Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria Franz Ferdinand ( 18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914 ) was an Archduke of Austria - Este , Austro - Hungarian and Royal Prince of Hungary and of Bohemia , and from 1889 until his death , heir presumptive to the Austro - Hungarian throne . His assassination in Sarajevo precipitated Austria - Hungary ' s declaration of war against Serbia . This caused the Central Powers ( including Germany and Austria - Hungary ) and the Allies of World War I ( countries allied with Serbia or Serbia ' s allies ) to declare war on each other , starting World War I . Early life . He was born in Graz , Austria , the eldest son of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria ( younger brother of Franz Joseph and Maximilian ) and of his second wife , Princess Maria Annunciata of Bourbon - Two Sicilies . When he was only eleven years old , his cousin Duke Francis V of Modena died , naming Franz Ferdinand his heir on condition that he add the name Este to his own . Franz Ferdinand thus became one of the wealthiest men in Austria . Heir presumptive . In 1889 , Franz Ferdinand ' s life changed dramatically . His cousin Crown Prince Rudolf committed suicide at his hunting lodge in Mayerling . This left Franz Ferdinand ' s father , Karl Ludwig , as first in line to the throne . Karl Ludwig renounced the throne in favor of Franz Ferdinand almost immediately , and died of typhoid fever in 1896 . Henceforth , Franz Ferdinand was groomed to succeed to the throne . Despite this burden , he did manage to find time for travel and personal pursuits , such as the time he spent hunting kangaroo s and emus in Australia in 1893 , on to New Zealand , Nouméa , New Hebrides , Solomon Islands , New Guinea , Sarawak , Thailand , Hong Kong , Japan , and the return trip to Austria sailing across the Pacific on the RMS " Empress of China " from Yokohama to Vancouver . Military career . Franz Ferdinand , like most males in the ruling Habsburg line , entered the Austro - Hungarian Army at a young age . He was frequently and rapidly promoted , given the rank of lieutenant at age fourteen , captain at twenty - two , colonel at twenty - seven , and major general at thirty - one . While never receiving formal staff training , he was considered eligible for command and at one point briefly led the primarily Hungarian 9th Hussar Regiment . In 1898 he was given a commission " at the special disposition of His Majesty " to make inquiries into all aspects of the military services and military agencies were commanded to share their papers with him . He exerted influence on the armed forces even when he did not hold a specific command through a military chancery that produced and received documents and papers on military affairs . This was headed by Alexander Brosch von Aarenau and eventually employed a staff of sixteen . Franz in 1913 , as heir - presumptive to the elderly emperor , had been appointed inspector general of all the armed forces of Austria - Hungary ( " Generalinspektor der gesamten bewaffneten Macht " ) , a position superior to that previously held by Archduke Albrecht and including presumed command in wartime . Marriage and family . In 1894 Franz Ferdinand met Countess Sophie Chotek at a ball in Prague . To be eligible to marry a member of the Imperial House of Habsburg , one had to be a member of one of the reigning or formerly reigning dynasties of Europe . The Choteks were not one of these families , although they did include among their ancestors , in the female line , princes of Baden , Hohenzollern - Hechingen , and Liechtenstein . One of Sophie ' s direct ancestors was Albert IV , Count of Habsburg ; she was descended from Elisabeth of Habsburg , a sister of King Rudolph I of Germany . Franz Ferdinand was a descendant of King Rudolph I . Sophie was a lady - in - waiting to Archduchess Isabella , wife of Archduke Friedrich , Duke of Teschen . Franz Ferdinand began to visit Archduke Friedrich ' s villa in Pressburg ( now Bratislava ) . Sophie wrote to Franz Ferdinand during his convalescence from tuberculosis on the island of Lošinj in the Adriatic . They kept their relationship a secret for more than two years . Deeply in love , Franz Ferdinand refused to consider marrying anyone else . Pope Leo XIII , Tsar Nicholas II of Russia , and the German Emperor Wilhelm II all made representations on his behalf to Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria , arguing that the disagreement between Franz Joseph and Franz Ferdinand was undermining the stability of the monarchy . Finally , in 1899 , Emperor Franz Joseph agreed to permit Franz Ferdinand to marry Sophie , on condition that the marriage would be morganatic and that their descendants would not have succession rights to the throne . Sophie would not share her husband ' s rank , title , precedence , or privileges ; as such , she would not normally