Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor
The play was completed in 1823, but publication was delayed by censorship issues, notably the "unfortunate allusion to Napoleon's second marriage to Marie-Louise of Austria, and its unfavourable portrayal of Bohemia". The wife of Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, Caroline Augusta of Bavaria read the play and urged her husband to allow it to be publicly performed, which took place for the first time on 19 February 1825 in Vienna's Burgtheater.