View source for Princess Sophie of Hohenberg

{{Short description|Daughter of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (1901–1990)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{One source|date=November 2022}}
{{More citations needed|date=November 2022}}
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{{Infobox noble
| name = Princess Sophie
| title = 
| image = The Austro Hungarian Empire Before the First World War Q81810-1.jpg
| caption = Princess Sophie as a girl
| CoA = 
| tenure = 
| predecessor = 
| father = [[Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria]]
| mother = [[Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg]]
| spouse = {{Marriage|Count Friedrich von Nostitz-Rieneck|8 September 1920|29 December 1973|end=d.}}
| issue = Count Erwein von Nostitz-Rieneck<br>Count Franz von Nostitz-Rieneck<br>Count Aloys von Nostitz-Rieneck<br>Countess Sophie von Nostitz-Rieneck
| successor = 
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1901|7|24|df=y}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1990|10|27|1901|7|24|df=y}}
| noble family = [[Hohenberg family|Hohenberg]]
| birth_place = [[Konopiště|Konopischt]], [[Kingdom of Bohemia]], [[Austria-Hungary]]
| death_place = [[Thannhausen, Styria|Thannhausen]], [[Austria]]
}}
'''Princess Sophie of Hohenberg''' (''Sophie Marie Franziska Antonia Ignatia Alberta von Hohenberg''; {{Birth date|1901|7|24|df=yes}} – {{Death date|1990|10|27|df=yes}}) was the only daughter of [[Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria]] and his wife [[Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg]], both of whom were assassinated in [[Sarajevo]] on 28 June 1914. [[Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand|This assassination]] triggered the [[First World War]], thus Sophie and her two brothers are sometimes described as the first orphans of the First World War.{{sfn|King|Woolmans|2013|p=XXXIV}}

==Early life==
[[File:Princess Sophie of Hohenberg-2.jpg|left|thumb|317x317px|Princess Sophie as a child]]
Princess Sophie was born on 24 July 1901 at [[Konopiště|Schloss Konopischt]] in Austria-Hungary (now in the [[Czech Republic]]), fifty kilometres south-east of [[Prague]]. This castle, situated in [[Bohemia]], was the favourite home of the Archduke and his wife.{{sfn|King|Woolmans|2013|p=120}} On 29 September 1902, the couple's first son, Maximilian, was born. A second son, Ernst, followed on 17 May 1904. In 1908, the Archduke's wife became pregnant again, but the fourth child, a boy, was stillborn on 7 November 1908.{{sfn|King|Woolmans|2013|p=119}}

Since the Archduke had sworn an oath that any children he had with his morganatic wife could never succeed to the throne,{{sfn|King|Woolmans|2013|p=58}} he envisaged a future for them that would be normal and tranquil. He wanted his sons to lead the uncomplicated life of a country squire, while he intended that his daughter, Sophie, would be happy at the side of a socially-suitable partner whom she loved. He hoped that his children would grow up to be private individuals who could enjoy life without material worries, while leading lives of anonymity. Sophie later said that she and her brothers were brought up to know they were nothing special. She stated that her father had been firm with his children, but never harsh or unjust.{{sfn|King|Woolmans|2013|p=107}}

==After assassination==
{{Unreferenced section|date=November 2022}}
After the assassination of her parents, Sophie and her two surviving brothers, [[Maximilian, Duke of Hohenberg|Maximilian]] and [[Prince Ernst von Hohenberg|Ernst]], were taken in by their mother's brother-in-law and their father's close friend and shooting partner, Prince Jaroslav von [[Thun und Hohenstein]].

In late 1918, their properties in [[Czechoslovakia]], including [[Konopiště]] and [[Chlumec nad Cidlinou]], were confiscated by the Czechoslovak government. The children moved to [[Vienna]] and [[Schloß Artstetten]].

==Marriage and issue==
{{Unreferenced section|date=December 2020}}
[[File:SophieAndFriedrich.jpg|thumb|Princess Sophie of Hohenberg & her husband Count Friedrich von Nostitz-Rienbeck]]
On 8 September 1920, Sophie married Count Friedrich von [[Nostitz (family)|Nostitz-Rieneck]] (1 November 1893 in [[Prague]] – 29 December 1973 in [[Graz]]), son of Count Erwein Felix von Nostitz-Rieneck and Countess Amalia Podstatzky-Lichtenstein, in [[Děčín|Tetschen]]. They had four children:
*Count Erwein von Nostitz-Rieneck (29 June 1921 in [[Jindřichovice (Sokolov District)|Heinrichsgrün]] – 11 September 1949 in [[Vysokaye]]), died in a [[German prisoners of war in the Soviet Union|Soviet POW camp]].
*Count Franz von Nostitz-Rieneck (2 February 1923 in [[Vienna]] – 23 February 1945 in [[Kościerzyna|Berent]]), killed on the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]].
*Count Aloys von Nostitz-Rieneck (12 August 1925 in Vienna – 22 April 2003 in [[Salzburg]]) married Countess Theresia von Waldburg zu Zeil und Trauchburg (born 8 August 1931 in Leutkirch im Allgäu), daughter of Erich, Prince of Waldburg-Zeil and Trauchburg, and Princess Monika of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg. They have four children.
*Countess Sophie von Nostitz-Rieneck (4 June 1929 in Vienna - 19 April 2024 in Thannhausen), married Baron Ernst von Gudenus (26 March 1916 in [[Madrid]] – 7 December 1972 in [[Weiz]]), son of Baron Erwein von Gudenus and Baroness Sidonia von Morsey genannt Picard. They have four children.

