Noble Blood - The Life of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

Episode Date: May 17, 2022

Franz Ferdinand (the Archduke, not the band) is a central figure in the history of Europe, known the world over for being the target of the assassination that ignited World War I. But before his death, he was a shy, reluctant and awkward boy who was never meant to be the heir to an Empire, who fell in love with a woman he wasn't allowed to marry. Support Noble Blood: — Bonus episodes and scripts on Patreon — Merch! — Order Dana's book, Anatomy: A Love StorySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Readers, Katie's finalists, publicists. We have an incredible new episode this week for you guys. We have our girl Hillary Duff in here, and we can't wait for you to hear this episode. They put on Lizzie McGuire at 2 a.m. Video on Demand.

This guy's bobo-bubim. 2 a whatever time it is. Lizzie McGuire. And I'm like, the paper view. It was like a first closet moment from me where I was like, I don't feel like she's hot, like the rest of that. No, no, no. I was like, she's beautiful.

But I'm appreciating her. in a different way than these boys are. I'm not like, but listen to Los Coleristas on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or whatever you get your podcast. Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of IHeart Radio and Grimm and Mild from Aaron Manky. Listener discretion advised.

Oscar Poderex reign as the Austro-Hungarian Governor General of Bosnia did not get off to a good start. Oscar was a career military officer, with graying, close-cropped hair and a thick mustache, and he was appointed Governor General in 1911. He had arrived in Sarajevo, Bosnia's capital city, and been shocked to find it a hotbed of Serb nationalism and anti-Hapsburg sentiment.

In response, Oscar enacted a plan of oppression. He suspended the parliament and censored the press and called in additional troops. Surprisingly, none of that did much to endear the people of Sarajevo to their Habsburg rulers. Despite the tension, in September 1913, Oscar Potrhock invited the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, to visit the following year. You might think that such a visit in such a context would call for heightened security, but the planning for the Archduke's visit was surprisingly laxious.

sedesical, even, as hindsight would reveal, negligent. Potirac had refused to allow additional soldiers into the city, and much of the security fell to the 60 police officers from the city's forces scheduled to be on duty that day. The 28th of June, 1914. The chief of police was horrified. He tried to tell Potio rec that more security was needed. Potio rec scoffed,

telling the chief of police, you see phantoms everywhere. He dismissed the chief's advice that the Archduke's route be kept private, and instead, Potierke allowed it to be published ahead of the visit. He ignored warnings from Bosnian politicians and from Austrian politicians, from military intelligence and members of his own staff,

all about the potential dangers of the visit. And yet, despite seeming to have done nothing at all in terms of security arrangements, Potreroec insisted that he had it all under control. Soon enough, it would become crystalline clear that he did not. The Archduke of Austria-Hungary would visit Sarajevo on June 28, 1914, and the event would begin with a bombing and end in bloodshed. Within a month, that day would spark the deadliest conflict that the war. world had ever seen.

I'm Dana Schwartz, and this is Noble Blood. Just a year into her marriage to Archduke Carl Ludwig, Princess Maria Annunciata of the two Siciles, was diagnosed with tuberculosis. Her delicate condition was made worse by bearing four children in quick succession. Afraid of infecting her children with her disease, she refused to touch them, to kiss them, or to spend long periods of time with them. One of those four children was the future Archduke Franz Ferdinand. His mother died when he was seven years old in 1871. She was a ghost of a woman that Franz Ferdinand had barely known. Nonetheless, the young prince mourned her, which only compounded his

reputation as a silent, shy, sad child. Strangers and family alike commented on how, withdrawn he was, even from his own siblings. Franz's personality seemed particularly to pale in comparison to the personality of his younger brother Otto, a charismatic, boisterous boy who filled the family home with his presence. Franz preferred solitary pursuits, reading, long walks in the woods, playing with his pet rabbits. Most of all, he loved hunting, a lifelong passion. He made his first kill at age nine. He was a lonely boy who seemed unable to connect with those around him, who loved his pets and, paradoxically took pleasure in hunting animals on his family's vast estates.

