Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} A Heart for Europe the lives of Emperor Charles and Empress Zita of Austria-Hungary by Joanna Bogle About. Married saints in the Church are far from numerous, and even fewer are venerated for what we might call a “normal” married life. Lists of married saints from the early Church, for example, feature primarily young women martyred, or husband and wife individually or both living chastely or entering a religious community. Attention to more kinds of married saints has increased more recently. The list below features a sample of married saints and holy men and women that will, hopefully, serve as models of sanctity. Saints. Blessed Karl and Servant of God Zita Habsburg. Bogle, J., and J. Bogle. A Heart for Europe: The Lives of Emperor Charles and Empress Zita of Austria-Hungary. Gracewing Books. Fowler Wright, 1990. https://books.google.com/books?id=L59n8YY3gy8C. Saints Louis and Zelie Martin. “Saints Louis and Zelie Martin.” Society of the Little Flower - US. Accessed August 3, 2019. https://www.littleflower.org/therese/life-story/her- parents/. Saints Henry II and Cunigunde of Luxembourg. Saints Stephen and Giselle of Hungary. Ott, Michael. “St. Stephen.” In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14287a.htm. St. Thomas More. Huddleston, Gilbert. “St. Thomas More.” In Catholic Encylopedia. Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14689c.htm. Saint Adelaide. Saint Matilda. Prominent married Catholic men and women. Ludwig Windthorst. Anderson, M.L. Windthorst: A Political Biography. Clarendon Press, 1981. Neill, T.P. They Lived the Faith: Great Lay Leaders of Modern Times. Literary Licensing, LLC, 2012. G. K. and Frances Chesterton. Brown, N.C., and D. Ahlquist. The Woman Who Was Chesterton. ACS Books. ACS Books, 2015. Alice Thomas Ellis. Ellis, Alice Thomas. Home Life. Royal National Institute of the Blind, 2004. Dietrich and Alice von Hildebrand. Hildebrand, D. von, A. von Hildebrand, and P. Kreeft. The Art of Living. Hildebrand Project, 2017. Assorted. O’Malley, V.J. Saintly Companions: A Cross-Reference of Sainted Relationships. Alba House, 1995. Neill, T.P. They Lived the Faith: Great Lay Leaders of Modern Times. Literary Licensing, LLC, 2012. Burton, Doris. Great Catholic Mothers of Yesterday and To-Day. London: Paternoster, 1951. Ferdinand Holböck, S.T.D. Married Saints and Blesseds: Through the Centuries. Ignatius Press, 2017. https://books.google.com/books? id=1HEuDwAAQBAJ. Ford, David C., Mary S. Ford, and Kallistos. Marriage as a Path to Holiness : Lives of Married Saints. 2013. The Last Empress: The Life and Times of Zita of Austria-Hungary, 1892-1989. 1892-1989. Gordon Brook-Shepherd. Harper Collins. 20.00[pounds]. Anyone who had the privilege of attending the funeral of Empress Zita in Vienna in 1989 could not help but be aware of the irony of history. Slowly through the rain swept streets of Vienna came a procession of village bands, middle-aged men dressed in uniforms of a lost world, women in the colourful (and expensive) dress of Tyrolean peasants and a vast swarm of clergy. Behind it came the huge hearse carrying a tiny coffin: the Habsburg funeral wagon had been brought from the carriage museum at the Schonbrunn to carry the last reigning Habsburg to her rest. The tens of thousands of mourners in the narrow streets of the old city, people from every land of the old Empire, took up the words of the noble Imperial anthem written by Haydn. Many Austrians looked slightly ashamed as the cortege passed -- ashamed not only at the long exile imposed on their last Empress but at the sight of her eldest son, Archduke Otto, walking with such dignity behind his mother. Here was one of the most distinguished men in Europe allowed but a brief role in his native land while the head of the Austrian Republic hid himself in a comer of the old Imperial palace, unable to visit any respectable nation. Seven decades before -- a brief period in the seven hundred year history of the Habsburg dynasty -- the young and beautiful Empress Zita and her young son had walked with her husband, Emperor Karl, behind the same funeral car as the venerable Franz Joseph was carried to his well deserved rest. Perhaps no other monarch in history ever ascended a throne with more problems than Emperor Karl did in 1916. For the next two years he battled to save his Empire and indeed Europe