History’s Most Enduring Tragedy D
Mary vetura infamously died in a love pact with Crown Prince Rudolph of Austria but it’s what they did to her body after that’s truly disgusting Mary was born in the austr Hungarian Empire on March 19th 1871 her parents were knew money wealthy and her mother Helena had one goal in life social claiming she was endlessly embarrassed of her new money status and insisted that her daughters act as high class as possible as such Mary grew up in an incredibly strict household where manners and properness were rigorously enforced closely reflecting the stuffy Austrian Royal Court at the time Mary re received her education at a vienes Convent The Institute for the daughters of the nobility as its name might
suggest the young girls in attendance learned manners and etiquette in preparation to become the wives of noblemen as soon as she came of age Mary’s mother began to throw parties with the sole intention of finding a sutor for her daughter more than that as the family wasn’t yet high class enough to attend the Austrian Royal Court they had to sniff around the edges of the aristocracy unsurprisingly Mary felt immense pressure from her mother to be perfect this took a toll on their relationship she confided in a friend that she felt her mother didn’t really love her stating bluntly ever since I was a little girl she has treated me like something she means to dispose of to the best advantage in the winter of 1887 Mary’s father had grown ill and sought treatment in Cairo while the family was there Mary finally engaged in an act of
rebellion if the rumors are to be believed it was there that she met an English officer and they began an affair as Torrid as the local climate it was one of the rare times Mary pursued a relationship based on her own desires and preferences but her mother’s Ambitions would ultimately win out by 1888 tragedy had visited Mary in twos first her father never made it out of Cairo alive succumbing to the illness that had brought him there her Affair couldn’t survive either Mary reportedly confided to a friend that the officer’s lack of money and Prospects doomed their relationship after all her mother wanted more for her than that she would soon get her wish but as they say be careful what you wish for Upon returning from Cairo after her father’s passing Mary re-entered the
aristocratic Social Scene that’s when her life changed forever this time she came into contact with the Crown Prince of the austr Hungarian Empire Rudolph and quickly developed an infatuation with him after all who could be more aristocratic than the Crown Prince Mary’s newest Obsession was completely inappropriate Not only was Rudolph already married to the Crown Princess Stephanie and had a child but he was also 13 years Mary’s senior besides that Mary hadn’t even properly met the man still she didn’t let any of these facts stop her 17-year-old Mary actually managed to meet the 30-year-old Crown Prince several months after first laying eyes on him and before long the pair began a clandestine Affair that could and indeed would topple the kingdom ever since Rudolph was a child
his life had been tumultuous he suffered under an exacting father who thought his son was a weakling and often endured long absences from his mother who hated the Austrian Court all in all Mary’s New Lover was desperate for attention and yet quickly bored of it this was not a good combination during their Affair Mary had Enlisted the help of her friend and Rudolph’s cousin Countess Marie larish in facilitating communication with the prince Countess larish would often help Rudolph by acting as a go-between passing on letters and money to Mary but however clandestine they thought they were being people found out and they weren’t [Music] happy considering Mary’s family’s quest for higher Social status one would think they would be over the moon on the contrary they thought she was foolish
and her mother feared that a revelation of the arch Duke’s affair would only bring shame on their family and ruin all their lives and they weren’t the only ones distressed by the Revelation Mary’s entry into the crown Prince’s orbit may have been just as concerning for rudolf’s family according to one rumor Rudolph had a violent row with his father over the affair It produced a chilling ultimatum the emperor allegedly demanded his son end his relationship with Mary but Mary was already in too deep she quickly fell desperately in love with Rudolph and with this came all the delusions one would expect from a smitten teenager Rudolph’s wife and child didn’t phas Mary at all in fact she believed she was a credible threat to usurp the possession of Rudolph’s spouse a friend later recounted that
Mary told her that stupid Crown Princess knows I am her rival that does sound like something a 17-year-old would say to be [Music] fair throughout their Torrid Affair Rudolph was hiding an even darker secret from Mary she wasn’t the only other woman he was entertaining during this time he was also romantically involved with actress and prominent Co an Mitsy Casper Rudolph had never been happy in his marriage to Princess Stephanie and had grown distant after their daughter was born in 1883 a full 5 years before Mary set her sights on the Crown Prince it was then that Rudolph who had suffered from Melancholy since he was young allegedly began drinking [Music] heavily by the time Mary met Rudolph the rumors about his womanizing were legendary with claims that he had fathered several illegitimate
