St. Stephen scene of splendor at Franz Joseph's funeral

December 1, 1916

By special cable to the New York Times

The funeral of the late Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria took place today (November 30) at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna.  The church was "crammed in every corner with a brilliant congregations of Kings, Crown Princes, Archdukes, diplomats, prelates, statesmen, and other personages."
The simpler bier "had been improvised" at the front of the altar.  In the center of the front row was "the very young new Emperor Karl, wearing the simple field gray uniform an Austrian Field Marshall, and, at his right the girlish Empress Zita, a slender figure, heavily veiled."  To the left and right of the imperial couple were King Ferdinand of Bulgaria and King Ludwig of Bavaria.  On the "same royal mourners' bench:  Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany, "fresh from the front," the King of Saxony and the "middle-aged" Crown Prince of Turkey, in "khaki and fancy fez," and the Bulgarian crown prince. The benches behind "were crowded by practically all of the rulers or Princes of States of the German Federation," including Kaiser Wilhelm II's son-in-law, Ernst August, Duke of Brunswick, and the young Crown Prince of Saxony.  On the opposite side of the bier "was a solid array of Austrian archdukes, blazing with color, mostly in bright blue Hussar coats of rich beaver collars."  This was in contrast to the "crepe-draped women members" of the Austrian Imperial family.
Other prominent royals who attended the funeral were the Grand Duke of Baden, Dukes Philipp and Robert of Württemberg, Infante Fernando of Spain,  and a "long train of other German princes.
From St. Stephen's the procession moved through the streets for four blocks to the church of the Capuchins, "with strict observance of the ancient Spanish ceremonial," Franz Joseph was laid to rest in the imperial vault.
It is estimated that "over  a half a million Viennese turned out to see the funeral procession."
Members of the diplomatic corps, were also present and "neutral royal visitors," including the Crown Prince of Sweden and Prince Waldemar of Denmark."