Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria (Rudolf Franz Karl Josef; 21 August 1858 – 30 January 1889) was the only son and third child of Emperor Franz Joseph I and

Empress Elisabeth of Austria Elisabeth (born Duchess Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie in Bavaria; 24 December 1837 – 10 September 1898), nicknamed Sisi or Sissi, was Empress of Austria and List of Hungarian consorts, Queen of Hungary from her marriage to Franz Joseph I of Austri ...

. He was

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

to the imperial throne of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

from birth. In 1889, he died in a

suicide pact A suicide pact is an agreed plan between two or more individuals to die by suicide. The plan may be to die together, or separately and closely timed. In England and Wales, a suicide pact is a partial defense, under section 4 of the Homicide Act ...

with his

mistress Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to: Romance and relationships * Mistress (lover), a female lover of a married man ** Royal mistress * Maîtresse-en-titre, official mistress of a ...

Baroness Mary Vetsera Baroness Marie Alexandrine "Mary" von Vetsera (19 March 1871 – 30 January 1889) was an Austrian nobility, Austrian noblewoman and the Mistress (lover), mistress of Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria. Vetsera and the crown prince were found dead ...

at the Mayerling hunting lodge. The ensuing scandal made international headlines.

Background

Rudolf was born at

Schloss Laxenburg Laxenburg castles are imperial palaces and castles outside Vienna, in the town of Laxenburg owned in equal parts by Vienna and Lower Austria."Crown Prince Rudolf (1858–1889)"
(museum notes),

Natural History Museum, Vienna The Natural History Museum Vienna () is a large natural history museum located in Vienna, Austria. The NHM Vienna is one of the largest museums and non-university research institutions in Austria and an important center of excellence for all matt ...

, 2006. a castle near

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, as the son of Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth. He was named after the first Habsburg

King of Germany This is a list of monarchs who ruled over East Francia, and the Kingdom of Germany (), from Treaty of Verdun, the division of the Francia, Frankish Empire in 843 and Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in ...

, Rudolf I, who reigned from 1273 to 1291. Rudolf was raised together with his older sister Gisela and the two were very close. At the age of six, Rudolf was separated from his sister as he began his education to become a future

Emperor of Austria The emperor of Austria (, ) was the ruler of the Austrian Empire and later the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The hereditary imperial title and office was proclaimed in 1804 by Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorr ...

. This did not change their relationship and Gisela remained close to him until she left Vienna upon her marriage to

Prince Leopold of Bavaria Prince Leopold of Bavaria (Leopold Maximilian Joseph Maria Arnulf; 9 February 1846 – 28 September 1930) was born in Munich, the second son of Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria (1821–1912) and his wife Archduchess Augusta of Austria (1825– ...

. Rudolf's initial education under Leopold Gondrecourt was physically and emotionally abusive, and likely a contributing factor in his later suicide. Influenced by his tutor

Ferdinand von Hochstetter Christian Gottlieb Ferdinand Ritter von Hochstetter (30 April 1829 – 18 July 1884) was a Germany, German-Austrians, Austrian geologist. In 1857 he was appointed geologist on the Austrian Novara expedition to New Zealand, collecting natural his ...

(who later became the first superintendent of the Imperial Natural History Museum), Rudolf became very interested in natural sciences, starting a mineral collection at an early age. After his death, large portions of his mineral collection came into the possession of the University of Agriculture in Vienna, which is now known as the

University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna The University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, or simply BOKU (derived from its German name, , ), founded in 1872, is an education and research centre for renewable resources in Vienna, Austria. BOKU combines expertise in the field ...

. In 1877, Count Karl Albert von

Bombelles The Bombelles family is an old aristocratic family which originated from the Duchy of Lorraine. Members of the family later settled in the Holy Roman Empire and in Portugal. They held the title of Marquis in France and Count in Austria. Notable ...

was master of the young prince. Bombelles had been the custodian of Rudolf's aunt Empress Charlotte of Mexico. In contrast with his deeply conservative father, Rudolf held liberal views that were closer to those of his mother. Nevertheless, his relationship with her was at times strained.