children after years of this kind of behavior Rudolph treated most women with disdain once dismissing them as Eternal victims of self- delusion so numerous were the crown Prince’s exploits before meeting Mary that he went so far as to keep a bureaucratic Ledger of his conquests he even colorcoded the record using red pen for women he deflow and black for those Partners who were more experienced he would make distinguishing marks next to names that denoted nobility and Status it was with all this baggage that one day Rudolph made Mary a bone chilling proposition after years of partying with women drinking himself into Oblivion and crawling back home to his Loveless marriage the ever melancholic Rudolph came to a disturbing conclusion he wanted to end his [Music]
life but it was more than that he didn’t want to go alone and so he asked Mary to enter into a PCT with him Mary enthusiastically agreed to the Grim commitment with Rudolph many factors likely contributed to this including her Hur feelings around her mother’s treatment of her but the main reason was almost certainly Mary young age impressionable nature and her infatuation with the Crown Prince Mary’s first reaction to Rudolph’s proposal was believe it or not to Swoon she interpreted the plan as proof that she and the Crown Prince were Starcrossed lovers against the world expressing their Love by uniting forever she said if I could give him my life I should be glad to do it for what does life mean for me despite all the signs telling her to
run away Mary and her lover quickly set their plans in motion on January 29th 1889 just months after first meeting Mary Rudolph excused himself from a family dinner claiming he was feeling ill instead of going to bed though he went to find his teenaged mistress to set up the first stage of their pact when he arrived at her quar ERS he was in for a nasty surprise that night it just so happened that her family had put their foot down Mary’s mother had locked her in her room in response to her daughter’s scandalous conduct if things had been different that might have been the end of the story tragically it wasn’t faced with this barrier to his plans Rudolph Enlisted the help of his cousin Countess Lish yet again asking her to convince Mary’s mother to let the
girl go for a raid with her the matron relented and the contest brought the young mistress to meet Rudolph when Mary and the contest arrived Rudolph begged and pleaded to have 10 minutes alone with Mary the contest not suspecting anything was particularly a m agreed when Rudolph came back a full hour later he was alone and instructed the confused Countess to tell Mary’s mother that her daughter had run away no one at the Royal Court would see Mary alive again neither the contest larish or anyone else close to the couple could have possibly understood what the pair were planning but it all became frightfully clear in a matter of hours Rudolph who had planned a hunting trip to the Royal myerling Lodge just outside Vienna the next day went to this secluded spot with his mistress the best
of the story lives in [Music] infamy knowing that Rudolph was supposed to hunt the morning of January 30th his valet and another companion arrived at the lodge ready for a day of relaxing after receiving no answer when they knocked on Rudolph’s door they grew desperate and forced their way in the room inside was darkened but as their eyes adjusted their blood must have run cold inside the room Crown Prince Rudolph sat motionless beside the bed with blood leaking from his mouth and a glass and a mirror on the bedside table nearby on the bed next to him lay the body of Mary vetura the men began jumping to conclusions that would haunt the royal family and the memory of Mary vetera for years Rudolph’s Valley was too stunned
to think clearly but he thought he knew what happened after inspecting the glass at the bedside table he believed the Crown Prince must have been poisoned as for Mary the men barely glanced at her body instead they sprung into action Rudolph’s hunting companion Joseph Hoyas ran from the room and took the next train to Vienna to inform the emperor and Empress personally however it happened and no one truly understood at this point the Imperial family was certain of one thing the truth couldn’t be good so they made an Infamous decision faced with the ignon of their son taking his own life the emperor and Empress decided they had to completely cover up what happened they made an announcement stating that Rudolph had died due to a rupture of an aneurism of the heart the Imperial family was eager to set things right for their son Rudolph but when it came to Mary they wanted
