Just another love story

The world is observing the events leading up to the First World War, which took place 100 years ago this summer.

In the years leading up to that war, there was a love story that will last for all time.

The Austrian-Hungarian Empire was a huge conglomeration of different geographical locations in central and eastern Europe.

Extreme diversity is barely adequate to describe the huge differences in race, culture, religion and languages, that existed within the borders of this empire.

Within the region, there were the following languages based upon different ethnic groupings: German, Hungarian, Czech, Polish, Ukrainian, Romanian, Croatian, Italian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovene, Bosnian, Rusyn, and Yiddish (source: Wikipedia).

Just the language differences would have made for problems enough, but religion was an even more divisive issue. There were large segments of the population that worshiped as, Roman Catholics, Protestants, Eastern Orthodoxists, Jews, and Sunni Islamists.

The family that had ruled for many years were called Hapsburgs. The Emperor was Franz Joseph I, who ruled from 1867, until 1916. He had only one son and heir to the throne, Crown Prince Rudolph. Rudolph was born in 1858. He married Princess Stephanie of Belgium, and they had one daughter, Elizabeth.

If this story sounds a bit boring, it most definitely took a turn for the dramatic soon thereafter. In the late 1880s, Rudolph became romantically involved with 17 year old Baroness Mary Vestera.

During those years, it was not uncommon for royalty to have extramarital affairs. It was actually not quite considered to be too overly detrimental to their way of life.

Rudolph was a different sort of character it seems. He had some radical ideas about his future and the future of the empire.

More importantly, he appears to have wanted to attain a divorce, and marry his young mistress.

After having a terrible argument with his father the Emperor, Rudolph took Mary with him to the Imperial Hunting Lodge, Mayerling, located in the Vienna Woods, about 15 miles southwest of the Capital, Vienna.

On the morning of Jan. 30, 1889, the young lovers were discovered dead at the lodge. Early on, the government attempted a partial coverup of the events. First reports were released stating that the Prince had died from a heart condition.

No one will ever know for certain what actually happened in that room. Mary's body was taken away quickly and buried, before a cause of death could be pronounced. The Prince died from a gunshot to the head according to the investigation completed at the time.

Over the years since, the mystery has prevailed. Twice Mary's grave was exhumed to try and discover the actual cause of death.

The first investigation right after World War II, related that there was no sign of a bullet injury. In 1993, a second attempted autopsy failed due to the extremely poor condition of the body.

The most likely causes of death were: poison, which May drank (willingly or not).

When first discovered, witnesses stated that she appeared to have been dead for sometime prior to the Prince. Murder/suicide would seem to be the way these star crossed lovers ended their lives.

There have been several books, plays, and movies, over the years about this strange and tragic love story.

The best of these was the 1968 movie "Mayerling." The cast was tremendous. Omar Sharif portrayed Rudolph, and Catherine Deneuve was Mary. Supporting actors were legendary screen stars James Mason and Ava Gardner.

Love is a powerful venue for any story line. It has been at the root of so many important events in our history. More often than not, romance has resulted in tragedy.

Samson, the powerful biblical figure, is brought to his ruin because of his love for the temptress Delilah. Samson is blinded by love, and literally in deed, because of this love.

Henry VIII, King of England, changed the course of western civilization and history, when he fell under the spell of young Anne Boleyn. Henry was happily married to Catherine of Aragon, a Spanish noblewoman.

When Catherine could not provide Henry with a male heir, he tried to divorce her so he could marry Anne. The Catholic Church refused to allow the divorce, which caused Henry to take England away from the church's rule, and created the Church of England.

The irony of this story was that the ruler who would become the most powerful of that era was Henry and Anne's daughter, Elizabeth I. Hundreds of years of warfare are credited directly to this series of events.

Is there a greater love story than the fictional Romeo and Juliet? The plot of young lovers whose families do not want them together, has been used in countless stories and movies ever since.

So, it would seem, that love is at the root of so much of our history. The passion that humans feel is more powerful than almost any other emotion. We have seen murder, suicide, wars, and other tragedies as a direct result of these feelings of so called affection.

A famous song "Love Hurts," has been recorded by many artists including the Everly Brothers and the rock band Nazareth. I think some of this songs lyrics best explain the power and danger of love.

"Love hurts, love scars, love wounds and marks any heart not strong enough.... love is like a flame, it burns you when it's hot..... Some fools fool themselves, I guess...They're not foolin' me....Love is just a lie made to make you blue!"

Yes love is the glue that has bound so many events and people together. Is it any wonder that lyrics about love, more times than not, talk about the pain of those feelings? Go watch "Mayerling," if you get the chance. I think you will not find it to be "just another love story."