==Later life==
In 1938, following the ''[[Anschluss]]'' (the union of [[Austria]] and [[Germany]] under [[Adolf Hitler]]), her brothers Maximilian and Ernst were arrested by the [[Gestapo]] as a result of making anti-Nazi statements and deported to [[Dachau concentration camp]]. Their properties in Austria were confiscated by Nazi authorities.<ref>[http://www.sophie-hohenberg-czech-rep.eu/en/ Sophie Hohenberg site]</ref> They both survived their imprisonment in Dachau.

Sophie's husband died in 1973,{{sfn|King|Woolmans|2013|p=273}} after which she led a quiet life in Austria, accompanied at times by her grandchildren. In 1981, she visited Konopiště for the first time in sixty years. During this visit, she talked of how happy her family life had been there.{{sfn|King|Woolmans|2013|p=273}}

Sophie lived to be 89 years old, dying in October 1990 at [[Thannhausen, Austria]]. She was laid to rest beside the body of her husband in the family crypt of her son-in-law, Baron Ernst Gudenus, at nearby Weizberg.{{sfn|King|Woolmans|2013|p=273}} She had outlived both of her younger siblings by many years.

==Letter to Nedeljko Čabrinović==
During the trial of the men accused of murdering Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, the only defendant to express remorse was [[Nedeljko Čabrinović]], who expressed his regrets for what he had done and apologized to the children of the victims. Princess Sophie and her brothers were told about Čabrinović's apology and wrote a letter to him. In the letter, they said they had heard about his apology and stated that his conscience could be at peace because they forgave him for his role in the murder of their parents. Sophie and Max signed the letter, but Ernst refused. The letter was delivered personally to Čabrinović in his cell at [[Terezín|Theresienstadt]], in [[Bohemia]], by the Jesuit Father Anton Puntigam, who had given the last rites to Franz Ferdinand and his wife. On 23 January 1916, Princess Sophie and her brothers were informed that Čabrinović had died.{{sfn|King|Woolmans|2013|p=246}}

==Fictional appearances==
A fictional version of Princess Sophie, played by Danish actress Amalie Ihle Alstrup, appeared in "Vienna, November 1908", an episode of ''[[The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles]]'' later re-edited to form half of ''The Perils of Cupid''. [[Indiana Jones (character)|Young Indy]] falls in love with the princess and shares his first kiss with her, but is forbidden from seeing her further. Several times during the series, he is shown wearing a locket that contains her picture, which she gave to him.

==Ancestry==
{{ahnentafel
|collapsed=yes |align=center
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
|1= 1. '''Princess Sophie von Hohenberg'''
|2= 2. [[Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria]]
|3= 3. [[Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg|Countess Sophie Chotek of Chotkow and Wognin]]
|4= 4. [[Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria]]
|5= 5. [[Princess Maria Annunciata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies]]
|6= 6. [[Bohuslav, Count Chotek of Chotkow and Wognin]]
|7= 7. Countess Wilhelmine Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau
|8= 8. [[Archduke Franz Karl of Austria]]
|9= 9. [[Princess Sophie of Bavaria]]
|10= 10. [[Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies]]
|11= 11. [[Maria Theresa of Austria, Queen of the Two Sicilies|Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria]]
|12= 12. [[Karl, Count Chotek of Chotkow and Wognin]]
|13= 13. Countess Marie Berchtold, Baroness of Ungarschitz
|14= 14. Count Joseph Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau
|15= 15. Countess Marie Czernin of Chudenitz
}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book |last1=King |first1=Greg |last2=Woolmans |first2=Sue |date=2013 |title=The Assassination of the Archduke |publisher=Macmillan |isbn=978-1-447-24521-6}}

{{commons category|Princess Sophie of Hohenberg}}

{{Hohenberg family}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hohenberg, Sophie, Princess of}}
[[Category:1901 births]]
[[Category:1990 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Austrian women]]
[[Category:20th-century Czech people]]
[[Category:Austrian princesses|Sophie, Princess of Hohenberg]]
[[Category:Hohenberg family|Sophie, Princess]]
[[Category:Chotek family]]
[[Category:Nostitz family]]
[[Category:Czech people of Austrian descent]]
[[Category:German Bohemian people]]
[[Category:Czechoslovak refugees]]
[[Category:Austrian people of German Bohemian descent]]
[[Category:Austrian people of Czech descent]]
[[Category:German people of German Bohemian descent]]
[[Category:German people of Czech descent]]
[[Category:German people of Austrian descent]]
[[Category:People from Benešov]]