His proud mother Sophie painstakingly recorded every detail of the physical and mental development of her first-born in her diaries – the infant was soon called ‘Gottheiterl’ (‘Little Deity’) by the people around him.įranz Joseph’s Aja (the head of the imperial nursery and thus responsible for the upbringing and care of the child until the age of six), Baroness Louise Sturmfeder, a confidante of Archduchess Sophie who was devoted to the principles of the Catholic Church and the Habsburg dynasty, was an important and influential person for the little boy. As Sophie had already suffered several miscarriages, the birth of this healthy, long-desired male infant came as a huge relief.įrom his earliest childhood Franz Joseph was groomed as a potential successor to the imperial throne by his mother, who played a dominant role within the family and had a major influence on political events.įranz Joseph was thus the centre of attention both of the family and of the whole court. The task of continuing the dynasty thus fell to Ferdinand’s next eldest brother, Archduke Franz Karl, and his wife, Archduchess Sophie. Although he was married, it was thought very unlikely that the union would result in offspring. His son (Franz Joseph’s uncle), the heir designate Crown Prince Ferdinand, was physically and mentally enfeebled, and was regarded as unfit to rule. Emperor Franz I, the proud grandfather, had been on the throne for 38 years when the little boy was born.
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