Franz Josef fears for Austria-Hungary’s future in the hands of his reform-minded nephew and heir-presumptive Franz Ferdinand, especially because of the time that he spends with Kaiser Wilhelm. However, he soon gets news of the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and his lower-ranked wife, Sophie Chotek, in Sarajevo. Initially, he accepts the “providence” of the event and refuses calls to mobilise the army and to punish Serbia. However, the Kaiser quickly insists on immediate and decisive action against Serbia, dismissing the preparedness and will of Russia, downplaying the military threat from France and setting a chain of events in motion that leads to the outbreak of the First World War.

• John Elliot

• Michael Hordern
• Vernon Dobtcheff
• Maurice Denham