When I saw this picture with Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria-Hungary and crown prince William of Prussia that they took in 1885, many thoughts came through my mind. I thought first about all the connections they had with tragic stories but also with Corfu, and I asked myself what would have happened if things were different for both of them?
How would history be today if Rudolf became the Emperor of Austria-Hungary and William II never ascended the throne?
Here is what happened!
Wilhelm II or William II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert 1859 –1941) was the last Kaiser or German Emperor and King of Prussia. He reined from June 1888 until his abdication in November 1918.
Rudolf The Crowned Prince of Austria (1858 to 1889) was the only son and third child of Emperor Franz Joseph I, and Elisabeth Sisi of Bavaria.
Franz Joseph I (1830 to 1916) was the Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. He was the monarch of other states in the Austria-Hungarian Empire, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, from December 1848 until his death in November 1916.
Elisabeth (Sisi) (1837 to 1898) was married to Franz Joseph I and became Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary.
Archduke Franz Ferdinand (1863 to 1914) was next in line to the throne of Austria-Hungary. To this day, it is believed that his assassination in Sarajevo was the beginning of World War One.
In 1885, Kaiser William I took Prince William II to meet Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary. In 1888, Kaiser William I. died in Berlin and Frederick III (father of Prince William II.) ascended the throne but only 99 days later he died from cancer. On June 15, 1885, 29-year-old William II was positioned as a conservative and succeeded as German Emperor and King of Prussia.
The two rulers had a significant age difference. William belonged to a younger generation and was actually almost the same age as Franz Joseph’s son Crown Prince Rudolph whom he was often compared to.
As propaganda spread, you would think the two princes and their empires would have been drawn together but in reality, it was clearly the opposite due to very different opinions and competitive mindsets. This mindset only increased when William came into power in 1888 while Rudolph remained in limbo.
By age 6, Rudolf started his education for the future as Emperor of Austria in 1881. He married Princess Stephanie of Belgium but after his daughter Elisabeth was born, Stephanie could not bear any more children. The prospect of a potential heir to the throne of Rudolf looked very dim. Rudolf reached out asking for a divorce from the Pope but was dodged by his father Emperor Franz Joseph. In 1888, the 30-year-old Crown Prince met 17-year-old Marie Freiin von Vetsera and they started an affair.
Marie Freiin von Vetsera
During this time, Rudolf felt abused and harassed by his father who would not let him have a say in anything. In 1888, Crown Prince William II, who was only one year younger than Rudolf, became the German Emperor giving him the ability to implement his ideas for a more modern Germany. Rudolf was thirty and thought of his situation as an unholy silence which was an oppressive silence before the storm. This led to a resigned crown prince who saw no future for himself or dreams for a modern Austria. It would have taken another 30 years before he could ascend the throne in 1916, which never happened.
On January 30, 1889, Rudolf and his young mistress Baroness Marie Freiin von Vetsera were found dead in his lodge Mayerling in Lower Austria as a result of suicide. Suicide would have prevented Rudolf from a church burial, therefore, it was officially declared that he suffered from a mental imbalance and was buried in the Imperial Crypt of the Capuchin Church in Vienna.
In 2015, Vetsera’s letters were found in a safety deposit box in an Austrian bank. They revealed that Marie and Rudolf were preparing to commit suicide out of love.
Due to the death of her son Rudolf, Elisabeth fell into an enormous depression. She would only wear black or gray, the only colors worn for mourning, and wore those colors for the rest of her life. She commissioned the building of Achilleion palace on Corfu Island in Greece as a private refuge from the world. She only received her daughters Marie and Gisela with their husbands. Franz Joseph, her husband, did not like sea voyages and never saw the palace. Elisabeth visited the palace but at one time considered selling it. Emperor Franz Joseph hoped his wife would finally settle into her palace, but she chose to travel endlessly as an escape from her life and misery.
In 1898 Elisabeth, who was now 60, traveled to Geneva, Switzerland incognito. Someone at the Hotel Beau-Rivage told people that she was a guest at the hotel. In September 1898, Elisabeth and her lady-in-waiting, Irma Sztáray, left the hotel on foot along the shore of Lake Geneva to catch the steamship for Montreux.
While walking along the promenade, a 25-year-old anarchist Luigi Lucheni approached them and pretending to peer under her parasol. According to Sztáray, the ship’s bell announced their departure and it seemed that Lucheni stumbled, losing his balance by raising his arm. In reality, he had stabbed Elisabeth with a sharp object that was hidden in a wooden handle. The entire empire went into deep mourning.
Achilleion Palace 1910
Elisabeth’s daughter, Archduchess Gisela, inherited Achilleion. In 1905, William II arrived in Corfu to visit King George of Greece who was the father-in-law of his sister Sophia. He also visited Achilleion which had not been used since the death of Empress Elisabeth. At this time, King George suggested William buy the palace.
In 1907, Kaiser William purchased Achilleion and used it as a summer residence. During many of his visits, there were several diplomatic activities taking place and it quickly became the hub for European diplomacy and the Greek family and William’s sister Sophia of Prussia often visiting Corfu. The Kaiser often invited intellectuals to his retreat including William Dörpfeld, the German archaeologist involved in the excavations at the site of the Temple of Artemis.
Usually, William visited Achilleion during the Easter season for the festivities and events taking place in Corfu. Also, the German royal family paid a visit for one month out of the year until the outbreak of World War One.