appear in public beside him . She would not be allowed to ride in the royal carriage or sit in the royal box in theaters . The wedding took place on 1 July 1900 , at Reichstadt ( now Zákupy ) in Bohemia ; Franz Joseph did not attend the affair , nor did any archduke including Franz Ferdinand ' s brothers . The only members of the imperial family who were present were Franz Ferdinand ' s stepmother , Princess Maria Theresa of Braganza , and her two daughters . Upon the marriage , Sophie was given the title " Princess of Hohenberg " ( " Fürstin von Hohenberg " ) with the style " Her Serene Highness " ( " Ihre Durchlaucht " ) . In 1909 , she was given the more senior title " Duchess of Hohenberg " ( " Herzogin von Hohenberg " ) with the style " Her Highness " ( " Ihre Hoheit " ) . This raised her status considerably , but she still yielded precedence at court to all the archduchesses . Whenever a function required the couple to assemble with the other members of the imperial family , Sophie was forced to stand far down the line , separated from her husband . Franz Ferdinand ' s children were : Character . The German historian Michael Freund described Franz Ferdinand as " a man of uninspired energy , dark in appearance and emotion , who radiated an aura of strangeness and cast a shadow of violence and recklessness . . . a true personality amidst the amiable inanity that characterized Austrian society at this time . " As his sometime admirer Karl Kraus put it , " he was not one who would greet you . . . he felt no compulsion to reach out for the unexplored region which the Viennese call their heart . " His relations with Emperor Franz Joseph were tense ; the emperor ' s personal servant recalled in his memoirs that " thunder and lightning always raged when they had their discussions . " The commentaries and orders which the heir to the throne wrote as margin notes to the documents of the Imperial central commission for architectural conservation ( where he was Protector ) reveal what can be described as " choleric conservativism . " The Italian historian Leo Valiani provided the following description . Franz Ferdinand had a fondness for trophy hunting that was excessive even by the standards of European nobility of this time . In his diaries he kept track of an estimated 300 , 000 game kills , 5 , 000 of which were deer . Approximately 100 , 000 trophies were on exhibit at his Bohemian castle at Konopiště which he also stuffed with various antiquities , his other great passion . Political views . Historians have disagreed on how to characterize the political philosophies of Franz Ferdinand , some attributing generally liberal views on the empire ' s nationalities while others have emphasized his dynastic centralism , Catholic conservatism , and tendency to clash with other leaders . He advocated granting greater autonomy to ethnic groups within the Empire and addressing their grievances , especially the Czechs in Bohemia and the south Slavic peoples in Croatia and Bosnia , who had been left out of the Austro - Hungarian compromise of 1867 . Yet his feelings towards the Hungarians were less generous , often described as antipathy . For example , in 1904 he wrote that " " The Hungarians are all rabble , regardless of whether they are minister or duke , cardinal or burgher , peasant , hussar , domestic servant , or revolutionary " " and he regarded even István Tisza as a revolutionary and " " patented traitor " " . He regarded Hungarian nationalism as a revolutionary threat to the Habsburg dynasty and reportedly became angry when officers of the 9th Hussars Regiment ( which he commanded ) spoke Hungarian in his presence - despite the fact that it was the official regimental language . He further regarded the Hungarian branch of the Dual Monarchy ’ s army , the Honvédség , as an unreliable and potentially threatening force within the empire , complaining at the Hungarians ' failure to provide funds for the joint army and opposing the formation of artillery units within the Hungarian forces . He also advocated a careful approach towards Serbia - repeatedly locking horns with Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf , Vienna ' s hard - line Chief of the General Staff , warning that harsh treatment of Serbia would bring Austria - Hungary into open conflict with Russia , to the ruin of both Empires . He was disappointed when Austria - Hungary failed to act as a Great Power , such as during the Boxer Rebellion , in 1900 . Other nations , including , in his description , " dwarf states like Belgium and Portugal " , had soldiers stationed in China , but Austria - Hungary did not . However , Austria - Hungary did participate in the Eight - Nation Alliance to suppress the Boxers , and sent soldiers as part of the " international relief force " . Franz Ferdinand was a prominent and influential supporter of the Austro - Hungarian Navy in a time when sea power