Rudolf

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Crown Prince Rudolf, the only son of Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth, owes his world-wide fame mainly to the mystery at Mayerling, where he sought death with this seventeen-year-old mistress Mary Vetsera. Yet his ignominious death was preceded by a very eventful life spent against the courtly splendour of the imperial city and, conversely, among the intellectuals and supposedly revolutionary minds of late nineteenth-century Vienna. This contradiction may explain why his fascinating personality continues to hold our attention one hundred years after the catastrophe. Rudolf's life, which covered a mere thirty years, is here documented through contemporary illustrations, photos, paintings and records from various family archives. As might be expected, the events centring on Mayerling have received particular emphasis in this representation.