Heir Presumptive
In 1889, Franz Ferdinand's life changed dramatically. His cousin Crown Prince Rudolf committed suicide at his hunting lodge in Mayerling, leaving Franz Ferdinand's father, Archduke Karl Ludwig, as first in line to the throne. His father renounced the throne shortly thereafter and ultimately died of typhoid fever after the Crown Prince's death. 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 kangaroos and emus in Australia in 1893, and the return trip to Austria sailing across the Pacific on the RMS Empress of China from Yokohama to Vancouver.
Read more about this topic: Archduke Franz Ferdinand Of Austria
Famous quotes containing the word heir:
“Is it not strange, that an infant should be heir of the whole world, and see those mysteries which the books of the learned never unfold?”
—Thomas Traherne (1636–1674)