Emperor of Austria in 1875. As Ferdinand I had no sons, his brother Francis Charles would have become emperor, but was persuaded by his wife to pass over the right of succession to their son, Francis Joseph. He accepted the duty of the Emperor of Austria without having been Crown Prince or "Thronfolger" before. Francis Joseph's only son Rudolf committed suicide in 1889, Francis Joseph's brother Karl Ludwig died in 1896. Karl Ludwig's son Franz Ferdinand became heir presumptive to the throne. He was assassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia in 1914; due to his morganatic marriage, his son had no rights to the throne.
German occupation of Luxembourg during World War I neutral state. The Luxembourg Crisis had seen Prussia thwart France's attempt to purchase the Grand Duchy from the Netherlands. Luxembourg's neutrality was accepted by Prussia's then-Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, who boasted, "In exchange for the fortress of Luxembourg, we have been compensated by the neutrality of the country, and a guarantee that it shall be maintained in perpetuity." In June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the thrones of Austria-Hungary, was assassinated by pan-Slavic nationalists, leading to a sudden deterioration in relations between Austria-Hungary and Serbia. Austria-Hungary was supported by the German Empire, while Serbia had the backing of the