![]() ![]() ![]() Atop her head was a diamond tiara, the Emperor’s wedding present, which matched a double row of pearls and diamonds around her neck. Sophie wore a white satin gown, adorned with embroidered silk panels, flounces of chiffon and bands of lace. The only members of the family who dared to attend the wedding were his stepmother and his two half-sisters. It was to be a morganatic marriage, and Franz Ferdinand would be made to swear an oath that he would never elevate her status or grant succession rights to their future children. I beg Your Majesty for the one happiness of my life, for consent to the marriage for which I yearn…”įranz Joseph finally saw no other way, he had to agree to the marriage, but on his terms. Finally, Franz Ferdinand sat down to write a letter to the Emperor, and he wrote, “I can only mention once more that my whim to marry the Countess is not a whim but an outflow of deepest affection from years of trial and suffering. Sophie was persuaded to give up Franz Ferdinand, but he wasn’t persuaded, and Sophie left Vienna to avoid more confrontations.įranz Ferdinand’s stepmother, Maria Theresa of Portugal, took her stepson’s side and pleaded with the Emperor several times to let them marry. Despite 32 uninterrupted generations of aristocratic descent, Sophie was not of equal status to the heir to the Austrian throne. The Emperor was outraged and declared never to agree to it. Upon Franz Joseph’s meeting with his nephew, the latter informed the Emperor that he wished to marry Sophie. Isabella furiously complained to Emperor Franz Joseph. ![]() Upon the discovery of a pocket watch belonging to Franz Ferdinand with Sophie’s portrait inside, Sophie resigned from Isabella’s household. In April 1894, they both attended a masquerade at the Larisch Palace in Vienna and soon letters began to fly back and forth. He was invited to join the family several times, and although we don’t know exactly when he met Sophie, they were photographed together during a hunting party in 1892. It was Isabella who had her eye on Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian, for her daughter Maria Christina. Without the means to attract a suitable marriage candidate, Sophie joined the household of Archduchess Isabella (born Isabella of Croÿ) as a lady-in-waiting on 10 August 1888. Although Sophie grew up in Europe’s glamorous capitals, following her father’s diplomatic career, the financial situation made it difficult to get a foot in the door. Her father was completely reliant on his salary as a diplomat. She and her siblings were raised very simply due to their limited finances. Sophie Maria Josephine Albina Chotek von Chotkow und Wognin was born on 1 March 1868 as the daughter of Count Bohuslaw Chotek von Chotkow und Wognin and Countess Wilhelmine Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau. ![]()
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