itself from destruction. As a deeply religious man Kart was anxious to end the war, to make territorial sacrifices if necessary and to transform the Empire into a commonwealth. He could not overcome the opposition of his ally, Germany, his own foreign minister and the intrigues of certain Western politicians. Throughout these two tense years, Karl had the constant support of his wife. Indeed the negotiations were carried on by her brothers, who were fighting on the Allied side. At times this sounds like a fairy tale with four young royal champions trying to slay the dragon of war. Yet, unlike a fable, this story ended tragically. It is a curious feature of European history that revolutions require a Queen to be made into a devil figure. Just as Henriette Maria, Marie Antoinette, Empresses Eugenie and the Tsarina Alexandra were erected into monsters by rabid revolutionaries, so Empress Zita was portrayed as the |Italian intriguer', a spy from Austria's most hated enemy. When the Habsburg Empire collapsed, the Imperial family were driven into exile. Throughout this period and in the two mishandled attempts at restoration, it was Zita who supported her ill husband. After his early death in 1922, it was she who upheld the monarchist cause. She ensured that her son became the best educated Habsburg in history and a man who has not frittered his life away as an embittered |pretender' but has instead taken up an important role in the European Parliament. Gordon Brook-Shepherd has long been the most influential English historian of recent Austrian history. For his superb biography of Empress Zita, he was given unrestricted access to Habsburg family archives as well as the assistance of Otto von Habsburg and other members of the family. Mr. Brook-Shepherd had already had the help of the Empress herself when he wrote his distinguished biography of Emperor Karl many years ago. He has unearthed yet more information for this biography that throws new light on many aspects of European history for almost this entire century. Even as a virtually penniless exile in North America, the Empress was consulted by Churchill, Roosevelt, and Mountbatten about the future of Europe after the defeat of Hitler, a man who detested all Habsburgs. Her main concern, as she told President Roosevelt, was to protect |my peoples' from communism. Mr. Brook-Shepherd has provided a worthy memorial to one of the most tragic and noble figures of our century. The story of the last Austrian Emperor and his consort is attracting increasing attention. With the break-up of that absurd creation Yugoslavia -- a state born of official terrorism in 1914 -- and the encouraging if slow return towards the concept of Central Europe, historians and even journalists are looking with sympathy at the last days of Austria-Hungary. Joanna and James Bogle have written a warm tribute to Emperor Karl and Empress Zita which serves as a good introduction to the life of Austria-Hungary's last Emperor and Empress. This account emphasises their deep religious devotion and appears at a time when the Emperor is being considered for canonisation. This book makes no claim to the years of scholarship of Mr. Brook-Shepherd, but it would provide a well-written introduction to the subject. Indeed, it benefits from Mr. Brook-Shepherd's generous help. Only a biographer as devoted to his subject and as sure of his mastery of it as Mr. Brook-Shepherd would be so generous to other writers. Prayer and simplicity in the life of Emperor Franz Josef. Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria-Hungary at age 35, 1865. Franz Josef was an institution: millions of his subjects had never known any other monarch and he was an unchanging face on the European scene. His own way of living and working exemplified a notion of order and a commitment to the self-discipline and moral dedication on which he sought to base his rule. Stained glass window of Emperor Franz Josef I. He rose every day before 4am, and after washing and shaving knelt to pray at his prie-dieu before a crucifix. Morning and night prayers were a fixed part of his routine which dated back to his earliest childhood and his mother’s teaching. He lived in two rooms in his vast palace, using others only for official occasions, keeping all his papers and personal items neat and tidy. Emperor Franz Josef I with Count István Tisza a Hungarian politician. After a