Editing Franz Joseph I of Austria (section)

== Family ==
[[File:Die Familie des Kaisers von Österreich.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Painting of Franz Joseph with his family]]

It was generally felt in the court that the emperor should marry and produce heirs as soon as possible. Various potential brides were considered, including [[Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska of Austria|Princess Elisabeth of Modena]], [[Princess Anna of Prussia]] and [[John, King of Saxony#Marriage and issue|Princess Sidonia of Saxony]].<ref>''[https://books.google.com/books?id=d_rlZKhgaekC Twilight of the Habsburgs: The Life and Times of Emperor Francis Joseph By Alan Palmer]''</ref> Although in public life Franz Joseph was the unquestioned director of affairs, in his private life his mother still wielded crucial influence. Sophie wanted to strengthen the relationship between the Houses of [[House of Habsburg-Lorraine|Habsburg]] and [[House of Wittelsbach|Wittelsbach]]—descending from the latter house herself—and hoped to match Franz Joseph with her sister [[Princess Ludovika of Bavaria|Ludovika's]] eldest daughter, [[Duchess Helene in Bavaria|Helene]] ("Néné"), who was four years the emperor's junior.

However, Franz Joseph fell deeply in love with Néné's younger sister [[Empress Elizabeth of Austria|Elisabeth]] ("Sisi"), a beautiful girl of 15, and insisted on marrying her instead. Sophie acquiesced, despite her misgivings about Sisi's appropriateness as an imperial consort, and the young couple were married on 24 April 1854 in [[Augustinian Church, Vienna|St. Augustine's Church]], Vienna.{{sfn|Murad|1968|p=242}}

[[File:Mariage de Sissi et François-Joseph.png|thumb|Marriage of Franz Joseph and Elisabeth.]]

Their marriage would eventually prove to be an unhappy one; though Franz Joseph was passionately in love with his wife, the feeling was not mutual. Elisabeth never truly acclimatized to life at court, and was frequently in conflict with the imperial family. Their first daughter Sophie died as an infant, and their only son [[Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria|Rudolf]] died by suicide in 1889 in the infamous [[Mayerling Incident]].{{sfn|Murad|1968|p=127}}

[[File:Emperor Franz Joseph and his only son.jpg|thumb|Emperor Franz Joseph hunting with his only son [[Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria]].]]

In 1885, Franz Joseph met [[Katharina Schratt]], a leading actress of the Vienna stage, and she became his friend and confidante. This relationship lasted the rest of his life, and was—to a certain degree—tolerated by Elisabeth. Franz Joseph built Villa Schratt in [[Bad Ischl]] for her, and also provided her with a small palace in Vienna.{{sfn|Murad|1968|p=120}} Though their relationship lasted for 34 years, it remained platonic.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Morton |first=Frederic |url=https://archive.org/details/thunderattwiligh00mort |title=Thunder at Twilight: Vienna 1913/1914 |year=1989 |isbn=978-0-684-19143-0 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/thunderattwiligh00mort/page/85 85–86] |publisher=Scribner |url-access=registration}}</ref>

The empress was an inveterate traveller, horsewoman, and fashion maven who was rarely seen in Vienna. Sisi was obsessed about preserving her beauty, carrying out many bizarre routines and strenuous exercise, and as a result suffered from ill health. She was [[Empress Elisabeth of Austria#Assassination|stabbed to death]] by [[Luigi Lucheni|an Italian anarchist]] in 1898 while on a visit to Geneva. A few days after the funeral, [[Robert I, Duke of Parma|Robert of Parma]] wrote in a letter to his friend [[Tirso de Olazábal y Lardizábal|Tirso de Olazábal]] that "It was pitiful to look at the Emperor, he showed a great deal of energy in his immense pain, but at times one could see all the immensity of his grief."<ref>The letter is available [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Letter_from_Robert,_Duke_of_Parma,_to_Tirso_de_Olaz%C3%A1bal_(Sep._1898).pdf here]</ref> Franz Joseph never fully recovered from the loss. According to the future empress [[Zita of Bourbon-Parma]] he told his relatives: "You'll never know how important she was to me" or, according to some sources, "You will never know how much I loved this woman."{{sfn|Murad|1968|p=117}}

===Relationship with Franz Ferdinand===

[[Archduke Franz Ferdinand]] became [[heir presumptive]] (''Thronfolger'') to the throne of Austria-Hungary in 1896 after the deaths of his cousin Rudolf (in 1889) and his father Karl Ludwig (in 1896). The relationship between him and Franz Joseph had always been a fairly contentious one, which was further exacerbated when Franz Ferdinand announced his desire to marry [[Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg|Countess Sophie Chotek]]. The emperor would not even consider giving his blessing to the union, as Sophie was merely of noble rank, not dynastic rank.

Although the emperor received letters from members of the imperial family throughout the fall and winter of 1899 beseeching him to relent, Franz Joseph stood his ground.{{sfn|Palmer|1994|p=288}} He finally gave his consent in 1900. However, the marriage was to be [[Morganatic marriage|morganatic]], and any children of the marriage would be ineligible to succeed to the throne.{{sfn|Palmer|1994|p=289}} The couple were married on 1 July 1900 at [[Zákupy|Reichstadt]]. The emperor did not attend the wedding, nor did any of the archdukes. After that, the two men disliked and mistrusted each other.{{sfn|Murad|1968|p=120}}

His interactions with Franz Ferdinand were strained; the emperor's personal attendant recollected in his memoirs that:<br> ''"thunder and lightning always raged when they had their discussions."''<ref>Ketterl, Eugen. ''Der alte Kaiser wie nur einer ihn sah''. Cissy Klastersky (ed.), Gerold & Co., Vienna 1929</ref> 

Following the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and Sophie in 1914, Franz Joseph's daughter, Marie Valerie, noted that her father expressed his greater confidence in the new heir presumptive, his grandnephew Archduke Charles. The emperor admitted to his daughter, regarding the assassination: <br>''"For me, it is a relief from a great worry."''{{sfn|Palmer|1994|p=324}}