Franz Joseph’s younger brother Archduke Karl Ludwig was next in line to the Austria-Hungary throne until his death in 1896 from typhoid, making Archduke Franz Ferdinand the new heir to the throne.
William’s relationship with Franz Ferdinand was much better than his relationship with Rudolf. The two men were closer, ideologically, and at times were sympathetic to each other.
On June 28, 1914, Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated in Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip who was a member of the Young Bosnia. William was deeply shocked and supported Austria-Hungary in crushing the Black Hand which was a secret organization that plotted the killing. It even sanctioned the use of force by Austria against the movement by Serbia. In turn, Franz Ferdinand’s assassination led to the July Crisis which was seen as a declaration of war against Serbia which triggered several events that eventually started World War One.
Greece was neutral for a long time and one reason was the conflict between, King of Greece Constantine I (who was married to Sophia, the sister of the German emperor William II) and Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos regarding the foreign policy of Greece between 1910 to 1922. The deciding factor was whether Greece should enter the war. Venizelos supported the allies (Entente Cordiale) and wanted Greece to join the war on their side. The King wanted Greece to remain neutral which would favor the plans of the Central Powers.
Serbia was occupied by Austro-German and Bulgarian troops while the Serbs were blocked from any possible escape route. The only passage left would be Kosovo Valley. On November 25, the Serbian leaders decided to retreat through Albania. The retreat was followed by the Serbian army, Prime Minister Nikola Pasic, Putnick, King Peter I Karadjordjevic, and his son Alexander. Due to the fear of violence, most Serbian refugees withdrew. The Great Retreat lasted approximately 3 weeks and was it unknown how many people were lost. A report by the General and Minister of Military Affairs of Serbia said there were 243,877 people lost in Albania.
Serbian retreat through Albanian mountains 1915
The French came up with an alternative to complete the operation. Occupy Corfu which was near to the Albanian coast and would not draw the attention of the Greek government. The occupation of Corfu began on January 10, 1916 and ended in a few days, but one point was overlooked, no one got permission from Athens.
This action violated Greek neutrality as well as the Treaty of London (March 29, 1864) in which Corfu and Paxos, should be neutral as well as demilitarized territories. The allies justified this by pointing out humanitarian efforts and protection efforts to reorganize the Serbs. The Greek prime minister was assured that occupation was temporary and there would not be any political consequences until the Serbs could fight again. In a short period of time, thousands of refugees and children along with troops filled Corfu. The disembarkation was around 150,000, taking place in the bay of Gouvia. Corfu to the Serbs was the “Island of Salvation”. The green landscape of Corfu could not be matched by Albania’s snowy mountainous landscape. All thought Corfu was beautiful including the sun and greenery, according to a Serbian soldier.
Serbian soldiers in Corfu 1916
Achilleion was occupied by 100 French soldiers, which was of significant importance, especially considering this was the residence of the Kaiser of Germany, William II, his staff were placed under guard and the palace was converted into a hospital with 500 beds.
Achilleion Palace as a hospital 1917
Emperor Franz-Joseph died in November 1916 at the age of 86 and succeeded by his grandnephew, Karl I of Austria. The demands of the American President, Woodrow Wilson, forced Emperor Karl to renounce involvement in state affairs in Vienna as early as November 1918.
The Austro-Hungarian Empire no longer existed and the republic came into power without a revolution. Karl went into exile in Switzerland along with his family.
On November 10, 1918, William II crossed the border by train and went into exile in the Netherlands. The Netherlands remained neutral throughout the entire war.
On 28 November 28th, William II issued a statement of abdication from the Prussian and imperial thrones, ending the 500-year rule over Prussia by the Hohenzollerns. He accepted the reality that he lost both his crowns for good, he gave up his rights to “the throne of Prussia” and to the German Imperial throne.
He released his soldiers and officials in Prussia and the empire from any loyalties to him. He purchased a country home in the municipality of Doorn and moved into the residence on May 25, 1920. He died of a pulmonary embolism in Doorn, Netherlands, on June 4, 1941, at the age of 82, just weeks before the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union.
Kaiser William in Exile 1933
After the war, Achilleion was turned over to Greece granted by the treaty of Versailles. From 1921 to 1924, it served as an orphanage for Armenians from Constantinople. During the remaining years between two world wars, the Achilleion property was used for several government functions and several artifacts were auctioned off. During World War II the Axis powers used Achilleion as military headquarter. At the end of the war, Achilleion came under the management of the Hellenic Tourist Organization.
Casino in Achilleion -James Bond “For your eyes only” 1981
In 1962 it was leased to a private organization that turned the upper level into a casino and the lower grounds into a museum. In 1982, the lease was terminated and the property was turned back over to the Hellenic Tourist Organization. Later on, it was acquired by the Greek National Tourism Organization.
Achilleion Palace
History, like all other aspects of life, starts off with the unknown. Over many years and time, we see a clearer picture and a moment as a Monday Morning Quarterback. If we knew then what we know now, I wonder what the outcome would have been? Too many people turn their backs on history as insignificant when in reality, you can learn from the past in hopes of making now and tomorrow a better place.
Photo credits: Operateur S/Wikimedia Commons-Public Domain-Wikimedia Commons-Casino Corfu,Greece,For Your Eyes Only(James Bond locations)