light breakfast he worked hour after hour at his desk, reading and signing papers, silently pouring over documents relating to every aspect of the internal and external state of the nations he ruled. When the rest of Vienna rose to a new day he had already been laboring for several hours: if he were ever asked about this he would no doubt have simply said that such a state of affairs was natural and right for a monarch…. Franz Joseph I of Austria, emperor of Austria-Hungary, in 1885. James and Joanna Bogle, A Heart for Europe: The Lives of Emperor Charles and Empress Zita of Austria-Hungary (Leominster, Herefordshire, U.K.: Gracewing, 1993), p. 24. Short Stories on Honor, Chivalry, and the World of Nobility—no. 176. Emperor Charles I: World War I Peace Campaigner. James Bogle examines the life of the Catholic Emperor Charles I of Austria-Hungary, who sacrificed everything for the sake of achieving peace in his country. Larger Work. Publisher & Date. AD2000, April 1996. The evil legacy of World War I (1914-1918) was incalculable, most notably in the rise of Russian Communism, the emergence of Nazism in Germany and ultimately World War II. Among a handful of public figures, including Pope Benedict XV, who worked strenuously, but ultimately unsuccessfully, for peace, was the young Catholic Emperor Charles I of Austria-Hungary. His efforts were heroic, unstinting and sincere, but the obstacles of militarism and narrow nationalism were to prove insurmountable. To the English-speaking world the last Emperor of Austria-Hungary might seem an unlikely candidate for inclusion in a miscellany of Catholic heroes and still less, for canonisation as a saint of the Catholic Church. Nevertheless, the case of Emperor Charles I is currently being considered by the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Saints, with the present Pope even indicating his own interest in, and enthusiasm for, the cause of the late Emperor. (The Pope's father was himself an officer in the Austro- Hungarian army over which the Emperor Charles was at one time commander-in-chief). Few today know that this same Emperor, among all the political leaders of the belligerent nations, was the chief campaigner for an end to the First World War and a tireless and zealous worker for peace throughout that conflict. This Charles came to the throne of his Habsburg ancestors at a time when Europe and the world were plunged into the bloodiest war that human history had ever, at that time, known. His great uncle, Emperor Francis Joseph I (Franz Josef), died in 1916, having occupied the throne since 1848, a year when Europe had suffered a wave of revolutions inspired by 'anti-clericals' who were opposed not only to the Catholic dynasties and their rule and the influence of the Catholic clergy upon them, but frequently to the Catholic religion itself. With war in the Balkans in the 1990s, perhaps we are now in a better position to understand the dilemma Franz Josef and his government faced when the Bosnian Serbs carried out the assassination at Sarajevo of the heir to the throne, Archduke Franz-Ferdinand of Austria. An ultimatum was delivered to the Serbian government who were sheltering the conspirators and war followed. This set off a chain-reaction of alliances, beginning with Russian aid to Serbia, going on to Germany and France and rapidly drawing in Britain which came to the aid of Belgium whose territory was entered by the German armies on their way to invade France, the ally of Russia. The result was the First World War. It was this terrible legacy that the Emperor Charles I inherited in 1916 when the old Emperor died. Charles had been born at Persenbeug Castle, not far from the Empire's western capital Vienna, on 17 August 1887 and was thus 29 when he came to the throne. Because of Franz Ferdinand's assassination, Charles had become heir. He at once set about doing all in his power to bring peace. However, he had insurmountable obstacles to overcome which were to block his every move. Charles had married on 21 October 1911, Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma, the daughter of the Duke of Parma. a small duchy in Italy formerly ruled by a branch of the Bourbon family until they were overthrown and expelled by the revolutionaries. Zita would live on until 1989. Their marriage had been a love match from the start, fortified by a mutually strong Catholic faith. Austria-Hungary