History Matters

Love Is Dead

Newly discovered letters get us closer to understanding the tragic truth of royal murder-suicide at Mayerling.

Lucy Coatman | Published in History Today Volume 72 Issue 2 February 2022

Photographs and autographs of Baroness Mary Vetsera and Crown Prince Rudolf, 19th century.
Photographs and autographs of Baroness Mary Vetsera and Crown Prince Rudolf, 19th century. Alamy.

Two gunshots echoed from Mayerling hunting lodge in the early hours of 30 January 1889, sending shockwaves through the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Crown Prince Rudolf was found dead alongside Baroness Mary Vetsera, his 17-year-old mistress. Mary had been shot by Rudolf, who, several hours later, turned the gun on himself.

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