Archduke Franz Ferdinand & Gavrilo Princip are two of the most famous names in the 20th century, but little is generally known about them other than Princip assassinated the Archduke and his wife in Sarajevo on 28th June 1914 sparking the First World War. However they both went through an extraordinary chain of events to arrive at Sarajevo.
Being heir to the Habsburg throne was something of a poisoned chalice by the time Franz Ferdinand inherited the title in 1896; following the death of his cousin Crown Prince Rudolf in a suicide pact with his mistress; and his father Karl Ludwig, died of typhoid after drinking water from the River Jordan.
For a time it was thought Franz Ferdinand would also die when he contracted tuberculosis. He eventually recovered and Franz Ferdinand’s doctor gave him a letter to certify him fit, which Franz Ferdinand always carried.
One of the reasons for his recovery was an attachment he’d formed with Sophie Chotek. Who despite being a Czech noble was not considered to be of equal birth to Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Habsburg throne. Nonetheless Franz Ferdinand fought to marry the woman he loved, overcoming the opposition of the Emperor and the backbiting of his court. He forced a compromise morganatic marriage, renouncing his wife's and descendants' claim to the throne, on the 28th June 1900.
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