Free And the Rest Is History by Marlene Wagman-Geller Page A

their execution.

11
    Franz Ferdinand and Sophie Chotek
    1895
    Â 
    Â 
    Â 
    Â 
    Â 
    Â 
    Â 
    Â 
    Â 
    Â 
    Â 
    Â 
    Â 
    Â 
    O ne of the events that drastically altered the course of history was World War I, a calamity that led to endless rows of white crosses in graveyards across Europe. The nightmare began with a Black Hand, one that cruelly crushed a Balkan love story.
    The historic equivalent of “What came first, the chicken or the egg?” is “Do the times make the man or does the man make the times?” In the case of Franz Ferdinand, the answer is the latter. His life was forever altered with the execution of his uncle, Ferdinand Maximilian, emperor of Mexico, and the murder-suicide of his cousin Crown Prince Rudolf and his lover, Baroness Marie Vetsera, in his Mayerling hunting lodge. With their passing, he became the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His chief passion in life was hunting; on the walls of Artstetten Castle hung the heads of five thousand deer. However, his passion for the hunt was to be replaced by a passion of his heart.
    Franz’s destiny, Sophie Chotek, was born in Stuttgart, the fourth daughter of an aristocratic yet impoverished count. Because of financial need, she was compelled to take the position of lady-in-waiting to the Archduchess Isabella. Little did she imagine that she was to become, for a period, a contemporary Cinderella.
    The first time Franz met Sophie was at a ball in Prague. At the soiree his eyes bypassed all the suitable princesses who were paraded before him; he contemptuously referred to them as piperl , “chicks.” However his interest, and ultimately his heart, was to fall captive to Sophie. Because she was not of royal parentage, she was ineligible to wed into the imperial family. Their relationship, to which both were fiercely committed, had to be clandestine.
    Franz started to make regular trips to the home of the Archduchess Isabella, who took the royal visits as a sign that the heir was interested in one of her six daughters; she assumed his love interest was her eldest, Marie Christine. However, the cat was let out of the bag when a servant discovered the archduke’s gold watch, left behind at the tennis court. Isabella opened it, expecting to see Marie Christine’s portrait. Instead, she was infuriated to discover the photograph of her lady-in-waiting. Sophie was immediately dismissed, and the archduke’s secret love became a public scandal.
    Franz Ferdinand, now that his heart had become an open book, was determined to marry Sophie; however, the emperor was equally determined that the match would not take place and berated his nephew for his lack of dynastic discipline. Franz Joseph’s antipathy was founded on the premise that the only proper consort for the future king was a princess from the House of Habsburg or a princess from one of the other reigning European dynasties. The tug-of-war between uncle and nephew escalated to such a degree that Pope Leo XIII, Tsar Nicholas II, and Kaiser Wilhelm II argued for a compromise, as the royal battle of wills was undermining the stability of the monarchy. The impasse was resolved when the king agreed to the match; however, there was a caveat: The marriage had to be morganic. This meant that none of their issue could ever wear the crown; moreover, Sophie would not be entitled to share her husband’s rank, title, or other privileges, such as appearing beside him in public. She was not permitted to ride in the royal carriage, dine with him at state functions, or sit beside him in the royal opera box. When entering a room for a formal function, Sophie would have to wait until all of the higher-ranking women made their entrance.
    The wedding took place on July 1, 1900, at Reichstadt in Bohemia. Emperor Franz Joseph, to show his royal displeasure, did not attend. All other archdukes, including the groom’s brothers, likewise stayed away. The only members