THE HOUSE OF HAPSBURG

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13650, 18 January 1908, Page 5 (Supplement)

THE HOUSE OF HAPSBURG

TOE ROMANCE OF A MORGANATIC • \ - MARRIAGE. ': 0? all thft Royal personages of Europe, : her© is none, writes a well-informed Amman "Ex-Attache," commands just at present such a widespread interest, as Franks Ferdinand of Hapssburg. The recent : gWvc illness of liis uncle, Emperor Francis •Vfceph, broken by ago, and by sorrow, life' Sal the effect of focussing the attention of thfl Old World and of the New upon his successor, and although the latter is in his. forty-fifth year the moist extraordinary ignorance prevails, not only abroad, but even , in Austria and Hungary themselves concerning him. In feet, it is difficult to recall any prince who has come to the throne h mature manhood about whoso personal■if?, character, political views, tastes, and cv«n environment, so little is known. Indecl, lie is very much, of an enigma, not : only to his countrymen,'but also to foreign nation?, and the j>olitica\ .outlook of Europe would ippear clearer to the puzzled statesmen in the various capitals of the Old World if they possessed more information concerning Francis Ferdinand, and had home data »n which to base their speculations as to tie probable course of the policy' which he wili inaugurate. ■ CROWN AX NOUI.KS. Before going uny further; it may be as well to explain how it has been possible for a Prince of tie rank of Francis Ferdinand to surround his existence, with such an amount of mystery. It is not that he is secretive, or that he has pursued the methods of the late King Louis of Bavaria, whose horror of publicity was so great that he was wont to establish his abode in the most inaccessible mountain fastnesses, and never to drive abroad save in the middle of the night. It- is, merely that in' Austria, a'very great gulf exists between tho reigning house and the remainder of mankind. Not that die Hapsburgs are arrogant. On the contrary, they are most kind* "lv and unaffected with "even the lowest classes. They arc, however, somewhat Olympian in their relations to the* aristocracy and to the bourgeoise, and there is but "little friendship which unites the patriarchs to the members of the reigning house in other monarchic. The Austrian .lobles are faithful, devoted, but always remain in the role of servants. There is no question of their being the peers of the sovereign and of . his family, as in other countries, and the relations are perhaps best illustrated by the response given by an arch-duke at a popular f?te to a newfledged baron, who. with the tactlessness of the parvenus of his kind, had taken it upon himself to deplore the presence of so many of the common hml, intimating that their contact must be disagreeable to the Prince. "Not at. all," the latter exclaimed genially. "If wo members of the Imperial family were to be restricted to the companionship of people of our own caste, wo should be obliged to spend most of our day* in the vaults of the Capucin Church" — h>r& so many hundreds of the Haps* . burgs sleep their last sleep. JHK ROMANCE OF HIS Llh'K. . Then, Soo, the serious illness which overtook Fratcis Ferdinand shortly after the tragic deaf.) of Crown Prince Rudolf comj pelied him t> lead for several years a. very quiet and retved life. It was "a. malady of such gravity tint it was regarded for a time as eliminating \jm from all consideration in connection wi,h the succession of the . throne. Contrary, to general expectation, lie recovered, and lis convalescence was sig-. nalised by a iomaftx« in which Countess Sophie Chotek, daugVtiv of a former Austrian Minister plenipotentiary at Dresden *r,d one time lrtdy-in-wjt.no- to Archduchess * Fredericka, was the herHne. Francis Ferdinand insisted • upon making the countess < " his wife. There was on%.one means <f doing this, naor.elv, by a morganatic alliance, and all sorts of obstaces were placed in the way thereof, mainly d, a dynastic,' political and also of a morc.pfcsonal cl?rfvrRcter. The dynastic and politics objection to the match were due to j ct that he was. destined to. succes* present ' "Emperor on the throne, 6 f Austria and Hungary. The peropposition cams largely from m