was a polyglot empire consisting of many little nations. Since 1868 it had been a Dual Monarchy divided into two parts, one ruled from Vienna, the other (the Hungarian half) from Budapest, but both under one Emperor. The rise of nationalism meant that there were groups conspiring to split up this Habsburg empire into its constituent nations. In German-speaking parts the pan-Germanist movement had made significant gains and its adherents sought, ultimately, to unite the German-speaking parts of the Austrian Empire into the new German Empire. Military aggression. This new German Empire had only begun in 1871. It was the creation of the Protestant Prussian militarist, Otto von Bismarck, who pursued a policy of military aggression in which he defeated France and Austria and then amalgamated all the German states into one empire, including Catholic Bavaria and Protestant Prussia, the latter dominating. This new German Empire dominated the European political and military scene, with Austria increasingly overshadowed by it, and when Emperor Charles came to the throne, Austria was bound in alliance with Germany to whom it was militarily inferior. The German Emperor was William II, a vain, pompous and belligerent man, incompetent politically and militarily, and entirely dependent upon his generals whose dominant element were Prussian militarists and chauvinists. Although Charles was able to get on personally with Emperor William, who was by then old enough to be his father, he could not get through to William's bombastic and belligerent generals. With the aid of Zita's brother, Prince Sixtus of Bourbon-Parma, he was able instead to make his most bold initiative for peace. Two of Zita's brothers, including Sixtus, were serving with the Belgians, Austria's enemy. Zita wrote a moving and urgent plea to Sixtus: "Do not let yourself be held by considerations which in ordinary life would be justified. Think of all the unfortunates who live in the hell of the trenches and die there every day by the hundreds, and come!" Through Sixtus, Charles made a peace offer to the Allied governments. Sixtus approached the French government first and later the British government, speaking to Prime Minister David Lloyd-George. Emperor Charles' peace plan allowed for sweeping territorial gains to the Allied nations - he was more interested in peace even than preserving the full boundaries of the Empire. This was another reason for secrecy since the full revelation of what Charles was prepared to negotiate away in the interests of peace would certainly have caused a strong reaction from the more bellicose elements within Austria-Hungary. Charles' willingness to make concessions went even further than that of Pope Benedict XV, himself an ardent and enthusiastic peace campaigner. Charles was willing, for example, to cede Alsace-Lorraine, a territory which was traditionally Habsburg but currently then in German hands. Anti-clerical. As is plain from the papers of the British Cabinet Secretary Sir Maurice Hankey, Lloyd-George saw the Emperor's peace plan as little more than a sign of weakness on the part of Austria. This was almost certainly a reason for his energetic pursuance of a policy to strike at Austria through Italy. The new French Prime Minister, Clemenceau, who had taken over in November 1917, was a notorious anti-clerical and equally determined to see the end of the Habsburg Catholic monarchy. On 12 April 1918, he published Charles' peace letters in full. The Germans exploded in indignation at Charles' evident willingness to negotiate away Alsace-Lorraine (and much else besides) for the sake of peace. Charles wrote to Emperor William warning him that, in the aftermath of the Russian October 1917 Revolution, the real enemy of Europe was now Bolshevism and that the war must be ended as quickly as possible for the sake of Europe's future. William, under the thumb of his generals, had allowed Lenin through German territory (Charles had resolutely refused him access via the Empire) to start the revolution. The Germans now forced Austria-Hungary to be tied inextricably to them or face a German invasion supported by the nationalists (like the Hungarians) within the Empire. Austria-Hungary had become a German satellite. Charles, the young peace-Emperor (Friedenskaiser), as he had been called, had no more cards to play. They had all been snatched from him by the