Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria

Rudolf
Crown Prince of Austria
Prince Royal of Hungary and Bohemia
Rudolf in 1887
Born(1858-08-21)21 August 1858
Schloss Laxenburg, Laxenburg, Lower Austria, Austrian Empire
Died30 January 1889(1889-01-30) (aged 30)
Mayerling, Lower Austria, Austria-Hungary
Burial
Spouse
(m. 1881)
IssueElisabeth Marie, Princess Otto of Windisch-Graetz
Names
German: Rudolf Franz Karl Josef
English: Rudolph Francis Charles Joseph
HouseHabsburg-Lorraine
FatherFranz Joseph I of Austria
MotherElisabeth in Bavaria
ReligionRoman Catholicism
SignatureRudolf's signature

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 of Austria and Duchess Elisabeth of Bavaria (Sisi). He was heir apparent to the imperial throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire from birth. In 1889, he died in a suicide pact with his mistress Baroness Mary Vetsera at the Mayerling hunting lodge.[1] The ensuing scandal made international headlines.

  1. ^ As documented in several autograph letters by the two unfortunate lovers ANSA newsbrief (in Italian)