History’s Most Enduring Tragedy

[@BeverlyStokley]

How many women did he give syphilis? In a time with no cure. Disgusting

[@DianeBenoit-o8d]

He was too much of a coward to go alone.

[@joyfulyes]

Yes, and it's kind of bizarre how people believed people who died together would go to the afterlife together. I mean, I can see why people believed that. But it's bizarre to me.

[@cattymajiv]

@joyfulyes I agree. People believe all kinds of weird things with no basis in reality!

[@momv2pa]

I had heard Rudolph asked several lovers to join him in a suicide pact, and Mary was the first to say yes. Rudolph’s brain could have been affected by the syphilis and he was already depressed. There is much we will never know.

[@jojokeane]

Even syphilis can't be blamed for his cowardice.

[@Foxxx1953]

It can drive people completely potty.

[@Nannas-cp5nd]

It's unbelievable the way people comment here😂 'I have heard that etc. As if this is some story that happened yesterday and now everyone talks and gossips around. While the truth is nothing can ever be known about what was happening,plus why should it?

[@cattymajiv]

@jojokeane Syphilis destroys the brain extensively. It causes Traumatic Brain Injury or TBI, which can cause ANY kind of aberration of thinking or behavior. Google it!

[@gradgurl2007]

I was always told this story as being romantic and that Rudolf was the victim. I had no idea he was a freaking predator.

[@cherylschantz9893]

He was.

[@katarzynamariamuszynska2811]

Yes that what i think ,good you thinking the same He was 30 years old who talked into suicide 17 naive girl in love Nothing romantic

[@brosisparty4194]

@@katarzynamariamuszynska2811I agrée, nothing romantic about this sad story 😢

[@Maridun50]

Yes - it is indeed hideous to pass this off as romantic, but apparently the Mayerling drama sparked a wave of "romantic" suicide-pacts between desperate lovers all across Europe. In Denmark the "Elvira Madigan" drama was believed to be inspired by the Mayerling drama. Elvira - a circus-princess - eloped with her lover, a Swedish, married lieutenant, and they were later found shot in the woods. They were buried together.

[@tanyaogrady2240]

So how did Mary die,

[@andreharris7211]

This is so different from the romantic tale told in operas and movies where they commit suicide because that is the only way they can stay together. What a despicable man.

[@Silverfern2424]

Loved this little window into history. Beautifully read and love the Scottish accent 👍🌹🌹🌹

[@joannejordan8684]

Who is the Scotsman?

[@larrybyrne111]

Very insightful. I was aware of the impact Rudolph's death had on his mother, the Empress Sisi, but never gave any thought to his young mistress, Mary, and her family. So sad, she was just a kid. Thank you

[@bellaluna730]

She knew better! Adulteress ‼️

[@marieuk01]

Really sad for the naive young girl, he was vile & a coward for coercing her. I bet his wife didn’t shed any tears for him!

[@Valentina-Steinway]

His wife caught an STD from him that prevented her from having more children.

[@heidibee501]

She was a naive and foolish teenager and in love with a Prince. She did not need to be coerced. He asked; he did not command. Her bad relations with her mom might have had a small place in her decision as well. My sympathy goes to his dad who lost his son to suicide; his wife and nephew to murder. Rudolf and Marie had a choice. The Kaiser of Austria did not.

[@Mehki227]

​@@heidibee501A grown a* married man with children, a cheater, and a philanderer with zero respect for women asked a teenager to die with him. He absolutely groomed her and used his position of authority and that he was the prince and her feelings to manipulate her.

[@ronaldproctor1776]

So very tragic for Mary, and sad repercussions for the Imperial Family.

[@shadowfox009x]

Considering that he infected his wife Stefanie with an STD that caused her to become infertile for which she was blamed at court, she was probably happy to be rid of him. Even though she was also blamed for his decision on that night. Stefanie already had a lover at that time who unfortunately passed away from cancer. She married again after eleven years as a widow. A simple count which was way below her station as royal princess and imperial widow, but they were supposedly very happy together, and passed away within a year of each other after almost fortyfive years of marriage. She found happiness.