small-mindedness of others. He would remain popular with the ordinary people of the Empire but after the Sixtus affair he could not exercise any restraint on their nationalist leaders in the imperial parliaments. Added to that, his health was poor and, despite being hardly 31, he had suffered a series of heart attacks. At war's end Charles was compelled to sign a withdrawal of power but he was careful never to sign an abdication document despite all kinds of threats of internment and violence made against him by the republican politicians who were taking over power. It was at this point that a British officer, Lt-Colonel Edward Lisle Strutt DSO, came to the rescue. Strutt was a Catholic educated by Jesuits at Beaumont College, and at Innsbruck and Oxford Universities. He was also a linguist, a mountaineer and a war hero. Strutt was largely responsible for seeing the Imperial couple safely out of the Empire. He bluffed the new socialist government in Vienna and arranged for a train to Switzerland, but without compromising Charles' position and integrity. The day arrived on 23 March 1919. Charles' son, Archduke Dr Otto von Habsburg (now a member of the European Parliament), recalled that Charles had ordered a Mass to be said at which he would be altar-server. Local people from all around came to say farewell to their Friedenskaiser and in Vienna a huge crowd gathered to watch their Emperor, the last ruler of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the direct historical descendent of the Holy Roman Empire, being taken away by train out of his ancestral land and into exile. Ultimately, after two unsuccessful attempts at regaining the throne of Hungary, Charles was taken in 1921 to the island of Madeira where he would live in great poverty with Zita and their eight children. Within a year, in March 1922, he had caught a chill and became seriously ill. On 1st April, surrounded by his impoverished family and with the name of his Saviour upon his lips, he breathed his last at just 34 years of age. For the people of the Danube basin history has turned full circle. Once again they are faced with a choice between co-operation and mutual help, to aid their recovery from the nightmare of communism, or an insistence on nationalist isolation. Perhaps some of the lessons learned by the young peace-Emperor who stood at the head of the Catholic empire to which their nations all once belonged, might be worth recalling. Suffering. Charles had endured a life of privation in exile with the same equanimity as he had the years as Emperor. He accepted his final suffering as a sacrifice which he had to endure for the future well-being of his family and his people. Lacking in years and experience he had nonetheless made wiser judgments than any of his elders. All were based upon a firm and well-informed Faith. He had failed in his attempt to regain the throne of Hungary only because he refused to see more bloodshed, but he never abdicated, seeing this as a retreat from duty. A daily Mass-attender, Charles' greatest pleasure was in his family. He appreciated his inheritance and valued tradition. Such unfashionable and simple values no doubt account for his being a neglected figure in our time. His political outlook - with its refusal to avoid even the most onerous responsibilities - doubtless make him even less popular with the rootless, valueless political figures of today. God, on the other hand, may have different plans for his venerable servant. On 1 April 1972, exactly fifty years after his death, Charles' coffin was opened by an ecclesiastical commission and his body was found to be intact. Fr Ambrogio Eszer OP of the Congregation for Saints and the Relator-General of his cause has indicated to this writer that the Cause is now poised to advance to the next stage, that of Beatification. James Bogle, who is a barrister in London and a former British cavalry officer, is co-author with his wife, Joanna, of a biography of the Emperor Charles entitled 'Heart for Europe'. (Available from Charles Paine Pty Ltd, 8 Ferris Street, North Parramatta, NSW 2151). The Habsburgs. Unless otherwise noted, these books are for sale at Amazon.com. Your purchase through these links will result in a commission for the owner of the Royalty.nu site. Habsburg Monarchy. The Habsburgs: To Rule the World by Martyn Rady. The history of a family dynasty who dominated Europe for centuries, from