August 1, 1914: Russia declares war on Germany

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Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Este, Emperor Nicholas II of Russia, French Ambassador, German Emperor Wilhelm II, July Crisis, Maurice Paléologue, Mobilization, Willy and Nicky Correspondence, Winter Palace, World War I

Nicholas II (May 18, 1868 – July 17, 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer, was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland and Grand Duke of Finland, ruling from 1 November 1894 until his abdication on March 15, 1917.

Nicholas Alexandrovich was the eldest son of Emperor Alexander III of Russia and Princess Dagmar of Denmark the daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark and Princess Louise of Hesse-Cassel.

On November 26, 1894 Emperor Nicholas II married his cousin Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine the daughter of Grand Duke Ludwig IV of Hesse and by Rhine and Princess Alice of the United Kingdom.

Princess Alix converted to the Russian Orthodox Church and was renamed Alexandra Feodorovna.

On June 28, 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Este, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, was assassinated by a Bosnian Serb nationalist, Gavrillo Princeps, in Sarajevo, who opposed Austria-Hungary’s annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Este

The outbreak of war was not inevitable, but leaders, diplomats and nineteenth-century alliances created a climate for large-scale conflict. The concept of Pan-Slavism and shared religion created strong public sympathy between Russia and Serbia.

Territorial conflict created rivalries between Germany and France and between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, and as a consequence alliance networks developed across Europe. The Triple Entente and Triple Alliance networks were set before the war.

Emperor Nicholas II wanted neither to abandon Serbia to the ultimatum of Austria, nor to provoke a general war. In a series of letters exchanged with Wilhelm of Germany (the “Willy–Nicky correspondence”) the two proclaimed their desire for peace, and each attempted to get the other to back down.

Nicholas II (right) with German Emperor Wilhelm II in 1905. Nicholas is wearing a German Army uniform, while Wilhelm wears that of a Russian hussar regiment.

Nicholas II and Wilhelm II were second cousins once removed. Wilhelm’s great-Aunt Charlotte of Prussia (sister to his grandfather Emperor Wilhelm I) was the wife of Emperor Nicholas I of Russia who was Emperor Nicholas II’s great-grandfather.

Emperor Nicholas II desired that Russia’s mobilization be only against Austria-Hungary, in the hopes of preventing war with Germany.

On 25 July 1914, at his council of ministers, Nicholas decided to intervene in the Austro-Serbian conflict, a step toward general war. He put the Russian army on “alert” on July 25. Although this was not general mobilization, it threatened the German and Austro-Hungarian borders and looked like military preparation for war.

However, his army had no contingency plans for a partial mobilization, and on July 30, 1914 Nicholas took the fateful step of confirming the order for general mobilization, despite being strongly counselled against it.

Emperor Nicholas II (left) with his first cousin King George V of the United Kingdom

On July 28, one month after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Austria-Hungary formally declared war against Serbia. On July 29, 1914, Nicholas sent a telegram to Wilhelm with the suggestion to submit the Austro-Serbian problem to the Hague Conference (in Hague tribunal).

Wilhelm did not address the question of the Hague Conference in his subsequent reply. Count Witte told the French Ambassador, Maurice Paléologue that from Russia’s point of view the war was madness, Slav solidarity was simply nonsense and Russia could hope for nothing from the war.

On July 30, Russia ordered general mobilization, but still maintained that it would not attack if peace talks were to begin. Germany, reacting to the discovery of partial mobilization ordered on July 25, announced its own pre-mobilization posture, the Imminent Danger of War.

Emperor Nicholas II declares war on Germany on the balcony of the Winter Palace August 1, 1914

Germany requested that Russia demobilize within the next twelve hours. In Saint Petersburg, at 7 pm, with the ultimatum to Russia having expired, the German ambassador to Russia met with the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Sazonov, asked three times if Russia would reconsider, and then with shaking hands, delivered the note accepting Russia’s war challenge and declaring war on August 1.

Less than a week later, on August 6, (the anniversary of the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire) Emperor Franz Joseph signed the Austro-Hungarian declaration of war on Russia.

June 28, 1914: Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Este at Sarajevo

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Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Este, Assassination, Bosnia and Herzegovina, causes of World War I, Crown Prince Rudolph of Austria, Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary, Gavrilo Princip, Imperial Germany, Mary Vetsera, Sarajevo, Serbia, Sophie Chotek, The Black Hand

Archduke Franz Ferdinand Charles Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria-Este (December 18, 1863 – June 28, 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the eldest son of Archduke Charles Ludwig of Austria, the younger brother of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s mother was Archduke Charles Ludwig’s second wife, Princess Maria Annunciata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. In 1875, when he was eleven years old, his cousin Francis V, Duke of Modena, died, naming Franz Ferdinand his heir on condition that he add the name “Este” to his own.

