When the future Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria was born in 1830, he was third in the line of succession. His grandfather was Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor (Francis I, Emperor Austria from the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806) and his uncle Ferdinand, who had an intellectual disability and suffered from [read more]
Read part one here. In the early years of their marriage, Franz Joseph was deeply in love with his wife and Elisabeth no doubt returned those feelings. Three children followed in quick succession: Sophie (born 1855 – died young), Gisela (born 1856) and Crown Prince Rudolf (born 1858). However, it soon became clear that Elisabeth [read more]
The future Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria was born on 18 August 1830 as the eldest son of Archduke Franz Karl of Austria, the third son of Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, and Princess Sophie of Bavaria. As such, he was not a direct heir to the throne, but his uncle Ferdinand I had [read more]
On 18 August 1853, a 15-year-old girl changed Austrian history when she became the fiance of her 23-year-old first cousin, Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. Princess Elisabeth, Duchess in Bavaria, was a shy girl who had grown up relatively carefree and without much care for protocol. Her mother, Ludovika, had already been searching for [read more]
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