The Mayerling Incident: Murder, Suicide, and One Messy Royal Family

You think your family is complicated? Babe, meet the Habsburgs.

In this throwback Patreon episode from the vault, we revisit the infamous Mayerling Incident—the scandalous, tragic death of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria and his teenage mistress, Baroness Mary Vetsera. This came after our coverage of his mother, Empress of Austria Elisabeth aka Sisi

We unpack Rudolf’s messy personal life, his political tensions with his dad, and the swirl of conspiracy theories around what actually went down at that hunting lodge in 1889. Was it a murder-suicide? A doomed romantic pact? A royal cover-up?

It’s dark, it’s dramatic, and it’s peak chaotic European royal family energy. If you’re enjoying our Charlotte of Belgium era, this one’s the perfect unhinged companion piece.