Francis Ferdinand distrusted the Italians and generally preferred the resurrection of the Three Emperors' League of 1873.
The archduke spoke out between 1908 and 1911 against General Conrad von Hötzendorf's desire for a preemptive strike against Serbia as the only solution to the South Slav problem; ironically, it was this issue that was to cost him his life. Francis Ferdinand had been appointed inspector general of all Habsburg armed forces on August 17, 1913, and in this capacity he decided to tour Bosnia with his wife in June 1914. The assassination of the imperial couple in the streets of Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip on June 28 set in motion the chain of events that culminated in the First World War.
A number of recent Habsburg apologists have attempted to make Francis Ferdinand an enlightened ruler who, had he been given the chance, might have solved the nationalities question and in the process transformed the Dual Monarchy into a truly supranational community. Gunther Rothenberg has suggested instead that Francis Ferdinand s foremost aim was to resurrect the centralized monarchy created by Prince Felix zu Schwarzenberg and the army after 1848 a more realistic appraisal by far.
Politics
Historians have disagreed on how to characterize the political philosophies of Franz Ferdinand, some attributing generally liberal views on the empire's nationalities while others have emphasized his dynastic centralism, Catholic conservatism, and tendency to clash with other leaders. He advocated granting greater autonomy to ethnic groups within the Empire and addressing their grievances, especially the Czechs in Bohemia and the south Slavic peoples in Croatia and Bosnia, who had been left out of the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867. Yet his feelings towards the Hungarians were less generous, often described as antipathy. For example, in 1904 he wrote that "The Hungarians are all rabble, regardless of whether they are minister or duke, cardinal or burgher, peasant, hussar, domestic servant, or revolutionary" and he regarded even István Tisza as a revolutionary and "patented traitor". He regarded Hungarian nationalism as a revolutionary threat to the Habsburg dynasty and reportedly became angry when officers of the 9th Hussars Regiment (which he commanded) spoke Hungarian in his presence — despite the fact that it was the official regimental language. He further regarded the Hungarian branch of the Dual Monarchy's army, the Honvédség, as an unreliable and potentially threatening force within the empire, complaining at the Hungarians' failure to provide funds for the joint army and opposing the formation of artillery units within the Hungarian forces.
Personality
The archduke has been depicted as being self-willed, autocratic, reactionary, clerical, and abrasive; at Castle Belvedere he gathered about him a little brain trust (according to some, a shadow government) composed of men who ultimately were to serve Emperor Charles.
Quotes from others about the person
The German historian Michael Freund described Franz Ferdinand as "a man of uninspired energy, dark in appearance and emotion, who radiated an aura of strangeness and cast a shadow of violence and recklessness ... a true personality amidst the amiable inanity that characterized Austrian society at this time." As his sometime admirer Karl Kraus put it, "he was not one who would greet you ... he felt no compulsion to reach out for the unexplored region which the Viennese call their heart." His relations with Emperor Franz Joseph were tense; the emperor's personal servant recalled in his memoirs that "thunder and lightning always raged when they had their discussions." The commentaries and orders which the heir to the throne wrote as margin notes to the documents of the Imperial central commission for architectural conservation (where he was Protector) reveal what can be described as "choleric conservativism." The Italian historian Leo Valiani provided the following description.
Connections
In 1894 Franz Ferdinand met Countess Sophie Chotek at a ball in Prague. To be eligible to marry a member of the Imperial House of Habsburg, one had to be a member of one of the reigning or formerly reigning dynasties of Europe. The Choteks were not one of these families, although they did include among their ancestors, in the female line, princes of Baden, Hohenzollern-Hechingen, and Liechtenstein. One of Sophie's direct ancestors was Albert IV, Count of Habsburg; she was descended from Elisabeth of Habsburg, a sister of King Rudolf I of Germany. Franz Ferdinand was a descendant of King Rudolf I. Sophie was a lady-in-waiting to Archduchess Isabella, wife of Archduke Friedrich, Duke of Teschen. Franz Ferdinand began to visit Archduke Friedrich's villa in Pressburg (now Bratislava). Sophie wrote to Franz Ferdinand during his convalescence from tuberculosis on the island of Lošinj in the Adriatic. They kept their relationship a secret.
Deeply in love, Franz Ferdinand refused to consider marrying anyone else. Finally, in 1899, Emperor Franz Joseph agreed to permit Franz Ferdinand to marry Sophie, on condition that the marriage would be morganatic and that their descendants would not have succession rights to the throne. Sophie would not share her husband's rank, title, precedence, or privileges; as such, she would not normally appear in public beside him. She would not be allowed to ride in the royal carriage or sit in the royal box in theaters.
The wedding took place on 1 July 1900, at Reichstadt (now Zákupy) in Bohemia; Franz Joseph did not attend the affair, nor did any archduke including Franz Ferdinand's brothers. The only members of the imperial family who were present were Franz Ferdinand's stepmother, Princess Maria Theresa of Braganza, and her two daughters. Upon the marriage, Sophie was given the title "Princess of Hohenberg" (Fürstin von Hohenberg) with the style "Her Serene Highness" (Ihre Durchlaucht). In 1909, she was given the more senior title "Duchess of Hohenberg" (Herzogin von Hohenberg) with the style "Her Highness" (Ihre Hoheit). This raised her status considerably, but she still yielded precedence at court to all the archduchesses. Whenever a function required the couple to assemble with the other members of the imperial family, Sophie was forced to stand far down the line, separated from her husband.
Franz Ferdinand's children were:
Princess Sophie of Hohenberg (1901–1990), married Count Friedrich von Nostitz-Rieneck (1891–1973)
Maximilian, Duke of Hohenberg (1902–1962), married Countess Elisabeth von Waldburg zu Wolfegg und Waldsee (1904–1993)
Prince Ernst of Hohenberg (1904–1954), married Marie-Therese Wood (1910–1985)
Stillborn son (1908), buried in Artstetten Castle, near his parents.