On the afternoon of January 30, 1889, Franz Ferdinand received the telegram that would change his life. His cousin, Rudolph, five years his senior, had shot himself and his teenage mistress, Mary Vetsara, at his Myerling Hunting Lodge. It's a tragedy now known as the Maryland incident, and we've spoken about it a few times on this podcast, since it was a major event that shifted the global royal houses of Europe. The death upended the Habsburg line of succession, shifting Karl Ludwig, Emperor Fran Joseph's brother, into the position of heir-presumptive. Franz Joseph was nearly 60 at the time, and his brother, Carl Ludwig, was 56, making it very possible now

that Carl Ludwig's eldest son, Franz Ferdinand, would be the next on the throne. At age 25, the young Archduke was thrust reluctantly into a role that he had not prepared for, that of heir to the Austrian throne. With one fatal gunshot, Franz Ferdinand had inherited responsibility for what James Joyce once called

the most physically corrupt royal house in Europe. Viennese noble society of the late 19th century was notoriously snobbish. Admission to court events was predicated on the rule of 16 quarterings, which meant that only those with an unbroken descent from eight paternal and eight maternal noble ancestors were allowed to socialize at the palace. Those privileged few who did meet this requirement

were welcomed into a life of nearly unparalleled luxury, a glittering world of wealth, notable in part for its shallowness. The main topics of conversation, noted one contemporary newspaper, were the, quote, births, marriages, and deaths of their acquaintances and friends,

the sayings and doings of the imperial court. As the nobles waltzed, oblivious to the world around them, the Habsburg Empire was beginning to crumble, torn apart by the ethnic, nationalist, and political conflicts that were snaking through nearly every empire of the age. But the aristocratic elite weren't concerned with any of that, preferring instead to gossip about their shy new air presumptive. In contrast to Rudolph, who, though mentally ill and erratic, had still been notoriously charming, the new heir, Franz Ferdinand, was awkward and unprepossessing. He had pale skin, prominent ears, and heavy-litted eyes that made him seem perpetually sleepy. A dangerous battle with tuberculosis in the mid- 1890s left him emaciated and weakened.

In 1896, his father died of typhoid, a further blow to Franz Ferdinand that pushed the delicate boy to the brink of death. For a time, there was talk of replacing him in the line of succession with his charismatic younger brother Otto, known as Otto the handsome. These rumors were certainly not dispelled by the emperor's well-known dislike for his nephew Franz Ferdinand. Emperor Franz Joseph projected the disdain that he still held for his deceased son onto his nephew, harboring an abiding contempt that would only fester and grow through the years. By 1897, however, Franz Ferdinand had recovered from his bout with tuberculosis, and he began to make royal appearances more regularly. But the years of doubt and rejection that had come from the noble establishment had embittered him,

and things would only get worse when, in 1899, Franz Ferdinand committed the worst sin for someone with noble blood. He declared his love for someone entirely unsuitable. Sophie Hotech, known to her family as Sofril, was the fifth of eight children, born to a bohemian noble family. Her mother, Countess Wilhelmina Kinski von Weynechtz, was a member of one of Bohemia's most prominent families, passionate supporters of the arts,

who had once served as patrons to Beethoven. Her father, Count Bohuslov Hotech, came from a distinguished line of ambassadors. At the time of Sophie's birth in 1868, Count Bohuselov was serving in the Austrian embassy in Sougat, and Sophie's childhood would be spent traveling across Europe as her father transferred from posting to posting. Though both of her parents came from privileged backgrounds, they had little money of their own,

and Sophie's childhood was a financially precarious one. She and her siblings frequently rode public trams to save money. But though she lacked the luxuries that Franz Ferdinand had had growing up, Sophie's family was warmer and more informal than his. She often spoke of political affairs with her father. She received a good education, spoke German, English, French, and some Czech, and rode, painted, and played tennis with skill. But as Sophie grew older, even those qualifications didn't guarantee her a comfortable life. And by 20, still unmarried, Sophie faced the two options for an impoverished noble woman in the 19th century. First, enter a nunnery, or second, become a lady in waiting. Sophie chose the latter, and in 1888, she joined the household of Archduchess Isabella of Croix.