was not a priority in Austrian foreign policy and the Navy was relatively little known and supported by the public . After his assassination in 1914 , the Navy honoured Franz Ferdinand and his wife with a lying in state aboard SMS " Viribus Unitis " . Assassination . On Sunday , 28 June 1914 , at approximately 10 : 45 am , Franz Ferdinand and his wife were killed in Sarajevo , the capital of the Austro - Hungarian province of Bosnia and Herzegovina , by Gavrilo Princip , 19 at the time , a member of Young Bosnia and one of a group of assassins organized by the Black Hand . The event led to a chain of events that eventually triggered World War I . Earlier in the day the couple had been attacked by a Nedeljko Čabrinović , who had thrown a grenade at their car . However , the bomb detonated behind them , hurting the occupants in the following car . On arriving at the Governor ' s residence Franz angrily shouted , " So this is how you welcome your guests - with bombs ? ! " After a short rest at the Governor ' s residence the royal couple insisted on seeing all those who had been injured by the bomb at the local hospital . Unfortunately , no one told the drivers that the itinerary had been changed . When the error was discovered the drivers had to turn around . As the cars backed down the street and onto a side street , the line of cars stalled . At this same time Princip was sitting at a cafe across the street . He instantly seized his opportunity and walked across the street and shot the royal couple . He first shot Sophie in the abdomen and then Franz Ferdinand shot in the neck . Franz leaned over his wife crying . He was still alive when witnesses arrived to render aid . His dying words to Sophie were , ' Don ' t die darling , live for our children . ' Princip ' s weapon was the Browning . 32 ACP cartridge , a relatively low - power round , and a pocket - sized FN model 1910 pistol . The archduke ' s aides attempted to undo his coat but realized they needed scissors to cut it open . It was too late ; he died within minutes . Sophie also died en route to the hospital . A detailed account of the shooting can be found in " Sarajevo " by Joachim Remak : One bullet pierced Franz Ferdinand ' s neck while the other pierced Sophie ' s abdomen . . . . As the car was reversing ( to go back to the Governor ' s residence because the entourage thought the Imperial couple were unhurt ) a thin streak of blood shot from the Archduke ' s mouth onto Count Harrach ' s right cheek ( he was standing on the car ' s running board ) . Harrach drew out a handkerchief to still the gushing blood . The Duchess , seeing this , called : " For Heaven ' s sake ! What happened to you ? " and sank from her seat , her face falling between her husband ' s knees . Harrach and Potoriek . . . thought she had fainted . . . only her husband seemed to have an instinct for what was happening . Turning to his wife despite the bullet in his neck , Franz Ferdinand pleaded : " " Sopherl ! Sopherl ! Sterbe nicht ! Bleibe am Leben für unsere Kinder ! " - Sophie dear ! Don ' t die ! Stay alive for our children ! " Having said this , he seemed to sag down himself . His plumed hat . . . fell off ; many of its green feathers were found all over the car floor . Count Harrach seized the Archduke by the uniform collar to hold him up . He asked " " Leiden Eure Kaiserliche Hoheit sehr ? " - Is Your Imperial Highness suffering very badly ? " " Es ist nichts - It is nothing " said the Archduke in a weak but audible voice . He seemed to be losing consciousness during his last few minutes , but , his voice growing steadily weaker , he repeated the phrase perhaps six or seven times more . A rattle began to issue from his throat , which subsided as the car drew in front of the Konak bersibin ( Town Hall ) . Despite several doctors ' efforts , the Archduke died shortly after being carried into the building while his beloved wife was almost certainly dead from internal bleeding before the motorcade reached the Konak . The assassinations , along with the arms race , nationalism , imperialism , militarism , and the alliance system all contributed to the origins of World War I , which began a month after Franz Ferdinand ' s death , with Austria - Hungary ' s declaration of war against Serbia . The assassination of Ferdinand is considered the most immediate cause of World War I . Franz Ferdinand is interred with his wife Sophie in Artstetten Castle , Austria . Commemorations . Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his Castle of Artstetten were selected as a main motif for the Austrian 10 euro The Castle of Artstetten commemorative coin , minted on 13 October 2004 . The reverse shows the entrance to the crypt of the Hohenberg family . There are two portraits below , showing Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie , Duchess of Hohenberg . The British band Franz Ferdinand named themselves after him .