The Archduke Franz Ferdinand has always been a footnote to history – just a name whose death triggered the horrors of World War 1. His wife, Sophie, has barely even been a footnote. The only thing known about them is that they were assassinated in Sarajevo – and that Franz Ferdinand’s dying words were for his wife and children.
These stark facts inspired Greg and Sue to spend years researching the story behind the people. And the more they dug, the more they found that Franz Ferdinand and Sophie’s true personalities have been buried under years of misinformation. The couple, and their convention-defying marriage, pushed the boundaries of the society they lived in, and they were not popular for doing so. They got a bad press then and they still get one now. Greg and Sue want to revise their image, to show the humanity behind the myth. The centenary of the assassinations was the ideal time to do this.
This postcard – and the one above – were issued to mark the engagement of Franz Ferdinand and Sophie.