Died of Unnatural Causes

Not all Habsburgs were granted the privilege of breathing their last in peace and quiet. Some had to pay for their positions of power with premature deaths: Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, for instance, succeeded in rising to imperial status in Latin America but with little success and for only a brief term. Empress Elisabeth was stabbed by an anarchist, and the heir to the throne Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated. Others for their part chose to take their lives, the most famous of these being Crown Prince Rudolf.