nothing more than for her to disappear in the coming hours and days they tried to obscure Mary’s involvement in what was to become known as the myling incident for a time even Mary’s own family didn’t know the whole truth but they’d eventually find out in a chilling way the statement the Imperial Palace wanted to Pedal was that Mary had died on her way to Venice in a completely unrelated incident in order to achieve this they had to inform Mary’s family finally of the truth and then give them a horrifying command in order to satisfy any Suspicious Minds The Palace ordered Mary’s uncles to go to the lodge prop up Mary’s body with a broomstick so that it looked like she was still alive and carry her out then they were to bury her remains as discreetly as possible they took the body to the nearest cemetery where it was quickly disposed of after all they had asked of Mary’s family the
Royals prevented her mother from attending the funeral service indeed as determined as they were not to let Mary’s demise look like it had anything to do with Rudolph they wouldn’t even let her mother see her grave for two entire months after the incident meanwhile their treatment of Rudolph was much different the Imperial family fought tooth and nail for the church’s blessing to bury Rudolph in the Imperial Crypt which was against Church law considering the Crown Prince deliberately took a life and his own the day he passed but the Vatican ultimately issued a special dispensation citing mental imbalance and they buried Rudolph with his ancesters in the end for all these precautions it was only a matter of time before the truth came out after two long months Mary’s mother finally got the opportunity to give her daughter a proper burial she exuded Mary’s body from the wooden coffin she
had been hastily buried in arranged for her her reburial in a copper coffin and also made sure she was wearing one of her favorite dresses in the days following Mary’s tragic end investigators realized what had really happened as they scoured myling for Clues they came to the conclusion that this was no poison plot instead they believed Rudolph had shot Mary and then turned the weapon on himself and that wasn’t all with the mying incident making international news rumors began swirling about what had happened and no one was satisfied with the heart aneurism cover up eventually people came to know that Mary had been involved in the tragedy and that Rudolph shot her then the authorities likely with pressure from the emperor closed the case history however wouldn’t leave the matter alone Mary’s involvement in the demise of a Crown Prince cemented
her place in history following Rudolph passing there was a crisis of succession in the hapsburg Dynasty and eventually Arch duuk France Ferdinand became the heir presumptive until his Infamous assassination triggered World War I had Mary not agreed to Rudolph’s pact who knows how differently history may have unfolded for decades Mary’s story lay rotting with her body then after World War II this changed in 1955 a group of monks were repairing Mary’s grave after it had been destroyed during the war and they decided to inspect the coffin inside they found a skeleton as expected only there was one thing missing the monks couldn’t find any Bullet Hole in the skull unraveling the mystery once more in 1959 one of Mary’s ancestors gared holler followed up on the Monk’s claims and also concluded that there was
no Bullet Hole in the skull her skull did show signs of trauma though this could have happened in the intervening years since her death missing this crucial Bullet Hole holler posited a jaw-dropping theory he suggested that Mary was pregnant at the time of the incident and that her death was the result of her trying to end the pregnancy still this likely isn’t true there are letters where Mary admits Rudolph took her virginity just 2 weeks before the incident meaning if was pregnant she couldn’t have possibly known even so that missing Bullet Hole still puzzles many experts multiple theories now exist to explain it or explain it away none of them convincing enough to get the final say and there was one final [Music] twist in recent years a series of Mary’s
letters were found in a safety deposit box in a bank in Austria the correspondence turned out to be farewell letters she wrote just prior to the myling incident and their words were Haunting in a letter to her mother Mary wrote I could not resist love I am happier in death than life in perhaps one of the most tragic developments in Mary vet’s story rudolf’s own farewell letter to his mother actually contained a request to be buried alongside his teen age lover calling Mary his atoning Angel his family obviously didn’t respect his wishes but Rudolph himself disrespected Mary in one final way we know now that Crown Prince Rudolph was deeply depressed before his death and spent his time distracted by many other Mistresses like Mitsy Casper but perhaps the cruelest truth
is that Rudolph had actually asked Mitsy Casper to die with him first only to have her refuse poor Mary was just his backup plan as for why this senseless tragedy happened well for Rudolph it may not have been that [Music] senseless though there’s no evidence he ever informed Mary of it Crown Prince Rudolph had long been suffering from a syphilis diagnosis he had even passed it on to his wife Princess Stephanie rendering her infertile some historians suggest Rudolph’s guilt over this was partly what pushed him to take his own life and to take Mary Dome with him if you enjoyed this video please give it a like And subscribe for more
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