Franz Ferdinand does not want throne

October 25, 1900

Archduke Franz Ferdinand will shortly renounce his right of succession to the Austro-Hungarian throne in favor of his brother, Otto,  and the latter's son, Archduke Karl.  This news is based on dispatch from Budapest and reported in the Berlin Tageblatt, according to the New York Times.

Earlier this year, Franz Ferdinand married Countess Sophie von Chotek.  On June 28 at the Hofburg, the archduke, in the presence of  the Emperor Franz Josef, other members of the Imperial family and the government, took "a formal oath" acknowledging that his marriage would be morganatic, and his children would not have dynastic rights.   The emperor gave the title Princess of Hohenberg to Franz Ferdinand's wife.

If this Berlin report is to be believe, Archduke Otto, the new heir presumptive, is 35-years-old.  He is married to Princess  Maria Josepha of Saxony, and they have two sons, Archduke Karl and Archduke Maximilian.