Crown Prince Rudolph of Austria died in 1889 part of a murder-suicide with his mistress Mary Vetsera at his hunting lodge in Mayerling. With the death of his father Archduke Charles Ludwig in 1896 from Typhoid, Archduke Franz Ferdinand became the heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne.

His courtship of Sophie Chotek, a lady-in-waiting, caused conflict within the imperial household. To be eligible to marry a member of the imperial House of Habsburg, one had to be a member of one of the reigning or formerly reigning dynasties of Europe. The Choteks were not one of these families. Deeply in love, Franz Ferdinand refused to consider marrying anyone else.

Finally, in 1899, Emperor Franz Joseph agreed to permit Franz Ferdinand to marry Sophie, on the condition that the marriage would be morganatic and that their descendants would not have succession rights to the throne. Sophie would not share her husband’s rank, title, precedence, or privileges; as such, she would not normally appear in public beside him. She would not be allowed to ride in the royal carriage or sit in the royal box in theaters.

Franz Ferdinand held significant influence over the military, and in 1913 he was appointed inspector general of the Austro-Hungarian armed forces.

On Sunday, June 28, 1914, at about 10:45 am, Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated in Sarajevo, the capital of the Austro-Hungarian province of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The perpetrator was 19-year-old Gavrilo Princip, a member of Young Bosnia and one of a group of assassins organized and armed by the Black Hand.

Earlier in the day, the couple had been attacked by Nedeljko Čabrinović, who had thrown a grenade at their car. However, the bomb detonated behind them, injuring the occupants in the following car. On arriving at the Governor’s residence, Franz angrily shouted, “So this is how you welcome your guests – with bombs!”

After a short rest at the Governor’s residence, the royal couple insisted on seeing all those who had been injured by the bomb at the local hospital. However, no one told the drivers that the itinerary had been changed.

When the error was discovered, the drivers had to turn around. As the cars backed down the street and onto a side street, the line of cars stalled. At this same time, Princip was sitting at a cafe across the street. He instantly seized his opportunity and walked across the street and shot the royal couple. He first shot Sophie in the abdomen and then shot Franz Ferdinand in the neck.

Franz Ferdinand leaned over his crying wife. He was still alive when witnesses arrived to render aid. His dying words to Sophie were, “Don’t die darling, live for our children.” Princip’s weapon was the pocket-sized FN Model 1910 pistol chambered for the .380 ACP cartridge provided him by Serbian Army Military Intelligence Lieutenant-Colonel and Black Hand leader Dragutin Dimitrijević.

The archduke’s aides attempted to undo his coat but realized they needed scissors to cut it open: the outer lapel had been sewn to the inner front of the jacket for a smoother fit to improve the Archduke’s appearance to the public. Whether or not as a result of this obstacle, the Archduke’s wound could not be attended to in time to save him, and he died within minutes. Sophie also died en route to the hospital.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s assassination led to the July Crisis that gripped all of Europe. The assassinations, along with the arms race, nationalism, imperialism, militarism of Imperial Germany and the alliance system all contributed to the origins of World War I, which began a month after Franz Ferdinand’s death, with Austria-Hungary’s declaration of war against Serbia. The assassination of Franz Ferdinand is considered the most immediate cause of World War I.

December 18, 1863: Birth of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Este

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Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Este, Assassination, Duchess of Teschen, Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary, Gavrilo Princip, Sarajevo, Sophie Chotek, World War I

Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria (December 18, 1863 – June 28, 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo is considered the most immediate cause of World War I.

Franz Ferdinand was born in Graz, Austria, the eldest son of Archduke Charles Ludwig of Austria (the younger brother of Franz Joseph and Maximilian) and of his second wife, Princess Maria Annunciata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.

Maria Annunciata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, was born in Caserta, the daughter of King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies and his wife Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria, the eldest daughter of Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen and Princess Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg.

In 1875, when he was eleven years old, his cousin Francisco V, Duke of Modena died, naming Franz Ferdinand his heir on condition that he add the name “Este” to his own.

In 1889, Franz Ferdinand’s life changed dramatically. His cousin Crown Prince Rudolf committed suicide at his hunting lodge in Mayerling. This left Franz Ferdinand’s father, Archduke Charles Ludwig, as first in line to the throne. Charles Ludwig died of typhoid fever in 1896. Henceforth, Franz Ferdinand became next in line to succeed to the imperial and royal thrones.