Isabella was the quintessential status-obsessed noblewoman. She had a quick temper, poorly disguised contempt for her ladies-in-waiting, and enormous ambition for her daughters. For her eldest daughter, the Archduchess Maria Christina, Isabella had her sight set on the Habsburg's most eligible bachelor, Franz Ferdinand. Throughout the 1890s, Isabella frequently invited the Archduke to join their family for hunting trips and house parties. Along the way, the lonely Archduke did form a connection, not with the Archduce's daughter, Maria Christina, but with her young lady-in-waiting, Sophie. Quick to laugh, knowledgeable, and an easy conversationalist, Sophie provided Franz Ferdinand with the kind of warm, non-judgmental companionship that he had so rarely found in his life. Here was a woman who could serve as an antidote to the anarchic formalities of the Habsburg court,

who could offer Franz Ferdinand the happiness that had proven so elusive to him. For Sophie, Franz Ferdinand offered a future, one of stability and comfort. Their relationship, though, transcended the transactional. By all accounts, they loved each other deeply. They shared similar values. Both were devout Catholics, and they had similar dreams for the future. By the mid-1890s, the two were exchanging letters frequently. Franz Ferdinand addressed his letters to his darling soph. Their affections did not go entirely unnoticed by those around them. In fact, Isabella actually thought that she saw an advantage in the Archduke's apparent infatuation with her lady in waiting. She used mentions of Countess Hotech to make her party invitations more enticing

to Franz Ferdinand, but no one realized how serious his intentions were, or how far he would go to keep his darling Sof in his life. In April 1899, as the story goes, the Archduke departed Isabella's home after a visit, accidentally leaving a few belongings behind. A servant brought the belongings, including a pocket watch, to Isabella. Believing that she might discover a miniature of her daughter in the watch, Isabella was shocked to find a portrait of Sophie instead. A furious Isabella berated Sophie and dismissed her from the household. Humiliated, Sophie fled to her sister's home in Dresden.

Isabella, still reeling, decided to get her revenge on her. Franz Ferdinand and Sophie by telling the Emperor that his heir had betrayed her daughter by carrying on an affair with a lowly servant in her household. Emperor Franz Joseph, loath to spend any more time than absolutely necessary with his least favorite nephew, reluctantly agreed to look into the matter. Calling Franz Ferdinand to the palace, the Emperor asked for his side of the story. It was simple, Franz Ferdinand explained. He had no connection to Maria Christina and he was in love with Sophie. In fact, he said, he planned to marry Sophie.

Horrified, Emperor Friends Joseph encouraged his nephew to rethink his decision. By the laws of the 1815 Act of German Confederation and the Habsburg family statutes, Sophie's family were not equals of the Imperial family, which made Sophie ineligible to marry Franz Ferdinand, but Franz Ferdinand refused to change his mind. Thus began a year-long battle, fought in private and in public over the future of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and Countess Sophie Hotech. All of Europe, it seemed, weighed in, with reports on this scandalous match appearing in newspapers across the continent in the fall of 1899. The emperor threatened to take away Franz Ferdinand's titles, but still, Franz was not swayed. The controversy split

Franz Ferdinand's immediate family apart. His beloved stepmother and half-sisters supported him, while his brothers and his eldest sister urged him to give up. Even Playboy Otto told Franz Ferdinand that, quote, duty for our kind goes beyond happiness. A tad hypocritical, considering that Otto was living openly with his mistress at the time, but, after all, he wasn't the heir. Franz Ferdinand was undeterred, telling one friend, this fire has been blazing in me for five years. It will never burn out.