their rise to power to their downfall. The Habsburgs: Embodying Empire by Andrew Wheatcroft. A history of the rise to power and eventual decline of the Habsburg empire. The Habsburgs: Dynasty, Culture and Politics by Paula Sutter Fichtner. How did the Habsburg dynasty come to play such a decisive role in the fate of Europe? The Habsburg Monarchy: From Enlightenment to Eclipse by Robin Okey. Explores how the multi-national dynasty uniquely reacted to the same forces that were affecting Europe as a whole. The Habsburg Monarchy, 1618-1815 by Charles W. Ingrao. Challenges the notion of the Habsburg state and society as backward, and suggests links between the early modern monarchy and the problems of contemporary Europe. The Austrians: A Thousand-Year Odyssey by Gordon Brook-Shepherd. The author was given access to Habsburg family archives. Image of the Monarchy. The Last Descendant of Aeneas: The Hapsburgs and the Mythic Image of the Emperor by Marie Tanner. Focuses on the importance of the Roman emperor's mythic image for the development of Western political thought. Limits of Loyalty edited by Laurence Cole and Daniel L. Unowsky. Imperial symbolism, popular allegiances and state patriotism in the late Habsburg monarchy. The Afterlife of Austria-Hungary by Adam Kozuchowski. Examines the image of the Habsburg monarchy between the World Wars. Habsburg Empire. The History of the Habsburg Empire: 1526-1918 by Robert A. Kann. A history of the numerous people who lived under the sceptre of this historic ruling house. The Habsburg Empire: A New History by Pieter M. Judson. Shows why the Habsburg Empire mattered so much, for so long, to millions of Central Europeans. The Habsburg Monarchy 1490-1848: Attributes of Empire by Paula Sutter Fichtner. Drawing upon modern theoretical perspectives on European expansion, the author argues that the Habsburg holdings constituted a form of European imperialism. The Remnants of the Habsburg Monarchy by John C. Swanson is about the Austrian and Hungarian governments after the First World War. Rudolf II. The Magic Circle of Rudolf II: Alchemy and Astrology in Renaissance Prague by Peter Marshall. Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor, king of Hungary, Germany, and the Romans -- is one of history's great characters. His reign (1576-1612) made Prague the artistic and scientific center of the known world. Nature Illuminated: Flora and Fauna from the Court of Emperor Rudolf II edited by Lee Hendrix, Georg Bocskay, and Joris Hoefnagel. Beautiful illuminated calligraphy from Rudolf II's court. Maria Theresa. In Destiny's Hands: Five Tragic Rulers, Children of Maria Theresa by Justin C. Vovk. An imperial mother determined to forge alliances through marriage, and the price her children paid for it. Empress Maria Theresa and the Politics of Habsburg Imperial Art by Michael Yonan. Between 1740 and 1780, Empress Maria Theresa governed the Habsburg Empire. This book examines the role that paintings, architecture, porcelain, garden sculpture, and decorative objects played in her identity as a monarch. The War of the Austrian Succession by Reed Browning. About the eight-year war that began with the accession of Maria Theresa. Joseph II. Joseph II: Volume I, In the Shadow of Maria Theresa, 1741-1780 by Derek Beales. A biography of the first emperor of the house of Habsburg- Lorraine. Joseph II: Volume II, Against the World, 1780-1790 by Derek Beales. This second and final volume of Derek Beales's biography of Joseph II describes the period when he was sole ruler of the Austrian Monarchy. Available at Amazon. Joseph II by T. C. W. Blanning. This short study offers a history of the Habsburg monarchy in the 18th century as well as a re-evaluation of the emperor's complex personality and his ill-fated reform program. The Charmed Circle: Joseph II and the Five Princesses, 1765-1790 by Rebecca Gates-Coon. In late 18th-century Vienna, five aristocratic women achieved social preeminence and acclaim as close associates of Emperor Joseph II. Mozart at the Gateway to His Fortune: Serving the Emperor, 1788-1791 by Christoph Wolff. Mozart entered into the service of Emperor Joseph II of Austria as Imperial-Royal Chamber Composer -- a distinguished title with few obligations. This book includes eight pages of illustrations. Franz Joseph and Sissi. Twilight of the Habsburgs: The Life and Times of Emperor Francis Joseph by