In 1894, Franz Ferdinand met Countess Sophie Chotek, a lady-in-waiting to Archduchess Isabella, wife of Archduke Friedrich, Duke of Teschen. Franz began to visit Archduke Friedrich’s villa in Pressburg (now Bratislava), and in turn Sophie wrote to Franz Ferdinand during his convalescence from tuberculosis on the island of Lošinj in the Adriatic. They kept their relationship a secret, until it was discovered by Isabella herself.

To be eligible to marry a member of the imperial House of Habsburg, one had to be a member of one of the reigning or formerly reigning dynasties of Europe. The Choteks were not one of these families.

Deeply in love, Franz Ferdinand refused to consider marrying anyone else. Finally, in 1899, Emperor Franz Joseph agreed to permit Franz Ferdinand to marry Sophie, on the condition that the marriage would be morganatic and that their descendants would not have succession rights to the throne.

Sophie would not share her husband’s rank, title, precedence, or privileges; as such, she would not normally appear in public beside him. She would not be allowed to ride in the royal carriage or sit in the royal box in theaters.

The wedding took place on July 1, 1900, at Reichstadt (now Zákupy) in Bohemia; 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, Princess Maria Theresa of Braganza; and her two daughters.

Upon the marriage, Sophie was given the title “Princess of Hohenberg” with the style “Her Serene Highness.” In 1909, she was given the more senior title “Duchess of Hohenberg” with the style “Her Highness.” This raised her status considerably, but she still yielded precedence at court to all the archduchesses. Whenever a function required the couple to assemble with the other members of the imperial family, Sophie was forced to stand far down the line, separated from her husband

The Archduke and his wife visited England in the autumn of 1913, spending a week with George V and Queen Mary at Windsor Castle before going to stay for another week with the Duke of Portland at Welbeck Abbey, Nottinghamshire, where they arrived on November 22. He attended a service at the local Catholic church in Worksop

Franz Ferdinand, like most males in the ruling Habsburg line, entered the Austro-Hungarian Army at a young age. He was frequently and rapidly promoted, given the rank of lieutenant at age fourteen, captain at twenty-two, colonel at twenty-seven, and major general at thirty-one. While never receiving formal staff training, he was considered eligible for command and at one point briefly led the primarily Hungarian 9th Hussar Regiment. In 1898 he was given a commission “at the special disposition of His Majesty” to make inquiries into all aspects of the military services and military agencies were commanded to share their papers with him.

Franz Ferdinand held significant influence over the military, and in 1913 he was appointed inspector general of the Austro-Hungarian armed forces.

On Sunday, June 28, 1914, at about 10:45 am, Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated in Sarajevo, the capital of the Austro-Hungarian province of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The perpetrator was 19-year-old Gavrilo Princip, a member of Young Bosnia and one of a group of assassins organized and armed by the Black Hand.

Earlier in the day, the couple had been attacked by Nedeljko Čabrinović, who had thrown a grenade at their car. However, the bomb detonated behind them, injuring the occupants in the following car. On arriving at the Governor’s residence, Franz angrily shouted, “So this is how you welcome your guests – with bombs!”

The assassinations, along with the arms race, nationalism, imperialism, militarism of Imperial Germany and the alliance system all contributed to the origins of World War I, which began a month after Franz Ferdinand’s death, with Austria-Hungary’s declaration of war against Serbia. The assassination of Ferdinand is considered the most immediate cause of World War I.

After his death, Archduke Charles became the Heir presumptive Austria-Hungary.

Franz Ferdinand is interred with his wife Sophie in Artstetten Castle, Austria.

Dynasty ~ Royal Houses

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Act of Settlement 1701, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Este, Dynastic Marriage, Dynasts, Dynasty, King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, King Louis XIV of France and Navarre, King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands., Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Queen Maria II of Portugal, Royal Family, Royal House

I will be examining the history of Royal Houses, or Dynasties, from time to time but before I do I’d like to examine just what is a Dynasty?

A Dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a feudal or monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in elective republics. Alternative terms for “Dynasty” may include “House”, “Family” and “Clan”, among others.

The longest-surviving dynasty in the world is the Imperial House of Japan, otherwise known as the Yamato dynasty, whose reign is traditionally dated to 660 BC. The current Japanese Emperor is Naruhito. He acceded to the Chrysanthemum Throne on May 1 2019, beginning the Reiwa era, following the abdication of his father, Emperor Akihito (the Showa Emperor). He is the 126th monarch according to Japan’s traditional order of succession.

The dynastic family or lineage may be known as a “noble house”, which may be styled as “imperial”, “royal”, “princely”, “ducal”, “comital”, “baronial” etc., depending upon the chief or present title borne by its members.