But Uncle was just as stubborn as nephew. Emperor Franz Joseph would not be swayed, even when Pope Leo XIV himself wrote in support of the marriage, reminding Emperor Franz Joseph that the continual talk of the marriage was bad press for the Catholic Dian. What moved Franz Joseph in the end was a set of two threats from Franz Ferdinand. The first threat was that if his uncle would not give him permission to marry now, he would simply wait until his uncle died and he became emperor, and he would marry then and

make Sophie his equal as empress. An unthinkable outcome for the ultra-traditional Franz Joseph. The second threat was that if he was denied, Franz Ferdinand was willing to commit some nebulous act that would bring even greater shame on the empire than the Maryland incident. With the specter of further disgrace on the family name hanging over them, Franz Joseph finally agreed to the marriage in June of 1900. However, the emperor made it very clear that the couple had to make certain concessions. Most importantly, he demanded that Franz Ferdinand acknowledge that Sophie was not his equal in rank, making their marriage a Morgonatic one. A Morgonadic marriage is just a term for a marriage between two people of unequal rank, but the practice was regarded with

special disdain in the status-obsessed royal households of the Habsburg and German empires. The most important consequence of a Morgonatic marriage in most cases was that any children that the couple might have must renounce or give up their right to inherit a marriage. the titles of the higher-ranking parent. Realizing that this was the best offer he was likely to get, Franz Ferdinand reluctantly agreed. On June 28th, he arrived at Hofberg Palace and entered the Privy Council Chamber,

where he was joined by a small group of Habsburg officials. The Emperor stood to speak. Inspired by the wish to give my nephew new proof of my special love, he began, and apparently not a trace of irony, I have consented to his marriage with Countess Sophie Hotech. The Countess descends, it is true, from noble lineage, but her family is not one of those that, according to the customs of our house,

we regard as our equals. As only women from equal houses can be regarded as equal in birth, this marriage must be regarded in the light of a Morgonatic marriage and the children of which, with God's blessing, will spring forward from it, cannot be given the rights of the members of the Imperial House. Franz Ferdinand stepped to the front of the room, removed his right glove, and placed his bare hand on the document containing the oath of renunciation.

Speaking quietly, he swore to obey the oath, swore that his children would never rule, and swore that Countess Sophie Hotech his darling Sov. was never and could never be his equal. With this sacrifice complete, the wedding could proceed. Past imperial weddings had been grand affairs, with days of festivities celebrated by enormous crowds. But this would not be the case for Franz Ferdinand and Sophie.

Instead of marrying in the Augustine Kirche in Vienna, as crowned Prince Rudolph and Emperor Franz Joseph had, the couple was married in the remote home of Franz Ferdinand's stepmother. The emperor had refused to attend, instead making a principled stand on the issue of marital propriety by spending the weekend in a spa town with his mistress. The Lord High Chamberlain, Alfred de Montenuovo, had long been one of the staunchest opponents of the wedding, and he was determined that the couple enjoy none of the giddy celebration that should accompany a day of love. With the emperor's consent, Montenuevo engineered a particularly devious plan. He had the court decree a formal 12 days of mourning for Princess Josephine Hohenzollern, who had died on June 19th.

Never mind that she was a distant relative of the Habsbergs, and she was little known. at court. A formal period of mourning meant that members of the royal family were forbidden to attend festive celebrations, and so the decree meant that no family members could go to Franz Ferdinand's wedding, which conveniently fell on the last day of the morning period. Only Maria Teresa, Franz Ferdinand's stepmother, and his two half-sisters, risked the emperor's wrath by attending the wedding. Despite all of this, despite the rain that drizzled down from the gray skies over Reichstadt, both Franz Fernand and Sophie declared their wedding day, the most beautiful day of our lives. They were married in a simple ceremony with Maria Teresa's confessor presiding.