Alan Warwick Palmer. Biography of the emperor of Austria and the history of Europe during his reign. Emperor Francis Joseph: Life, Death and the Fall of the Habsburg Empire by John Van Der Kiste. In 1848, Francis Joseph became king of Hungary and emperor of Austria. This book focuses on his life and family, examining their personal relationships against the turbulent decline of their empire. Emperor Francis Joseph, King of the Hungarians by Andras Gero. Examines relations between the Habsburg ruler of Hungary and his subjects from the crushing of the Hungarian Revolution of 1849 to World War I. Franz Joseph and Elisabeth: The Last Great Monarchs of Austria-Hungary by Karen B. Owens. Biography of Austria's last significant emperor and his enigmatic wife. The Pomp and Politics of Patriotism: Imperial Celebrations in Habsburg, Austria, 1848-1916 by Daniel L. Unowsky. Examines the image of emperor Franz Joseph as a symbol of common identity in the Austrian half of the Habsburg Monarchy (Cisleithania). The Emperor and the Peasant: Two Men at the Start of the Great War and the End of the Habsburg Empire by Kenneth Janda. Juxtaposes the experiences of Franz Joseph I, emperor of Austria-Hungary, and Samuel Mozolak, a Slovak laborer. Sissi. Lonely Empress by Joan Haslip. Biography of Franz Joseph's wife, whose search for freedom was as legendary as her beauty. Sissi's World: The Empress Elisabeth in Memory and Myth edited by Maura E. Hametz and Heidi Schlipphacke. Explores cultural foundations for the endurance of legends about Empress Elisabeth of Austria. Crown Prince Rudolf. Crime at Mayerling: The Life and Death of Mary Vetsera: With New Expert Opinions Following the Desecration of Her Grave by Georg Markus, translated by Carvel De Bussy. In 1889 Crown Prince Rudolf apparently killed his mistress, Mary Vetsera, and committed suicide, although some believe they were murdered. Twilight of Empire: The Tragedy at Mayerling and the End of the Habsburgs by Greg King and Penny Wilson. In 1889, Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria-Hungary shot his mistress and himself. Drawing on interviews with members of the Habsburg family and archival sources, this book reconstructs what happened and refutes conspiracy stories. A Nervous Splendor: Vienna 1888-1889 by Frederic Morton. Tells the haunting story of Crown Prince Rudolf and his city. Royal Rebel by John T. Salvendy examines the life and psychology of Crown Prince Rudolf. The Road to Mayerling: Life and Death of Crown Prince Rudolph of Austria by Richard Barkeley. The 1899 murder/suicide of Crown Prince Rudolph and Mary Vetsera remains a mystery to this day. This biography examines the causes of the tragedy. Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The Assassination of the Archduke: Sarajevo 1914 and the Romance That Changed the World by Greg King and Sue Woolmans. When Austrian heir Archduke Franz Ferdinand married against the wishes of the emperor, he and his wife were shunned, yet they remained devoted to each other. Their assassination sparked the First World War and doomed their children to lives of loss, exile, and the horrors of Nazi concentration camps. One Morning in Sarajevo: 28 June 1914 by David James Smith. Focusing on the man behind the killing, and using newly available sources (including the few surviving witnesses), this book reconstructs the assassination of Frances Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie. The Last Habsburgs. The End of the Habsburgs: The Decline and Fall of the Austrian Monarchy by John Van Der Kiste. The final chapter of the Habsburgs, from the Napoleonic era to the age of the dictators and post-war Europe. A Heart for Europe: The Lives of Emperor Charles and Empress Zita of Austria-Hungary by James and Joanna Bogle. Charles I earned the nickname Peace-Emperor, but his idealistic struggle led to an early death in exile. Blessed Charles of Austria: A Holy Emperor and His Legacy by Charles Coulombe. Biography of Emperor Karl I of Austria, who died in 1922 and was beatified by the Catholic church in 2004. The Last Habsburg by Gordon Brook-Shepherd. Biography of Charles I, the last Habsburg emperor, who died in 1922. Uncrowned Emperor: The Life and Times of Otto Von Habsburg by Gordon Brook-Shepherd. Biography. Born heir presumptive to an empire, the life of Charles I's son Otto von Habsburg has mirrored some of the most dramatic