[@joem715]

I don't think history would've changed if Mary would've said no to Rudolph's death pact. He would've killed himself either way, and Franz Ferdinand would've still become the heir presumptive. He was a selfish young man who treated women like dirt, fully knowing that they flocked to him and readily started an affair with him. Mary was nothing but a pawn to him, not his "atoning angel". I'm glad the royal family didn't bury him with her because even in death she deserved so much better. Mary is the only one I truly feel sorry for in this whole tragic incident.

[@bar-jean]

What a tragedy...😢

[@darlenechadwick375]

What about Princess Stephanie?!! There was no indication that she had deserved any of his disrespect!Plus he gave her syphilis, rendering her infertile & looking at a future filled with mental illness and death!!! Regardless of the Prince’s past and the circumstances of abuse & neglect in his formative years; as an adult, he was in charge of his life & his actions. He was self indulgent,a narcissist, sociopath & a pedophile!!! Gosh, but this was a tragically good tale!!! Our forebears were as goofed up as we are today!😉

[@bellaluna730]

She made her choices and suffered the consequences.

[@cattymajiv]

His mother Queen Sisi suffered immensely from this too.

[@brianperry]

The TV series ‘Fall of Eagles’ devoted a whole episode to the Mayerling incident. The cover up and the appalling treatment of Mary’s body afterwards. Rigor mortis had already begun by the time the body was removed with obvious problems getting the body into a couch… Fall of Eagles was an excellent series about the European monarchies…and their intrigues

[@FrancesOlson-rh9kg]

Also a movie

[@Maridun50]

SOME of the European monarchies. Not all.

[@ireneoliver3508]

ROY AL IN BRED ERS! I also don't believe she was quite so innocent.

[@PamelaTitterington]

A sad story but very interesting, and what an unpleasant way to go,thinking that you are the loved one, only she wasn't,that is vile, too naive to understand anything of such selfishness,🌹

[@bellaluna730]

At 17 she knew she was committing Adultery with a married man.

[@m.p.6039]

A man is energetic and ambitious and a go getter. A woman is a "social climber".

[@jojokeane]

Don't blame syphilis for the actions of a weal, luttle man. Yeah, yeah. I know it can affect the brain. It doesn't affect one's soul and the prince had none.

[@roodbennett]

Fantastic documentary. Brava!

[@BigDT.BigDenny]

I always wondered why Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand was the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. NOW I know why! Thank you for posting this video.

[@dolinaj1]

They were casualties of a system wherein women had no independent agency; and Rudolph was a selfish, disaffected cad.

[@darktagmaster1861]

....just like American women are gonna have again, soon

[@LindaLord-nr9pr]

He was sick both physically & mentally. Also, he was the prisoner of a crown & a loveless marriage , which is probably worse than both his illnesses put together.

[@stonehanger99]

16.50: 'One of Mary's ancestors.....' She died before WW1, in 1959 her 'ancestor' would have been very ancient indeed. Did you mean 'one of Mary's descendents'? And as she hadn't produced any children it would have to be a descendent of someone else, not Mary. Just saying.

[@miovicdina7706]

Probably a relative.

[@joyfulyes]

I came to the comments to correct this incorrect word choice. It was one of her relations.

[@ileanaacacostaacosta1813]

@@joyfulyes If she had siblings then it must be a nephew or a niece they are descendents too of Mary but in a indirect way because it's through a sister or a brother

[@dlevi67]

They make this mistake repeatedly. Also in the video about Henry VI of England.

[@cathyhunnemeder3064]

Don’t believe everything 2:46

[@katem2411]

What a vile man and a foolish/abused girl. I wonder how different the world would have been if Rudolph had been of better character.

[@teri9461]

Thank you! Now , I want to know more of this tragic story. ❤RIP Mary

[@creganx83]

This is my favorite narrator can he replace the others 😅

[@monicawylie3985]

Amen to that

[@paden1865able]

I agree completely!!

[@gabrielleaumont3971]

Well- spoken, speaking slowly ​@paden1865able

[@jolieb8669]

U TUBE MOVIES

[@amyschuler9666]

Love his voice!

[@beckc.d.1813]

How sad that her mother never saw that goodbye letter.