Marriage

In Vienna, on 10 May 1881, Rudolf married Princess Stéphanie of Belgium, a daughter of King

Leopold II of Belgium Leopold II (9 April 1835 – 17 December 1909) was the second king of the Belgians from 1865 to 1909, and the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free State from 1885 to 1908. Born in Brussels as the second but eldest-surviving son of King Leo ...

, at the Augustinian Church in Vienna. Although their marriage was initially a happy one, by the time their only child, the Archduchess Elisabeth ("Erzsi"), was born on 2 September 1883, the couple had drifted apart. After the birth of their child, Rudolf became increasingly unstable as he drank heavily and was having many affairs. This behaviour, however, was not entirely new as Rudolf had a long history of reckless promiscuity prior to his marriage. In 1886, Rudolf became seriously ill and the couple was directed to the island of Lacroma (off present day Croatia) for his treatment. In transit, Stéphanie also became seriously ill and described "suffering terrible pain". The couple's diagnosis of

peritonitis Peritonitis is inflammation of the localized or generalized peritoneum, the lining of the inner wall of the abdomen and covering of the abdominal organs. Symptoms may include severe pain, swelling of the abdomen, fever, or weight loss. One pa ...

was kept secret by order of the Emperor. After intensive treatment, Stéphanie was able to recover from the illness but she was left unable to have children as the illness had destroyed her fallopian tubes. Stéphanie's symptoms and outcome indicate Rudolf had most likely infected her with

gonorrhoea Gonorrhoea or gonorrhea, colloquially known as the clap, is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) caused by the bacterium ''Neisseria gonorrhoeae''. Infection may involve the genitals, mouth, or rectum. Gonorrhea is spread through sexual c ...

. Rudolf himself did not improve with treatment and grew increasingly ill. It is likely he had contracted

syphilis Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms depend on the stage it presents: primary, secondary, latent syphilis, latent or tertiary. The prim ...

in addition to gonorrhoea. In order to cope with the effects of the disease, Rudolf began taking large doses of morphine. By 1889, it was common knowledge at Court that Stéphanie would not have any more children due to the events of 1886, and that Rudolf's health was deteriorating.

Murder-suicide

In 1886, Rudolf bought

Mayerling Mayerling is a small village (pop. 200) in Lower Austria belonging to the municipality of Alland in the district of Baden (district of Austria), Baden. It is situated on the Schwechat river, in the Vienna Woods, Wienerwald (''Vienna woods''), so ...

, a hunting lodge. In late 1888, the 30-year-old Crown Prince met the 17-year-old Baroness Marie von Vetsera, and began an affair with her. On 30 January 1889, he and the young baroness were discovered dead in the lodge as a result of an apparent joint

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

. As suicide would prevent him from being given a church burial, Rudolf was officially declared to have been in a state of "mental unbalance", and he was buried in the

Imperial Crypt The Imperial Crypt (), also called the Capuchin Crypt (''Kapuzinergruft''), is a burial chamber beneath the Capuchin Church and monastery in Vienna, Austria. It was founded in 1618 and dedicated in 1632, and located on the Neuer Markt square of ...

() of the Capuchin Church in Vienna. Vetsera's body was smuggled out of Mayerling in the middle of the night and secretly buried in the village cemetery at Heiligenkreuz. The Emperor had Mayerling converted into a penitential convent of

Carmelite The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

nuns and endowed a

chantry A chantry is an ecclesiastical term that may have either of two related meanings: # a chantry service, a set of Christian liturgical celebrations for the dead (made up of the Requiem Mass and the Office of the Dead), or # a chantry chapel, a b ...

so that daily prayers would eternally be said by the nuns for the repose of Rudolf's soul. Vetsera's private letters were discovered in a

safe deposit box A safe deposit box, sometimes referred to as a safety deposit box, is an individually secured container, usually held within a larger safe or bank vault. Safe deposit boxes are generally located in banks, post offices or other institutions. S ...

in an Austrian bank in 2015, and they revealed that she was preparing to commit suicide alongside Rudolf, out of love.