As they exchanged vows, the confessor blessed the couple's rings, praying for them to be, quote, witnesses for all time to your untroubled marital happiness. And though the love that France Ferdinand and Sophie felt for one another would not falter, their marriage would not be untroubled. Instead of ending the gossip and whispers over Sophie's lower status, the marriage simply seemed to exacerbate them. Sophie was to endure more than a decade of snubs, insults, and exclusion by European Royal Society. She could not sit by her husband at court events, walk by his side as they entered rooms, or even appear with him on some public occasions. On her first official appearance at court at a ball for the Shah of Persia, Montenuevo had

designed another humiliation for her. After the rest of the imperial family had proceeded into the ballroom through a wide set of double doors, Sophie, at the end of the line, prepared to enter. But before she could step through the doors, one door was left. loudly slammed closed, leaving only a single, narrow space for her to walk through. The wide skirts of her ballgown being so wide, Sophie was forced to turn sideways and slide through. The message was obvious. Sophie wasn't welcome here, and she didn't fit. Furious over the continued mistreatment of his wife, Franz Ferdinand increasingly withdrew from court, especially once the couple welcomed their first child, Sophie, in July 1901.

The family called the baby Little Sophie, or Pinky. Fearful that his daughter would endure the same treatment as his wife, Franz Ferdinand decided that they would spend more time at their country estate. He and Sophie were determined to enjoy life with the family they were creating, and they joyfully welcomed a son, Max, in September 1902, and Ernst in May 1904. Describing their time away from court, Franz Ferdinand wrote,

quote, I sit with my children all day and admire them because I love them so much. Sofnots, and the children roll around and throw everything from the tables, and it is also incredibly delightful and cozy. But the retreat that Franz Ferdinand hoped would help take the heat off of Sophie,

instead only incensed Fiennese society. who saw it as an aloof declaration of superiority by the somewhat tactless Archduke. France Ferdinand, it was true, could be simultaneously cold and hot-tempered, demanding much from those around him. Many who did not know him found him forbidding and imperious, but at his family's country estate, he thrived, fulfilling his favorite role of devoted father and husband. It was only at court, forced to play the role of air that he struggled, chafing against the structures of society, becoming terse and awkward and alienating other nobles. The couple was not entirely friendless. One particular ally of the couple was the German Kaiser Wilhelm II. Wilhelm understood the pains of being an outsider.

His left arm had been badly damaged during his traumatic birth, leaving it six inches shorter than the right arm, a disability he was highly self-conscious of and forced to compensate for for his entire life. Historians have theorized that this understanding of exclusion was why Wilhelm was one of the first monarchs to publicly show any kindness to Sophie. Though Franz Ferdinand often complained about the Kaiser's eccentricities and ego, Wilhelm's acceptance of Sophie did create a lifelong connection between the two men. As the years progressed, there were signs of a slight thawing toward the couple by the European elite. They conducted successful visits to other royal families, including those of Great Britain and Romania, whose monarchs were impressed by Sophie's grace and strength in the

face of ongoing hostility from the Habsburgs. And even the Habsburgs had begun to admire the quiet dignity of the archdukel couple, though detractors still maligned Sophie as a social climber, and Franz Ferdinand as a holier-than-thou snob. Despite these challenges, though, the love the couple had for one another remained. Shortly before they left for Bosnia in June 1914, Sophie had remarked, It will be 14 years since I married his imperial and royal highness, the Archduke. I wish I could relive every single day again. They had endured cruelties from every corner,

faced indignities and weathered malicious insults. Having suffered so long and fought so hard for their love, Sophie and Franz Ferdinand finally felt as though Dawn had begun to break on their future. They could not have known then. They were only days away from the greatest tragedy of them all. Franz Ferdinand did not want to go to Sarajevo. He had barely wanted to go to Bosnia at all.

Back in 1908, the Archduke had fervently opposed Austria-Hungary's annexation of Bosnia, believing that the move would draw them ever nearer to a war with Russia. Russia had backed the Serbian government's right to the lands. Although Franz Ferdinand has sometimes been portrayed as a warmonger, eager to establish Austro-Hungarian supremacy in Europe, he was, more often than not, pragmatic, and a conservative man who had a shrewd understanding of the tenuous position of countries on the continent.