[@joyfulyes]

We don't know she didn't...

[@FrankTropea-u6q]

I think Prince Rudolph was a really sick puppy. Look with all that crazy inbteeding among the Hapsnurgs like what does one expect. I feel really sorry for Mary, as she really was a victim to Rudolph's cowardice. She really should have told his parents what their son intended. Such an action could have saved her life.

[@ileanaacacostaacosta1813]

He was the child of two people who were first cousins he was the grandson of a couple who were also cousins by his mother the empress Sissi he was too inbred if you ask me and the results were horrific

[@bellaluna730]

She was not innocent and knew what she was doing. Scandalous conduct of her own choosing.

[@arianbyw3819]

Rubbish!

[@56beverley]

I knew of the story but not the details. Great video.

[@cornishmaid9138]

I think, perhaps, he simply didn’t want to die alone. Depression often has seemingly irrational outcomes.

[@marygrummer9189]

Great story! (In a sad way). I’d never heard this story before, so thanks for sharing 😊

[@hippiebippie8870]

There's a show/movie called The Crown Prince about this, it's really good

[@seandobson499]

I don't think that he shot Mary, possibly, she either fell for some reason or he struck her on the head, causing her death, and it was not possible to prove this as an autopsy was not carried out on her body, or maybe he did put poison in her drink that caused her to fall as it took effect, which might explain some of the trauma to her skull.

[@susanhounshell6444]

One of Rudolph's distant living relatives has admitted that he strongly believes that Crown Prince Rudolph shot and killed Baroness Mary Vetsera.

[@junejunejuniejune]

Its possible to be shot in the head and not have an exit wound! some people live with a bullet still lodged in their head for example. depending on how/where she was shot and caliber. If it was winter, and she was buried for only 2 months, her remains would be in tact enough that they would notice an exit wound, didn't seem like they did notice. Weird thought that a bullet was not found once she was skeletonized.

[@katarzynamariamuszynska2811]

So she might changed her mind ,she didn't really want to die

[@victoriahoward6994]

Agree

[@surreygirl2075]

Mary didn't listen to her parents but alot of daughter don't and then its to late😮 a very beauiful lady shame she died but I do feel sorry for his wife

[@gertyrood]

This was so sad 😢 On a totally human level it was more likely his atrocious childhood that caused this tragedy

[@Elfrida-ls2mo]

Be was a Spoilt Brat

[@terraflow__bryanburdo4547]

Kaiser Wilhelm l had a similar upbringing. WWI was a pointless war of petty monarchs.

[@sly5346]

ie: prince Harry(Henry)

[@gabrielleaumont3971]

Oh, those Germanic types!!!!

[@jaymac1800]

No at some point people grow up and become adults. What we choose to do is up to us. People need to stop blaming their parents and bad childhoods for their crappy decisions years later.

[@sph1226]

I think he was always melancholy, from childhood to adult life, was that he never got attention and love from his mother.

[@Ariadne76-k3d]

That is the worst tragedy in all of history????

[@katem2411]

This was the tinderbox of WWI, so it's up there

[@kristancorsiglia6756]

It sounds like his syphilis diagnosis might have contributed to his mental health issues and that's why he did what he did. To think that his death potentially set in motion the cause of World War I, which then definitely resulted in World War II, is crazy.

[@Ron-wc4rj]

What a cad,what a bounder

[@IntrepidFraidyCat]

I knew of this event and a few of the details but ...wow! I hardly knew a thing apparently. Great video, thank you!

[@darlenesutton7248]

Mary was poisoned by him

[@ABerCul]

Once your bodies dead your soul no longer cares for it. Also your not visiting your loved ones in cemetaries cause they are not there. Body may be but theirs souls do NOT stay with that body. If they are stuck its never to that body its. Stuck for help or to help nothing more. Souls go through many bodies.

[@lincolnparker9144]

I’m not sure you’re thinking very clearly, perhaps you’re having an off day

[@HeyComeOn2]

I like this gory sh!t sometimes. I just subscribed.

[@WildWestGal]

Another winning docu, James! What total lies Hollywood produces, eh?