Aftermath of death

Rudolf's death plunged his mother, Empress Elisabeth, into despair. She wore black or pearl grey, the colours of mourning, for the rest of her life and spent more and more time away from the imperial court in Vienna. Her daughter Gisela was afraid that she might also commit suicide. In 1898, while Elisabeth was abroad in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, she was murdered by an Italian anarchist, Luigi Lucheni. Rudolf's death had left Franz Joseph without a direct male heir. Franz-Joseph's younger brother, Archduke Karl Ludwig, was next in line to the Austro-Hungarian throne, though it was falsely reported that he had renounced his succession rights. In any case, his death in 1896 from typhoid made his eldest son,

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

, the new

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of a person with a better claim to the position in question. This is in contrast to an heir app ...

. However, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in 1914 (an event that precipitated

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

), so when Emperor Franz-Joseph died in November 1916, he was succeeded instead by his grandnephew,

Charles I of Austria Charles I (, ; 17 August 1887 – 1 April 1922) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary (as Charles IV), and the ruler of the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from November 1916 until the monarchy was abolished in November 1918. He was the ...

. The demands of the American President,

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

forced Emperor Charles I to renounce involvement in state affairs in Vienna in early November 1918. As a result, the Austro-Hungarian Empire ceased to exist and a republic came into being without revolution. Charles I and his family went into exile in Switzerland after spending a short time at Castle Eckartsau.

Legend

Rudolf (also known as Ludolf or Ludó in folklore) was a figure in folk stories in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. Legend has it, that it was his father who sentenced him to death, as he was a Hungarophile and defied his Hungarophobic father's will. However, the latter secretly pardoned him and buried a waxwork in his place, and the real Ludó lived out his life in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. The legend's popularity peaked during the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

In popular culture

* ''

'', a 1936 film directed by

Anatole Litvak Anatoly Mikhailovich Litvak (10 May 1902 – 15 December 1974), commonly known as Anatole Litvak, was a Russian-American filmmaker. Born to Jewish parents in Kiev, he began his theatrical training at age 13 in Saint Petersburg, St. Petersburg, ...

, with

Charles Boyer Charles Boyer (; 28 August 1899 – 26 August 1978) was a French-American actor who appeared in more than 80 films between 1920 and 1976. After receiving an education in drama, Boyer started on the stage, but he found his success in American fi ...

and

Danielle Darrieux Danielle Yvonne Marie Antoinette Darrieux (; 1 May 1917 – 17 October 2017) was a French actress of stage, television and film, as well as a singer and dancer. Beginning in 1931, she appeared in more than 110 films. She was one of France's g ...

, based on a novel by

Claude Anet Jean Schopfer (28 May 1868 – 9 January 1931) was a tennis player competing for France, and a writer, known under the pseudonym of Claude Anet. He reached two singles finals at the Amateur French Championships, winning in 1892 over British playe ...

. * ''

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

'' (1940), a film directed

Max Ophüls Maximillian Oppenheimer ( , ; 6 May 1902 – 26 March 1957), known as Max Ophüls ( , , ) or simply Ophuls, was a German and French film director and screenwriter. He was known for his opulent and lyrical visual style, with heavy use of trac ...

starts with Rudolf's death. * The fictionalized musical '' Marinka'' (1945), with book by George Marion Jr., and

Karl Farkas Karl Farkas (28 October 1893 – 16 May 1971) was an Austrian actor and cabaret performer. Biography In accordance with the wishes of his parents, he was to study law, but decided to follow the call of the stage. After attending the Academy of ...

, lyrics by George Marion Jr., music by

Emmerich Kálmán Emmerich Kálmán ( ; 24 October 1882 – 30 October 1953) was a Kingdom of Hungary, Hungarian composer of operettas and a prominent figure in the development of Operetta#Austria–Hungary, Viennese operetta in the 20th century. Among his most p ...

