The Crown Prince (2006 film)

Plot

Crown Prince Rudolf is portrayed as a sensitive and intelligent young man who recognizes the need for change in the Habsburg monarchy as the twentieth century approaches. His father, Emperor Franz Joseph, adheres stoically to tradition, and other political figures such as Prime Minister Count Eduard Taaffe and Archbishop Schwarzenberg view Rudolf's liberal ideas as a threat. To discourage him, Rudolf is excluded from political decisions and sent to Prague. There, on the advice of court painter Hans Canon, he mingles incognito and meets Sarah, a Jewish baker's daughter. The romance ends when Rudolf is recognized, Sarah is taken away and married, and she dies of a violent fever. After drowning his grief in alcohol, Rudolf resumes political writing under the pseudonym Julius Felix in Moriz Szeps' newspaper. Despite his mother Elisabeth's urging, he refuses to become King of Hungary. Rudolf marries Princess Stephanie of Belgium, who bears a daughter. Through his affairs, Rudolf contracts syphilis and infects Stephanie, preventing further children and straining their marriage. Addicted to morphine due to his syphilis, Rudolf becomes depressed and suicidal as his visions of a better future collapse. His only solace is a romance with Baroness Mary Vetsera, who had loved him since childhood.