Rudolph (1858–1889)

Crown prince of Austria, the only son of Emperor Franz Joseph. He married Princess Stephanie of Belgium in 1881 and they had one daughter, Elizabeth. In 1889 he and his mistress, Baroness Marie Vetsera, were found shot in his hunting lodge at Mayerling, near Vienna. The official verdict was suicide, although there were rumours that it was perpetrated by Jesuits, or Hungarian nobles, among others.

From an early age he showed progressive views that brought him into conflict with his father. He conceived and helped to write a history of the Austro-Hungarian empire.