[@kam.26]

I never understood why WWI started over some random Duke being shot. But these videos and this channel are helping to fill in the pieces.

[@Elfrida-ls2mo]

Find my Comments in the Main Comments and stick with It sorry I do go a bit back and forth Hopefully it has not have been D as nearly all my C are now D

[@heidibee501]

WWI would have remained a battle between Serbia (the aggressor) and Austria if The Tsar of Russia and the King of England had not taken sides. The Kaiser of Germany had a pact with Austria that if they were drawn into a war and Russia took up with the other side the Kaiser would go in with Austria. He begged his cousins, the Tsar and the King to stay out of it. They did not agree. They hated their straight-laced cousin.

[@sidoniewinterpasternak9938]

Franz Ferdinand was not a random Duke but a heir of the throne

[@joyfulyes]

​​@@sidoniewinterpasternak9938yes... And I remember reading that Europe of the time was a powder keg needing only a spark, that if it hadn't been Franz Ferdinand's assassination, something else would have touched off the war. This is why I'm not sure what, if anything, would have been different if Rudolph had lived.

[@MrsIvonka]

WW1 started as one big family feud

[@Judykag]

Even though Mary was his backup plan it wouldn’t have mattered to her. She would have rather been dead than alive without him. Even if she was second choice.

[@michelleburkholder2547]

That was very interesting. I just don't know how you got through the entire video without one mentioning Queen Sissy.

[@Valentina-Steinway]

Empress Sissi…

[@olavwilhelm6843]

'cause this is not about Sissi

[@sarahwarr765]

I was thinking of her, as well as Mari because she was Austrian.

[@YenneY01]

Who was queen sissi​@@Valentina-Steinway

[@Valentina-Steinway]

@ empress Sissi, not Queen

[@Terrachroma_911]

Thanks

[@selfhealherbs13ms]

Sad story: He could not have gone alone to involve another human being.

[@gailwilliams6704]

I saw the movie Myerling with Catherine Deneuve and Omar Sharif. It was based on this couple. Wonder how much of the movie was true

[@jenniferhughes6057]

How lovely is Mary. Bless. So sad 😮

[@serendipidus8482]

And how ugly and horrible the man looks. Not a nice looking fellow on any level. Although the actor they picked to play him was good looking. And kind eyed. Very different to what he really looked.

[@bellaluna730]

Nothing lovely about her.

[@ALA9E]

Probably poisoned

[@bellaluna730]

Suicide and murder and the Church granting special dispensation. Such hypocrisy within the Church and family‼️

[@spmoran4703]

Oh! Such a sad llfe and her death and after death was awful.

[@cornishmaid9138]

Just finished watching the second series about his mother, the Empress Elizabeth. She never recovered from the heir to the Austrian throne, Rudolf’s death.

[@katarzynamariamuszynska2811]

You think so ,but why she didn't notice his behaviour when he was alive

[@NM-ub6ml]

Sisi was pretty messed up from day one.

[@Banichi04]

I’m left unsure of what the “disgusting” way her body was treated is supposed to be. Is it burying her secretly then exhuming her for a more high-class reburial? I personally don’t see that as “disgusting” so much as disrespectful.

[@chuckyoneill9029]

Thats so sad

[@TheHistoryExpose]

Very.

[@ronamoody1654]

Mary's descendant, not her ancestor.

[@MaryAnnAngros-fq9yy]

How could Mary have descendents?

[@annmitchell4663]

From siblings.

[@padghd]

He was a demon, till the end. 😢

[@tb22k]

This so sad 😢 😮

[@maryanncanter3655]

The latest speculation I heard about their deaths is that they were assassinated.

[@1964_AMU]

Rudolph maybe sufferred from "abandonment syndrom", a mental desease looking like depression but with attachement problems, testing their mates, behaving violently etc...

[@Blak2blue]

Why do people re-open peoples caskets can’t they be moved without doing so 😤

[@44Burgess]

In my opinion it most probably was morbid curiosity .