In 1913, he wrote to the emperor about his concerns over the situation in the Balkans, predicting, with unnerving accuracy, the potential effects of war between Russia and Austria. It would, quote, encourage revolution in both countries and thereby cause both emperor and Tsar to push each other from their thrones. For these reasons, I consider war to be lunacy. Unfortunately, this sentiment was not shared by the emperor's hawkish general of the infantry,

who had spent the years leading up to 1914 trying desperately to promote what he called a, quote, preventative war against Serbia. This fundamental disagreement between Franz Ferdinand and his uncle's general may have been part of why Franz Ferdinand accepted the Bosnian governor general's invitation to observe military maneuvers outside Sarajevo in June 1914. The summer prior, the emperor had promoted Franz Ferdinand to the position of Inspector General of the Empire's Armed Forces, and the Archduke hoped that this title would give him more sway in the conflict.

Perhaps he thought that his presence in Bosnia would present a more peaceful face of the Habsburgs. Nonetheless, it's harder to understand why he accepted the invitation to visit Sarajevo, given the tension in the city. Four years earlier, Oscar Potaryk's predecessor as Austrian Governor General had barely survived an assassination attempt, the first in a chain of five other attempted assassinations against Austro-Hungarian figures. Some historians have argued that the Archduke agreed to visit in order to satisfy his need for adulation. But this seems a little unlikely, given how disdainful he was of appeals to public sympathy for his private life. Others have claimed he went to Sarajevo for Sophie so that they could spend more time together in an official capacity,

and so more Habsburg citizens could behold his charming wife. The British historian, A.J. P. Taylor, discussing France Ferdinand's Modi, wrote, Thus for love did the Archduke go to his death. A pretty turn of phrase, to be sure, but most likely an inaccurate one, or at least an incomplete one. For one thing, the royal couple had spent the past several years conducting a series of highly successful imperial visits to Berlin and Great Britain. They didn't need the affirmation of a dangerous visit to Sarajevo to confirm what observers all over were already beginning to understand.

that Sophie was an intelligent, grounded woman who was well suited to her role. For another thing, though, Franz Ferdinand was well aware of the peril of the visit, and he didn't want to subject his wife to the risks. It was actually Sophie herself who insisted that she joined him, telling a priest that, quote, if there is danger, my place is so much more by my husband's side. Maybe the real answer as to why Franz Ferdinand wanted to go to Sarajevo is that he didn't.

For the rest of the summer, Franz Ferdinand tried to get out of the trip, citing his own ill health and the ill health of the emperor, among other things. But on June 7th, in a meeting with the emperor, his fate was sealed.

When he asked his uncle if he could decline Potierke's invitation, the emperor replied, Do as you wish. This may sound ambiguous, but in the fraught, oblique language of the, the Hapsburgs, it was basically a command. It was an unsubtle reminder of Franz Ferdinand's highest

responsibility, not to himself, but to the dynasty. If it would reflect well on the Hapsburgs to make a political appearance in Sarajevo, Franz Ferdinand would do it, even if it meant risking his life. The players were in place. Blood would come next. That's the start of the story of the assassination of Archduke France Ferdinand. This is a two-part episode, obviously, because there is so much to talk about. And we'll have a part two next week to discuss the famous assassination itself. But in the meantime, keep listening after a brief sponsor break to hear just a little bit more. Readers, Katie's finalists, publicists.

We have an incredible new episode this week for you guys. We have our girl Hillary Duff in here, and we can't wait for you to hear this episode. They put on Lizzie McGuire 2 a.m. Video on demand. This guy's... 2 a.m. 2 a. Whatever time it is. Lizzie McGuire.

And I'm like... Wild. A wild batch you were with. It was like a first closet moment from me where I was like... You're like, I don't feel like she's hot. Like the rest of them. No, no, no. I was like, she's beautiful.

But I'm appreciating her in a different way than these boys are. I'm not like... But listen to Los Coleristas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or whatever you get your podcast. Readers, Katie's finalists, publicists. We have an incredible. a new episode this week for you guys. We have our girl Hillary Duff in here, and we can't wait for you to hear this episode.

