Editing Zita of Bourbon-Parma (section)

==Wife of the heir to Austrian throne==
At this time, Archduke Charles was in his twenties and did not expect to become emperor for some time, especially while Franz Ferdinand remained in good health. This changed on 28 June 1914 when the heir and his wife [[Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg|Sophie]] were [[Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria|assassinated]] in [[Sarajevo]] by [[Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Bosnian Serb]] nationalists. Charles and Zita received the news by telegram that day. She said of her husband, "Though it was a beautiful day, I saw his face go white in the sun."<ref name="Brook-Shepherd"/>{{Rp|30}}

In the [[World War I|war]] that followed, Charles was promoted to [[General]] in the [[Austro-Hungarian army]], taking command of the 20th Corps for an offensive in [[Tyrol (state)|Tyrol]].<ref name="Brook-Shepherd"/>{{Rp|36}} The war was personally difficult for Zita, as several of her brothers fought on opposing sides in the conflict ([[Felix of Bourbon-Parma|Prince Felix]] and [[Prince René of Bourbon-Parma|Prince René]] had joined the Austrian army, while [[Sixtus of Bourbon-Parma|Prince Sixtus]] and [[Xavier, Duke of Parma|Prince Xavier]] lived in France before the war and enlisted in the [[Belgian army]].)<ref name="Brook-Shepherd"/>{{Rp|33}} Also her country of birth, [[Italy]], joined the war against Austria in 1915, and so rumours of the 'Italian' Zita began to be muttered. Even as late as 1917, the German ambassador in Vienna, [[Botho von Wedel|Count Botho von Wedel-Jarlsberg]], would write to [[Berlin]] saying "The Empress is descended from an Italian princely house... People do not entirely trust the Italian and her brood of relatives."<ref name="Brook-Shepherd"/>{{Rp|36}}

At Franz Joseph's request, Zita and her children left their residence at [[Schloss Hetzendorf]] and moved into a suite of rooms at [[Schönbrunn Palace]]. Here, Zita spent many hours with the old Emperor on both formal and informal occasions, where [[Franz Joseph]] confided in her his fears for the future.<ref name="Brook-Shepherd"/>{{Rp|39}} Emperor Franz Joseph died of [[bronchitis]] and [[pneumonia]] at the age of 86 on 21 November 1916. "I remember the dear plump figure of [[Lobkowicz family|Prince Lobkowitz]] going up to my husband," Zita later recounted, "and, with tears in his eyes, making the sign of the cross on Charles's forehead. As he did so he said, 'May God bless Your Majesty.' It was the first time we had heard the Imperial title used to us."<ref name="Brook-Shepherd"/>{{Rp|41}}