By early 1914, Emperor Fran-Jozef of the Austro-Hungarian empire has been on the throne for well over 60 years. He is a lonely man, his only son having taken his life many years before and his wife, Empress Elisabeth, having been killed by an anarchists bomb. His heir is now his nephew Franz-Ferdinand, married to what the Emperor views as an unsuitable wife in a morganatic arrangement. He orders Franz-Ferdinand to attend army maneuvers in Bosnia in June and the Crown Prince decides to throw a ball on June 28, the Serb national day. He and his wife are killed by a bomb and soon, sides have formed and World War I is launched.
—garykmcd