Her Highness : a story about Sophie Chotek

Abstract

The assassinations of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie Chotek are generally looked upon as little more than catalysts for the beginning of World War I (the most destructive and brutal war in history up to that point). Franz and Sophie are more likened to a pair of falling dominoes or a lit match next to a keg of dynamite than they are to actual people with feelings, desires, fears, and obstacles. I wrote a play about the love story that developed between Sophie Chotek and Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The play follows their relationship from their initial courtship, through their star-crossed marriage, their deaths at Sarajevo, and finally their funerals. This play does not aim to separate Sophie Chotek and Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s personal lives from their vital role in history, rather it hopes to integrate them to show that their assassinations were not only the start of an impending disaster, but a tragedy in its own right.