Maximilian and Charlotte as a young couple (around 1857)Īnother reason for passing up on the Greek throne was that there still remained bigger fish to fry. Apart from the fact that neither he nor his wife Charlotte, a Belgian Princess he had married in 1857, really wanted to go to Greece, Max stated that he would never accept a crown that had already been offered unsuccessfully to half a dozen other princes. Even Queen Victoria supported his candidacy, and she was usually hard to win over. Early in 1863 Ferdinand Maximilian was offered the throne of Greece, after King Otto I had been expelled from the country. The prospect of being a crowned monarch, for example, instead of a mere archduke was music to his ears. When Austria lost most of its Italian possessions after the war of 1859, the frustrated archduke retired to Trieste where he built Miramare Castle and spent his days reading, collecting, writing poems and dreaming of a task suitable for his talent and position. Two years later the emperor dismissed his younger brother from this position because he considered Max’s policies too liberal. In 1857 Ferdinand Max was appointed governor-general of Lombardy-Venetia. It did not improve the relationship with his elder brother that Max was also charming and approachable and a popular public figure, quite different from the aloof and self-contained emperor. His position was that of inspector general of the navy – a high rank, but certainly not a central one. Unfortunately his position within the family did not provide him with anything useful to do apart from travelling. The fact that Archduke Max remained second in line and that the heir to the throne was a vulnerable child should become a bone of contention for the two brothers soon enough.įerdinand Maximilian was well educated, a sailor prince trained in the Austrian navy, adventurous, clever and ambitious. The construction of the Votive Church on the Ringstraße (still a major tourist attraction in Vienna) began in 1856 the church was consecrated on 24 April 1879 on the occasion of Franz Joseph’s and Empress Elisabeth’s silver anniversary.įive years after the gruesome attack on the emperor’s life Ferdinand Maximilian’s place in the line of succession was taken by Franz Joseph’s son Rudolf (1858-89). The remarkable act of brotherly love and Christian devotion met with an enormous response funds were solicited from throughout the empire. Archduke Ferdinand Max immediately called upon the good people of Vienna for donations to build a church as a votive offering for the survival of the emperor. Since Franz Joseph was unmarried and had no children his brother Ferdinand Maximilian (born in 1832) would have succeeded him to the throne. While the assassin was first tried and then executed a week after his heinous attempt on the emperor’s life, services were held to thank God for holding His hand over the youthful monarch. This close shave left Vienna and the imperial family in utter excitement. Reiner, Assassination attempt on the Emperor (1853)
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