Sophie chotek biography

Wife of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg (German: Sophie Marie Josephine Albina Gräfin Chotek von Chotkow und Wognin; Czech: Žofie Marie Josefína Albína hraběnka Chotková z Chotkova a Vojnína; 1 March 1868 – 28 June 1914) was the wife of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne.

Their assassination in Sarajevo sparked a series of events that led, four weeks later, to World War I.

Early life and ancestry

Countess Sophie Chotek von Wognin was born in Stuttgart as the fifth child and fourth daughter of Count Bohuslav Chotek von Chotkow und Wognin and his wife, Countess Wilhelmine Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau (1838–1886).

Her father was a Bohemian aristocrat, by birth member of an old House of Chotek, who served as AustrianAmbassador to the royal courts of Stuttgart, Saint Petersburg and Brussels.^[1][2][3][4]

As a young woman, Sophie