events of the 20th century. More Books. Courts and Courtiers. Vienna and Versailles: The Courts of Europe's Dynastic Rivals, 1550-1780 by Jeroen Duindam. Recreates the lives of courtiers and servants of the imperial court in Vienna and the royal court in Paris-Versailles from the 16th to the 18th century. War, Religion and Court Patronage in Habsburg Austria: The Social and Cultural Dimensions of Political Interaction, 1521-1622 by Karin J. MacHardy. Selective court patronage changed the cultural habits of nobles in education, manners, and tastes, but failed to transform religious identities. Early Modern Era. Queen's Apprentice: Archduchess Elizabeth, Empress Maria, the Habsburgs, and the Holy Roman Empire, 1554-1569 by Joseph F. Patrouch. Recounts the first fifteen years, early education, and marriage negotiations of Empress Maria's daughter Elizabeth. Philip of Spain by Henry Arthur Francis Kamen. Biography of King Philip II of Spain, son of Emperor Charles V. The Empress, the Queen, and the Nun by Magdalena S. Sanchez is about three powerful women in the court of Philip III of Spain -- Empress Maria, Margaret of Austria, and Margaret of the Cross -- who worked to advance the cause of the Habsburgs. One Foot in the Palace: The Habsburg Court of Brussels and the Politics of Access in the Reign of Albert and Isabella, 1598-1621 by Dries Raeymaekers, translated by John R. J. Eyck. Eager to reassert his dynasty's authority, Archduke Albert ruled the Habsburg Netherlands as sovereign prince in his own right. 18th & 19th Centuries. Double Emperor: The Life and Times of Francis of Austria by Chip Wagar. Emperor (as Francis II) of the Holy Roman Empire, Francis also became the first emperor of Austria. Empress Marie Therese and Music at the Viennese Court, 1792-1807 by John A. Rice. Empress Marie Therese, second wife of Holy Roman Emperor Francis II (Francis I of Austria), devoted her life to music. More Than Mere Spectacle edited by Klaas Van Gelder. Coronations and inaugurations in the Habsburg monarchy during the 18th and 19th centuries. 20th Century. The Red Prince: The Secret Lives of a Habsburg Archduke by Timothy Snyder. Biography of Wilhelm Von Habsburg, who repudiated his family to fight alongside Ukrainian peasants. Later he was an opponent of Hitler and Stalin. Hitler and the Habsburgs: The Fuhrer's Vendetta Against the Austrian Royals by James Longo. How Adolf Hitler's obsession with the Habsburg imperial family drove his rise to power and led to the Second World War and the Holocaust. Fiction. Love and Death in Vienna by Bunny Paines-Clemes. A novel about the tragic romance of Crown Prince Rudolf and Baroness Mary Vetsera. The Accidental Empress: A Novel by Allison Pataki. Fifteen-year-old Elisabeth, known as Sisi, travels to the Habsburg Court with her older sister, who is betrothed to the young emperor, but Franz Joseph declares his intention to marry Sisi instead. Sisi: Empress on Her Own by Allison Pataki. Married to Austrian emperor Franz Joseph, Sisi feels stifled by strict protocols and a turbulent marriage. An American in Vienna by Chip Wagar. Novel about a journalist who visits Austria in 1914 and witnesses the end of the Habsburg dynasty. Movies About the Habsburgs. These DVDs are formatted for North American audiences. Fall of Eagles. In the late 19th century, three ruling houses dominated Europe: the Hapsburgs of Austria-Hungary, the Romanovs of Russia, and Hohenzollerns of Germany. Lack of social reform and the First World War caused the vultures of revolution to start circling. This 13-part epic BBC drama features an all-star cast including Patrick Stewart and John Rhys-Davies. The Crown Prince. A 2006 mini-series about Crown Prince Rudolf, shot on location in Austria. Stars Max von Thun, Vittoria Puccini, Omar Sharif. Mayerling. A ballet about the tragedy of Crown Prince Rudolf. Sissi. A three-part German drama about Austrian Archduke Franz Joseph and Princess Elizabeth (Sissi) of Bavaria. Sometimes available at Amazon in various versions and languages. Mayerling. 1937 French film about the Rudolf tragedy, on videotape with English subtitles. Stars Charles Boyer as the prince and Danielle Darrieux as his mistress. Sometimes available on video. Mayerling. This 1968 movie stars Omar Sharif as Prince Rudolf and Catherine Deneuve as his mistress. The cast also includes Ava Gardner and James Mason. Sometimes available on video.