JJjffatives, especiallv from Archduchess Fggg r j c i- a( who, after 'his refusal to wed f tl rc hduchess Maria Dorothea, now Dudley 0 >: Orleans, had counted upon his OQt 0 f her daughters. k\w pbincrss of hohenbekg. ,-TBmper<V Frauds Joseph, however, ultimately gai© his coiseut to the match upon fche archduit; registering a solemn oath on - the gospels \nd in vriting in the presence of tho Prints of lis house and of the great dignities of ; tlie realm whereby he pledged hiiWlf tint on becoming Emperor he would lever tJlce advantage thereof to raise his morranati* wife to share his , throne or would/seek to endow any sons '' bom of the union with rights to the Crown. : Moreover, he renounced ia the name of his ■ unborn children all jretemions to Imperial rank and to the scejtre. The difficulties .which he t«d encountered' in marrying the .countess, tht anomalous position assigned to her as bin Morganatic wife, whereby she was deprived ol any share in his honours as a member of \} !e reigning family, and the affronts to wliijh. she vas subjected by certain of his relaVioip.s, as well as by some of the great nobility, vho resented the idea that a mere Boheirtg n Countess Chotek . should become the their future Emperor, all contributed t,| ie archduke .in the *ujrnig first few years of his wedded existence. 'oreover, he is exceedingly domestic in his and has been in the habit of devoting time that he could spare from his and official duties to his wife at* jjtiio ones.; Of late, however, the Counted w ' no , had been treated Princess of by the Emperor, has taken her„] ace a | Court among the.members of tiiigning family— all the archdu<^ esgeg 5 ° HIS editj)RES^ Francis Ferdinand by his marriage, who bear tijieir usher's princely title of Hohcnberw with it predicate I of Serene Highness.jr'fhc eldeXj 8 a girl, who has received Vier mother* of Sophie, .and the others are Prince Maximilian, bein»f f now five yeai 0 f age, and his brother. Ernest, only thix\ Their father is devoted to his children,W] has them with Mm on every possible ttasion. They even Tfjsed to accompany him vn he went out shooting in the big forest Vound his statojjy chateau of Konopiwht, ulil he : this interfered with his Wt, ; as th4y are so passionately fond of annals tlia,4>whenever any game came within inch of his gun they would clu-sp hold otuiis J "-arms and entreat him not -to shoot \hc pretty animal or bird, as the case mi|,t be. Although from an ecclesiastical post ; of view the Church, in the person of tks Pope, would have the power of relieviiV him of the obligations of the oath wind . he made at the time of his marriage td refrain from raising his wife to the throne and his children into the line of succession thereto, yet Francis Ferdinand's sense of honour is r so keen that there is no reason whatever to suppose that he will yield to the longings of his heart and break the promise which he gave to the members of his house, the government of the dual Empire, and to the people. Throughout his reign, at anv rate, as long as she remains unmarried. his half-sister, Archduchess Maria Annunciata, Abbess of the Gradraschin, will continue to play the role of acting Empress and the first lady of the Empire, to which she waj appointed a year ago on the death of- Archduke Otto. THE NEXT IN" M'-VK. It is Archduke Otto's eldest son, Charles Francis, who is the next in line of succesr.ion to his uncle. Francis Ferdinand. Ihe lad who recently attained his majority ' on his twentieth birthday, which he celebrated last August at Ischl with his granduncle, Emperor Francis Joseph, has been brought up altogether under the latter s . influence and direction, and received the early part of his education in. one of the public grammar schools of Vicn,m,bcmg the first scion of the House of Hapsburg to thus take his place on the benches of these public institutions beside the pc-.y tradesmen, artisans, and labour a., tius coming into close touch and intimate contact with the, people over whom lie is destined in the course of time to^-re'S"-has inherited tlw g.io-1 looks and stn*i a appearance of his .lashing fatliei, but. not the. latters uoral shoitconnngs. a:u . lv regarded as cue of the most piormsm H •Princes of the historic dynasty of. Hapsbuflj. p