[@monjettgraham2989]

To verify the contents of

[@sheila-we7em]

The monks were repairing the grave after WW2, so the casket must have been damaged

[@kam.26]

I never understood why WWI started over some random Duke being shot. But these videos and this channel are helping to fill in the pieces. Btw, absolutely atrocious to sleep around and then render an innocent person infertile. This guy was grotesque.

[@cherylschantz9893]

It was far more than some “random” Prince.

[@olavwilhelm6843]

he was crown prince of an empire (archdukes are royal family) and Rudolph can't be called grotesque if he suffered depression. You people judge way to easy

[@NM-ub6ml]

Come on... the July crisis is pretty clear... all those interlocking alliances!

[@elizabethpease8290]

@@cherylschantz9893 : It was the Emperor’s nephew , Archduke Francis Ferdinand.

[@4lydia]

Maria Vetsera was a Czech , one of the several Slavic peoples conquered by the Austro-Hungarian empire.

[@Foxxx1953]

It doesn’t seem to have been hypothesised that Mary might have drunk poison before R shot himself. Seems more likely. It would have been easier for both.

[@SkuliBragason-xc7jl]

This reminds me of " A scandal in Bohemia " , Sherlock Holmes .

[@marshasimpson261]

What was the terrible thing done to Mary?

[@joannejordan8684]

Whose voice is this commentator?

[@AnnMurphy-b6m]

God love her may she rest in eternal peace innocent 😇 soul ann murphy

[@bonnieboulter9486]

What happened to mama and papa? 😮😮😢 What a brave chick to stand guard over its sibs. Precious

[@katarzynamariamuszynska2811]

Honestly I feel sad The Prince was not happy with his marriage ,sad that he had to marry because of his position not really he loved and choose himself ,their parents marriage wasn't happy either and it wasn't allowed to divorce which is so terribly sad I watched many documentaries about their love story ,I wonder how much it was Mary own conscious decision or She was talked into by older ,ill and surely unhappy and unstable Prince and She loved him,but she was only 17 years old ! So she was minor and was alone with 30 years old guy ,and Prince already asked some other lovers before Mary about this so called love suicide pact And after their death they hide that he was with the girl ,and they didnt bury them together It's not sad love story It's unmoral ,that older Prince talked into young naive 17 years old girl who thinks she is in love And parents destroyed Prince life and his feelings ,that He had to what his father and mother told him to do It's not first time that happened in high society or this royals Example marriage of Diana and Charles

[@irefi64]

She looked like Charlotte Church.

[@deef3430]

The film Mayerling, starring Omar Shariff and Catherine Deneuve tells the story, albeit poetic licence.

[@marcydoyle9279]

Recurring Syphilis travels to the brain so he was more likely to commit suicide out of ‘madness’ as he would’ve been too far gone to feel guilty.

[@thefanone]

Oh my gosh?

[@silviahn79]

Men in that era and society had women all over the place, their wives however must have been virgins. Not only they got married lacking love, they also got these horrible diseases which caused fertility problems and again it was these poor souls who were blamed for not giving their husbands sons as this was their main priority!

[@JudielFua]

Catholic church paid handsomely😂😂😂😂😂

[@ritacollins2635]

So what was the terrible thing they did to her body, bs

[@sandrafortune2674]

Why is it in every sad story rampant pen!s is alway involved🤷‍♀️

[@AnnMurphy-b6m]

No mobile 📲 fones those days ann murphy ireland

[@SyIe12]

👍⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[@francesbernard2445]