Prior to the 20th century, dynasties throughout the world have traditionally been reckoned patrilineally, such as under the Frankish Salic law. In nations where it was permitted, succession through a daughter usually established a new dynasty in her husband’s ruling house. This has changed in some places in Europe, where succession law and convention have maintained dynasties de jure through a female.

For instance, the House of Windsor will be maintained through the children of Queen Elizabeth II, as it did with the monarchy of the Netherlands, whose dynasty remained the House of Orange-Nassau through three successive queens regnant. The earliest such example among major European monarchies was in the Russian Empire in the 18th century, where the name of the House of Romanov was maintained through Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna.

By the marriage of Duke Franz of Lorraine to Maria Theresa of Austria in 1736, and with the success in the ensuing War of the Austrian Succession, the House of Lorraine was joined to the House of Habsburg, and was now known as Habsburg-Lorraine. Franz, his sons Joseph II and Leopold II, and grandson Franz II were the last four Holy Roman Emperors from 1745 to the dissolution of the empire in 1806. Habsburg-Lorraine inherited the Habsburg Empire, ruling the Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary until the dissolution of the monarchy in 1918.

Queen Maria II of Portugal

This also happened in the case of Queen Maria II of Portugal, who married Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, but whose descendants remained members of the House of Braganza, per Portuguese law. In Limpopo Province of South Africa, Balobedu determined descent matrilineally, while rulers have at other times adopted the name of their mother’s dynasty when coming into her inheritance. Less frequently, a monarchy has alternated or been rotated, in a multi-dynastic (or polydynastic) system – that is, the most senior living members of parallel dynasties, at any point in time, constitute the line of succession.

Dynasts

Louis XIV (seated) with his son le Grand Dauphin (to the left), his grandson Louis, Duke of Burgundy (to the right), his great-grandson Louis Duke of Anjou, and Madame de Ventadour, Anjou’s governess, who commissioned this painting; busts of Henri IV and Louis XIII are in the background.

A ruler from a dynasty is sometimes referred to as a “dynast”, but this term is also used to describe any member of a reigning family who retains a right to succeed to a throne. For example, King Edward VIII ceased to be a dynast of the House of Windsor following his abdication.

In historical and monarchist references to formerly reigning families, a “dynast” is a family member who would have had succession rights, were the monarchy’s rules still in force. For example, after the 1914 assassinations of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his morganatic wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, their son Maximilian, Duke of Hohenberg, was bypassed for the Austro-Hungarian throne because he was not a Habsburg dynast.

Even since the abolition of the Austrian monarchy, Duke Maximilian of Hohenberg and his descendants have not been considered the rightful pretenders by Austrian monarchists, nor have they claimed that position. Although its senior agnates are the Dukes of Hohenberg, the house is currently headed by Charles von Habsburg-Lothringen (born 1961), oldest grandson of the last emperor Charles I.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Este

The term “dynast” is sometimes used only to refer to agnatic descendants of a realm’s monarchs, and sometimes to include those who hold succession rights through cognatic royal descent. The term can therefore describe overlapping but distinct sets of people. For example, David Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon, a nephew of Queen Elizabeth II through her sister Princess Margaret, is in the line of succession to the British crown; in that sense, he is a British dynast, but since he is not a patrilineal member of the British royal family, he is therefore not a dynast of the House of Windsor.

On the other hand, the German aristocrat Prince Ernst August of Hanover, a male-line descendant of King George III of the United Kingdom, possesses no legal British name, titles or styles (although he is entitled to reclaim the former royal dukedom of Cumberland). He was born in the line of succession to the British throne and was bound by Britain’s Royal Marriages Act 1772 until it was repealed when the Succession to the Crown Act 2013 took effect on March 26, 2015. Thus, he requested and obtained formal permission from Queen Elizabeth II to marry the Roman Catholic Princess Caroline of Monaco in 1999.

Yet, a clause of the English Act of Settlement 1701 remained in effect at that time, stipulating that dynasts who marry Roman Catholics are considered “dead” for the purpose of succession to the British throne. That exclusion, too, ceased to apply on 26 March 2015, with retroactive effect for those who had been dynasts prior to triggering it by marriage to a Roman Catholic.

A “dynastic marriage” is one that complies with monarchical house law restrictions, so that the descendants are eligible to inherit the throne or other royal privileges. The marriage of King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands to Queen Máxima Zorreguieta in 2002 was dynastic, for example, and their eldest child Princess Catharina-Amalia is expected to inherit the Crown of the Netherlands eventually. However, the marriage of his younger brother Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau to Princess Mabel of Orange-Nassau in 2003 lacked governmental support and parliamentary approval. Thus, Prince Friso forfeited his place in the order of succession to the Dutch throne, lost his title as a “Prince of the Netherlands”, and left his children without dynastic rights.