However, the young emperor soon disappointed the hopes of progressive forces in the empire. The addition of his second forename was intended to recall the ‘People’s Emperor’ Joseph II, who was still revered by the common folk, resulting in the double name of Franz Joseph I, an unusual choice for the House of Habsburg. At first it had been planned to let him ascend the throne with his first forename as Franz II, in memory of his grandfather, Franz I. The choice of official name for the eighteen-year-old emperor is also revealing. Archduchess Sophie now saw that the moment had come to realise her lifelong dream of her firstborn son becoming emperor. Franz Joseph’s father, Archduke Franz Karl, who was in fact the next in line to the succession, waived his right to the throne after forceful persuasion by his wife Sophie. In the face of events, it was thought that the abdication of the enfeebled emperor Ferdinand could be used to give the dynasty an active role again. This provincial Moravian town was to become the scene of a spectacular handover of power. During the course of the revolution the imperial family fled from Vienna, taking refuge in Olmütz (Olomouc). The results of all the efforts that had been invested in grooming the archduke as a future monarch were put to the test in 1848.
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