TR009 The Archduke Franz-Ferdinand & His Wife Sophie

On Sunday, 28 June 1914 the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, the Archduchess Sophie were on a visit to Sarajevo, the capital of the Austro-Hungarian providence of Bosnia Herzegovina. While there a young Bosnian extremist, Gavrilo Princip, shot and killed the Royal couple as they drove through the city. The assassinations, along with a European arms race, hyper-nationalism, the military ambitions of Imperial Germany and a toxic system of political alliances all contributed to the outbreak of the First World War just a few short weeks after Franz Ferdinand’s violent death. King & Country’s two newest and alas ill-fated royal couple shows the Arch Duke and his wife in a lighter, happier moment before the tragic events of 28 June 1914.