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Early life
Sophie was born in Stuttgart to a prominent Bohemian aristocratic family. She was the fourth daughter of Count Bohuslaw Chotek von Chotkova und Wognin and his wife, Countess Wilhelmine Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau. As a young woman, Sophie became lady-in-waiting to the Archduchess Isabella, wife of Archduke Friedrich, Duke of Teschen.
Early relationship with Franz Ferdinand
It is unknown where Sophie first met Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, though many claim it was at a ball in Prague.
Sophie and Franz Ferdinand kept their relationship a secret for years. When Franz Ferdinand began to make regular visits to the home of Archduke Friedrich, it was assumed that he had fallen in love with Friedrich's eldest daughter, Marie Christine. When the relationship was discovered by Archduchess Isabella, a public scandal erupted.
Emperor Franz Joseph made it clear to Franz Ferdinand that he could not marry Sophie. To be an eligible partner for a member of the Habsburg Imperial Family, one must 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. Ironically one of Sophia's direct ancestors was Count Albrecht IV of Habsburg; she was descended from Elisabeth, the sister of the first Habsburg King Rudolph I while Archduke Franz was descended from Rudolph I.
Franz Ferdinand insisted he would not marry anyone else. Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and Pope Leo XIII all made representations to Franz Joseph on Franz Ferdinand's behalf, arguing that the disagreement was undermining the stability of the monarchy.
Marriage with Franz Ferdinand
In 1899, under pressure from family members (especially the unyielding Archduchess Isabella) Emperor Franz Josef agreed to a deal with Franz Ferdinand for a morganatic marriage. Franz Ferdinand was allowed to marry Sophie, but it was stipulated that her descendants would not be allowed to succeed to the throne. Sophie would not share her husband's rank, title, or precedence.
Sophie and Franz Ferdinand were married 1 July 1900 at Reichstadt (now Zákupy) in Bohemia. The Emperor 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, Maria Theresia, 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 took precedence at Court only after all the Archduchesses.
Alone among the European monarchs, Wilhelm II of Germany did much to treat Sophie with a measure of dignity worthy of the wife of the Heir to the Austo-Hungarian imperial throne.
The couple had four children:
- Princess Sophie von 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 von Hohenberg (1904-1954), married Marie-Therese Wood (1910-1985)
- stillborn son (1908)
The rumour that at the time of her assassination in 1914, Sophie was pregnant with her fifth child, is not true. After the birth of her stillborn son in 1908, doctors advised her not to become pregnant again.
Assassination
In 1914, General Oskar Potiorek, Governor of the Austrian provinces of Bosnia-Herzegovina, invited Archduke Franz Ferdinand and Sophie to watch his troops on maneuvers. Franz Ferdinand knew that the visit would be dangerous. A large number of people living in Bosnia-Herzegovina were unhappy with Austrian rule and favoured union with Serbia.
Sophie was usually not allowed to accompany her husband on official visits, but on this occasion Franz Ferdinand arranged for her to come as an anniversary gift. She was ecstatic.
At 10:10, when the procession passed the central police station, Nedjelko Cabrinovic hurled a hand grenade at the archduke's car. The driver accelerated when he saw the object flying towards the car and the grenade exploded under the wheel of the next car. Two of the occupants, Eric von Merizzi and Count Boos-Waldeck were seriously wounded. About a dozen spectators were also hit by bomb splinters.
After attending the official reception at the City Hall, Franz Ferdinand asked about the members of his party that had been wounded by the bomb. When the archduke was told they were badly injured in hospital, he insisted on being taken to see them. A member of the archduke's staff, Baron Morsey, suggested this might be dangerous, but Oskar Potiorek, who was responsible for the safety of the royal party, replied, "Do you think Sarajevo is full of assassins?" However, Potiorek did accept it would be better if Sophie remained behind in the City Hall. When Baron Morsey told Sophie about the revised plans, she refused to stay, arguing: "As long as the Archduke shows himself in public today I will not leave him."
In order to avoid the city centre, General Oskar Potiorek decided that the royal car should travel straight along the Appel Quay to the Sarajevo Hospital. However, Potiorek forgot to tell the driver, Leopold Loyka1, about this decision. On the way to the hospital, by the Latin Bridge, the driver took a right turn into Franz Joseph Street. One of the conspirators, Gavrilo Princip, was standing on the corner at the time. Oskar Potiorek immediately realized the driver had taken the wrong route and shouted "What is this ? This is the wrong way ! We're supposed to take the Appel Quay !".
The driver put his foot on the brake, and began to back up. In doing so he moved slowly past the waiting Gavrilo Princip. The assassin stepped forward, drew his gun, and at a distance of about five feet, fired several times into the car. Franz Ferdinand was hit in the neck and Sophie in the abdomen. Sophie said to her husband, "For God's sake what happened to you", then she fell bleeding. Before losing consciousness, he pleaded "Sophie dear ! Sophie dear ! Don't die ! Stay alive for our children !" They were both dead within an hour.
Sophie and Franz Ferdinand had a joint funeral mass. But, as a final show of their unequal rank, The Habsburgs placed Sophie on a bier that was 18 inches lower than her husband's. They were buried in the crypt of their country home, Schloss Artstetten. Today the castle houses a museum in their memory.
Commemorative coin
Duchess Sophie's Castle of Artstetten was selected as a main motif for the 10 euro The Castle of Artstetten commemorative coin minted on 13 October 2004. The reverse shows the entrance to the crypt of the Hohenberg family. There are two portraits to the left, showing Sophie and Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
Titles
- Countess Sophie Chotek
- Her Serene Highness The Princess of Hohenberg
- Her Highness The Duchess of Hohenberg
Notes
Regarding personal names: Gräfin is a title, translated as Countess, not a first or middle name. The male form is Graf.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Countess Sophie Chotek |
References
