Apparently, in a 1982 interview (which I've seen referenced in different locations, but couldn't find the original of), the former Austrian Empress Zita of Bourbon-Parma (who was ~89 years old at the time; she would die 7 years later in 1989), upon returning to Austria shortly after its travel ban against Habsburgs had been lifted, claimed when speaking to Krone Zeitung that it was her belief that Emperor Franz Josef's son and heir Rudolf and his mistress did not die as a result of a murder-suicide at Mayerling, but were instead assassinated.
"According to Zita , the Archduke was assassinated because he refused to participate in a plot against his father, a plot which aimed to dethrone Franz Joseph and replace him, on the throne of Hungary by Rudolf, and on the throne of Austria by Archduke John of Habsburg-Tuscany; Rudolf would have been informed of certain elements relating to this plot and would have been assassinated to safeguard the instigators ... Empress Zita did not provide any element to identify these instigators but cited George Clemenceau as a politician who participated in this conspiracy."
If we were to assume that this was indeed the case, then the Habsburgs pulled off one hell of a cover-up, which is why I'm personally quite skeptical of the veracity of these claims. However, let's roll with them - what can we expect from these revelations?
Some context: Clemenceau was a leading figure in France for opposition to general Boulanger, who had recently won an election to Parliament mere days before the Mayerling Incident, with everyone expecting an imminent coup against the French government. If it comes to light that the French government and prominent politicians such as Clemenceau were behind the assassination, who knows how the Boulangist movement would react.
"According to Zita , the Archduke was assassinated because he refused to participate in a plot against his father, a plot which aimed to dethrone Franz Joseph and replace him, on the throne of Hungary by Rudolf, and on the throne of Austria by Archduke John of Habsburg-Tuscany; Rudolf would have been informed of certain elements relating to this plot and would have been assassinated to safeguard the instigators ... Empress Zita did not provide any element to identify these instigators but cited George Clemenceau as a politician who participated in this conspiracy."
If we were to assume that this was indeed the case, then the Habsburgs pulled off one hell of a cover-up, which is why I'm personally quite skeptical of the veracity of these claims. However, let's roll with them - what can we expect from these revelations?
Some context: Clemenceau was a leading figure in France for opposition to general Boulanger, who had recently won an election to Parliament mere days before the Mayerling Incident, with everyone expecting an imminent coup against the French government. If it comes to light that the French government and prominent politicians such as Clemenceau were behind the assassination, who knows how the Boulangist movement would react.
