Crown Prince Rudolf’s death left a young daughter in mourning, but her grandfather, Emperor Franz Joseph, stepped into the breech to become guardian of young Elisabeth Marie, future Archduchess. Though the two were close, Elisabeth was a fiery child who balked at convention, much like her father. She cajoled her grandfather into approving her first…
Tag: Scandals
24. Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria and The Mayerling Incident
Content warning: Suicide This week, we take a little trip over to the Austro-Hungarian Emprire in the latter half of the 19th century to meet one of the more scandalous figures of his age – and a man whose death most likely put the world on the path toward World War I. Crown Prince Rudolf…
22. A Scandalous Beginning: Sir John Conroy, Lord Melbourne, and the Lady Flora Hastings Affair
Queen Victoria was just 18 when she assumed the throne in the United Kingdom in 1837. She ruled for more than 63 years and is considered truly one of the great monarchs in history, but her reign did not start without a few hiccups. Looking at her first two years on the throne or so,…
05. The Affair of the Diamond Necklace
Unsurprisingly, the French Revolution didn’t happen particularly spontaneously. Years of financial mismanagement, poor crops, massive unemployment, and a swelling population in Paris itself all contributed to a growing dissatisfaction with King Louis XVI and the monarchy in general. The King’s cause wasn’t helped at all by a lingering suspicion that his wife, Queen Marie Antoinette,…