. * ''

'', a 1957 film, starring

Mel Ferrer Melchor Gastón FerrerAncestry Library Edition (August 25, 1917 – June 2, 2008) was an American actor, director, and producer, active in film, theatre, and television. He achieved prominence on Broadway before scoring notable film hits with ...

as Crown Prince Rudolf,

Audrey Hepburn Audrey Kathleen Hepburn ( Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress. Recognised as a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the third-greatest female screen legend from the Classical Holly ...

as Baroness Mary Vetsara with

Lorne Greene Lorne Hyman Greene (born Lyon Himan Green; February 12, 1915 – September 11, 1987) was a Canadian actor, singer, and radio personality. His notable television roles include Ben Cartwright on the Western ''Bonanza'' and Commander Adama in ...

as Kaiser Franz Josef. * ''

'', a 1968 film, starring

Omar Sharif Omar Sharif (, ; born Michel Yusef Dimitri Chalhoub ; 10 April 1932 – 10 July 2015) was an Egyptian actor, generally regarded as one of his country's greatest male film stars. He began his career in his native country in the 1950s. He is bes ...

as Crown Prince Rudolf,

Catherine Deneuve Catherine Fabienne Dorléac (born 22 October 1943), known professionally as Catherine Deneuve (, , ), is a French actress. She is considered one of the greatest European actresses on film. In 2020, ''The New York Times'' ranked her as one of th ...

as Mary with

James Mason James Neville Mason (; 15 May 190927 July 1984) was an English actor. He achieved considerable success in British cinema before becoming a star in Hollywood. He was nominated for three Academy Awards, three Golden Globes (winning once) and two ...

as Kaiser Franz Josef and

Ava Gardner Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an American actress during the Golden Age of Hollywood. She first signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew critics' att ...

as Empress Elisabeth. * Japanese

Takarazuka Revue The is a Japanese all-female musical theatre troupe based in Takarazuka, Hyōgo, Takarazuka, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Women play all roles in lavish, Broadway theatre, Broadway-style productions of musicals and stories adapted from films, nov ...

's "Utakata no Koi"/"Ephemeral Love", based on the 1968 film. *''Requiem for a Crown Prince'', one-hour episode of the British documentary/drama series ''

Fall of Eagles Autumn, also known as fall (especially in US & Canada), is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March (Southern Hemisphere ...

'' (1974), directed by James Furman and written by David Turner, tracks in detail the events of 30 January 1889 and the following few days at Mayerling. *

Miklós Jancsó Miklós Jancsó (; 27 September 192131 January 2014) was a Hungarian people, Hungarian film director and screenwriter. Jancsó achieved international prominence starting in the mid-1960s with works including ''Szegénylegények, The Round-Up'' ...

's 1975 film ''

Vizi privati, pubbliche virtù ''Private Vices, Public Pleasures'' (; ) is a 1976 Italian-Yugoslavian erotic drama film directed by Miklós Jancsó. It was entered into the 1976 Cannes Film Festival. The film is based on the Mayerling incident but presents a "highly-eroticise ...

'' (''Private Vices, Public Virtues''), a reinterpretation in which the lovers and their friends are murdered by imperial authorities for treason and immorality. *

Kenneth MacMillan Sir Kenneth MacMillan (11 December 192929 October 1992) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer who was artistic director of the Royal Ballet in London between 1970 and 1977, and its principal choreographer from 1977 until his death. Ea ...

's 1978 ballet, ''Mayerling''. * Japanese manga by Higuri You, "Tenshi no Hitsugi" (Angel's Coffin) (2000). * The Crown Prince, a 2006 television film in two parts directed by Robert Dornhelm. * Composer

Frank Wildhorn Frank Wildhorn (born November 29, 1958) is an American composer of both musicals and popular songs. His musical ''Jekyll & Hyde (musical), Jekyll & Hyde'' ran for four years on Broadway. He also wrote the hit song "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" for ...

's musical '' Rudolf – Affaire Mayerling'' (2006), produced in some territories as ''The Last Kiss'' or ''Rudolf – The Last Kiss''. * The play ''Rudolf'' (2011) by David Logan dramatises the last few weeks of the life of Crown Prince Rudolf. * A highly fictionalized version of the incident at Mayerling is depicted in the 2006 film ''The Illusionist''. Crown Prince Leopold (played by

Rufus Sewell Rufus Frederik Sewell (; born 29 October 1967) is a British actor. In film, he has appeared in ''Carrington (film), Carrington'' (1995), ''Hamlet (1996 film), Hamlet'' (1996), ''Dangerous Beauty'' (1998), ''Dark City (1998 film), Dark City'' (1 ...