They put on Lizzie McGuire 2 a.m. Video on demand. This guy's... 2 a.m. Lizzie McGuire. And I'm like... A wild batch you were with. It was like a first closet moment from me where I was like... You're like, I don't feel like she's hot, like the rest of them. No, no, no. I was like, she's beautiful.

But I'm appreciating her in a different way than these boys are. I'm not like... But listen to Lascault Dristas on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, Owe. wherever you get your podcast. Schloss Konopishth, a 13th century castle, overlooking a lake in the present-day Czech Republic, was the beloved childhood home

of Franz Ferdinand and Sophie's children, Max, Sophie, and Ernst. Franz Ferdinand had bought the property in 1887, and he spent more than five years transforming it into an idyllic retreat, perched atop a hillside, the white-walled, red-roofed structure, features a storybook turret, and it has lush rose gardens and all of the most modern amenities

that had been available in the late 19th century, including electricity, running hot water, even an elevator. Little Sophie would later remember that the house was, quote, the place of our first memories, the cocoon where all our day-to-day business took place. After their parents' deaths, the children faced ostracization and uncertainty. They weren't quite Hapsburgs, but they weren't quite not, and they struggled to find their footing while also navigating the shocking murder of their beloved parents. Fortunately, Sophie's sister, Maria, and her husband, Prince Yaroslav Vantun and Hunstein, stepped in as adopted parents.

The trio provided the children with love and affection, which was also supplied by their grandmother, Maria Teresa, and their aunt Henriette, among others. The children spent the war years mainly at Konopist, where they were sheltered from the worst of the fighting. But in 1918, as the First World War came to a close, even the fairy tale escape of Konopisht slipped from their hands. In October, the new nation of Czechoslovakia declared independence from Austria, and, as a sign of rejection of the old ways, they expropriated all Habsburg properties in the country. Conopiste was seized. All of the family mementos, the photographs, the letters and diaries which kept Sophie and Franz Ferdinand alive for their children,

were now property of the state. Over the next 80 years, Conopist would take several forms. During World War II, it was taken over by Hitler's SS. As a part of the Soviet Union, it held offices of the Czech Ministry of Agriculture and the children's toys, still sitting where they had left them in 1918, were distributed to local kindergartners. But in 2000, Princess Sophie von Hoenberg, Fran Ferdinand's great-granddaughter, filed a lawsuit to reclaim the castle, based on a loophole that even Alfred de Montenewo would have to acknowledge the humor in. Her suit had argued that the seizure of Konopisht was unlawful because it had done so under a law

which allowed for the seizure of Hapsburg properties and her family, as her great-grandfather had been forced to declare in his oath of renunciation, were not Hapsburgs. In 2009, Princess Sophie lost her lawsuit, and Konopisd remains in the hands of the Czech government, who have opened it to the public. Today, visitors can tour the government,

grounds of the castle, they can look inside a number of interior rooms and view a collection of memorabilia related to the assassination, including the very bullet that's alleged to have killed the Archduke. But more on that next week. Noble Blood is a production of I-Heart Radio and Grimmin-Mild from Aaron Menke. Noble Blood is hosted by me, Danish Schwartz. Additional writing and researching done by Hannah Johnston, Hannah Zwick, Mira Hayward, Courtney Sender, and Lori Goodman. The show is produced by Rima L. Kali with supervising producer Josh Thane and executive producers Aaron Manky, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. For more podcasts from IHeartRadio, visit the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

Readers, Katie's finalists, publicists. We have an incredible new episode this week for you Guys, we have our girl Hillary Duff in here, and we can't wait for you to hear this episode. They put on Lizzie McGuire at 2 a.m. Video on Demand. This guy's... 2 a.m. Lissie McGuire. And I'm like... A wild batch you were with. It was like a first, like, closet moment from me where I was like...

You're like, I don't feel like she's hot, like the rest of that. No, no, no. I was like, she's beautiful. But I'm appreciating her in a different way than these boys are. I'm not like... But listen to Los Coleristas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.