During the series of cholera and infuenza pandemics which swept the earth during the 19th century medical facilites were often being overwhelmed with patients being called so at the time who had high fevers. As result some patients after arriving there ended up with an STD when previous to that they were virgins. Virgins who had been raped by men with an over developed sense of entitlement who had become accustomed to enjoying sex on demand during the age when marital rape was not outlawed. For example a crime which was not outlawed here in Canada until the year 1998. Seems to me given how some men to save face among more fair minded men too would have then while often then seeking to have affairs with younger women been often complaining about their wives character and her housekeeping and her parenting skills too. Like when sayiing they were eternal victims of self delusion. A lie which some Roman Catholic priests who knew nothing about what really goes on behind closed doors during some marriages which are like that would start believing while recieving tithes would believe after a first wife like that got disposed of if she could not prove that she had been a virgin on the day of their wedding to one another. Which could help explain as to why now at the Vatican there is record of how some women after undergoing an exorcism being offered by one of those Roman Catholic priests would then be accepted as being a novice before becoming a nun. An exorcism is according to the Roman Catholic church not one of the seven sacraments which they offer anyone welcomed into the Roman Catholic church. Anyone asking a Roman Catholic priest to conduct an exorcism on their relative would then instead be visited by the priest who would only be there to be annointing the sick. I could be wrong about that given I don't know much about Roman Catholic church history beyond what the seven sacraments are all about. Like for example all that went on before the Reformation concerning the status of women and the status of anyone who has a mental illness too including anyone prone to experiencing a greater number of infections involving fever than the people around them are experiencing at the time for whatever set of causitive reasons. A nun who had previously given birth to children and so instead of being called sister she would be called mother as her title. Which could help explain why during history until very recently law administrators said no one who has ever identified as being from a Roman Catholic family cannot marry into any English royalty family. A nun's title is always granted to her by the vatican instead of the title Mrs. given her by the English system royal crown. would had Some of those men at times would have had a hard time keeping track of all the lies they were telling as they got older.

[@ScrypKat56]

Good Lord, grab an English grammar book and read it! Your post makes nearly no sense and is a jumbled mess making little if any point.

[@johnandmarylouwilde7882]

It's descendants, not ancestors.

[@user-ov4wr5yu4r]

Propriety (not properness).

[@victoriahoward6994]

Did they do a DNA test on her body? Maybe the bodiess were switched? Or maybe Mary's body was in its orginal place and another body was presented to the family for burial.

[@normanconquest1066]

How could they do a DNA test? DNA testing was a late 20th century discovery.

[@sarahwarr765]

You ruined my life with your torrid affair 💋💋💔😢

[@tanyaogrady2240]

So how did Mary die if not from a bullet wound?

[@witchkitty4825-ju2sh]

Same stuff different era

[@bluedeep1707]

And Europeans called indigenous people of the countries they invaded: "savages". Hypocrisy at its best.

[@Maridun50]

I don't see the connection here? Europeans - dressed like they were , would look in astonishment at people, who lived their lives almost naked.

[@bluedeep1707]

@Maridun50 who's talking about how they dressed up?! I'm talking about their behavior, atrocities committed among themselves, and to the indigenous people of lands they invaded! How a human dresses up don't mean anything! Are you kidding me?! Are you that naive?!

[@Maridun50]

@bluedeep1707 I'm just telling you why Europeans called them "savages". And how does that relate to the Mayerling drama? How invading peoples treated the natives in the countries, they invaded was horrifying. However Europeans were not worse than the muslims in India, Middle East and NorthAfrica, the mongols or the Vandals. And again - that has nothing to do with this video ........

[@bluedeep1707]

@Maridun50 Like you have some kind of inferiority complex after all, along with some reading comprehension problem too.😁😁

[@Lucinda_Jackson]

Give it a rest with the colonizer BS. 🙄

[@simewood2040]

You sure Lee Oswald didnt shoot them both

[@richardshiggins704]

Rather silly comment .

[@deborahdushane]

Sometimes this story calls Meghan and Harry to mind.

[@unknowman1955]

You are joking..

[@nancyzehr3679]

in a backwards way, i agree

[@sheila-we7em]

Some people have a sickness on the brain called Megan and Harry. Seriously?

[@Valentina-Steinway]

Yes…

[@Valentina-Steinway]

@@unknowman1955_ no seriously…

[@unknowman1955]

What is the movie /tv show shown in segments.

[@susanhounshell6444]

Don't bother. Several movies and plays and even a ballet were made from this horrible tragedy. However, none of them are factually accurate. Read books about the Mayerling Incident instead. The truth is even more shocking than this 20 minute video could provide.

[@vrahd]

It looks like it’s a mini-series from 2006 called The Crown Prince.

[@musicologo1able]

Her real name was Mary Freiin von Vetsera,,,Mary Baroness von Vetsera as her father was a Freiherr(Baron)...