) is a fictional analog of Rudolf. *'' The Empress'' is a German historical drama television series based on the life of Empress Elisabeth of Austria, starring Devrim Lingnau in the title role, and Philip Froissant as Emperor Franz Joseph. * ''

Corsage A corsage is a small bouquet of flowers worn on a woman's dress or around her wrist for a formal occasion. They are typically given to her by her date. Today, corsages are most commonly seen at homecomings, proms, and similar formal events. In ...

'', a 2022 film, starred as Crown Prince Rudolph with Vicky Krieps as Empress Elisabeth.

Titles, styles and honours

Titles and styles

* 21 August 1858 – 30 January 1889: ''His Imperial and Royal Highness'' The Crown Prince of Austria, Hungary, Bohemia and Croatia Since 1780 official title used for princes ("''zu Ungarn, Böhmen, Dalmatien, Kroatien, Slawonien, Königlicher Erbprinz''")

Honours

;Domestic
Hof- und Staats-Handbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie
' (1889), Genealogy pp. 1–2 *

Knight of the Golden Fleece This article contains a list of knights of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Burgundian Golden Fleece 15th century !Year of induction!!Name!!Born!!Died!!Notes , - , rowspan=25, 1430, , Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, , 1396, , 1467, , Founde ...

, ''1858'' * Grand Cross of the Royal Hungarian Order of St. Stephen, ''1877''"A Szent István Rend tagjai"
;Foreign

Ancestors

Gallery

File:Young Crown Prince Rudolf.jpg, Crown Prince Rudolf during his early adulthood, c. 1879. File:Stefanie en Rudolf.jpg, Official engagement photo of Crown Prince Rudolf and Princess Stéphanie of Belgium, 1881. File:Görlich - Allegory on the betrothal of Crown Prince Rudolf and Stephanie of Belgium.jpg, Painting "Allegory on the betrothal of Crown Prince Rudolf and Stephanie of Belgium" by Sophia and Marie Görlich, dated 1881. File:Mayerling 1889.jpg, Mayerling Lodge as it appeared before Crown Prince Rudolf's death there in 1889. File:Mayerling.final letter.jpg, Crown Prince Rudolf's letter of farewell to his wife. File:Crown Prince Rudolf 1889.jpg, Crown Prince Rudolf placed in a bed for private viewing by his family at the

Hofburg The Hofburg () is the former principal imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty in Austria. Located in the Innere Stadt, center of Vienna, it was built in the 13th century by Ottokar II of Bohemia and expanded several times afterwards. It also ser ...

palace in Vienna. His head had to be bandaged in order to cover gunshot wounds. When he later lay-in-state, his skull was reconstructed using wax so that his appearance was normal. File:Wien - Kapuzinergruft, Franz-Joseph-Gruft.JPG, Crown Prince Rudolf's coffin lies to the right of his parents' coffins in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna. File:Miklós Ligeti- Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria.jpg, Statue in memory of Crown Prince Rudolf in the City Park of Budapest.

Notes

External links

A profile of Marie VetseraIMDb on various Mayerling FilmsCrown Prince Rudolfs death
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rudolf Of Austria, Crown Prince House of Habsburg-Lorraine Heirs apparent who never acceded Austrian Roman Catholics Suicides in Austria-Hungary Joint suicides 1858 births 1889 deaths 1880s suicides 19th-century Austrian people People from Laxenburg Austrian princes Franz Joseph I of Austria Burials at the Imperial Crypt Sons of emperors Sons of kings Crown princes Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Recipients of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Knights of Malta 2 2 Grand Crosses of the Order of the Star of Romania Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Takovo Extra Knights Companion of the Garter Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Russia) Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian), 1st class Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour Knights of the Order of Saint Joseph Royalty who died by suicide