Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg
Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg (German: Sophie Marie Josephine Albina Gräfin Chotek von Chotkow und Wognin; Czech: Žofie Marie Josefína Albína hraběnka Chotková z Chotkova a Vojnína; 1 March 1868 – 28 June 1914) was the wife of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. Their assassination in Sarajevo sparked a series of events that led, four weeks later, to World War I.
Sophie
1 March 1868
Stuttgart, Kingdom of Württemberg
28 June 1914 (aged 46)
Sarajevo, Condominium of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria-Hungary
Countess Wilhelmine Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau
Early life[edit]
Countess Sophie Chotek von Wognin was born in Stuttgart as the fourth daughter of Count Bohuslav Chotek von Chotkow und Wognin and his wife, Countess Wilhelmine Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau (1838–1886). Her father was a Bohemian aristocrat, by birth member of an old House of Chotek, who served as Austrian Ambassador to the royal courts Stuttgart, Saint Petersburg and Brussels.[1][2][3][4]
As a young woman, Sophie became a lady-in-waiting to Archduchess Isabella,[3] the wife of Archduke Friedrich, Duke of Teschen, head of the Bohemian cadet branch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine.
In 1899, under pressure from family members (especially the Archduchess Maria Theresa, the emperor's formidable sister-in-law and Franz Ferdinand's stepmother) the couple were granted permission to wed.[3] Franz Ferdinand was allowed to retain his place in the order of succession and a suitable title was promised for his future wife. However, to prevent Franz Ferdinand from attempting to proclaim his wife empress-queen or declaring their future children dynasts and thus eligible to inherit the crown (especially that of Hungary, where morganatic marriages were unknown to law) once he ascended the throne, he was compelled to appear at the Hofburg Imperial Palace before the gathered archdukes, ministers, and dignitaries of the court, the Cardinal-Archbishop of Vienna and the Primate of Hungary on 28 June 1900 to execute by signature an official instrument in which he publicly declared that Sophie would be his morganatic wife, never to bear the titles of empress, queen or archduchess, and acknowledging that their descendants would neither inherit nor be granted dynastic rights or privileges in any of the Habsburg realms.[3][5]
Sophie and Franz Ferdinand were married on 1 July 1900 at Reichstadt (now Zákupy) in Bohemia. The Emperor did not attend the nuptials, nor did any of the archdukes, including Franz Ferdinand's brothers. The only members of the Imperial family who were present were Franz Ferdinand's stepmother, Archduchess Maria Theresa, and her two daughters, Maria Annunciata and Elisabeth Amalie.[3]
Upon her marriage, Sophie was given the title Fürstin von Hohenberg ("Princess of Hohenberg") with the style of Durchlaucht ("Serene Highness"). In 1909, she was elevated to Herzogin (Duchess) and accorded the higher style of Hoheit ("Highness").
Nonetheless, all of the archduchesses, mediatized princesses and countesses of Austria and Hungary took precedence before her. For the fourteen years of their marriage, Sophie never shared her husband's rank, title, or precedence. Her position at the Imperial court was humiliating, aggravated by the Imperial Obersthofmeister, Alfred, 2nd Prince of Montenuovo, whose insecurity about his own morganatic background is said to have prompted him to rigorously enforce court protocol at Sophie's expense.[3] Problems of protocol prevented many royal courts from hosting the couple despite Franz Ferdinand's position as heir to the throne. Nonetheless, some did so, including King George V and Queen Mary of the United Kingdom, who warmly welcomed the couple to Windsor Castle from 17 to 21 November 1913. Queen Mary's father, Francis, Duke of Teck, was the offspring of a morganatic marriage and was shunned by royal families in Europe.[6]
The couple had four children:[4]