Princess Sophie was born on 24 July 1901 at Konopiště chateau, in Austria-Hungary,, fifty kilometres south-east of Prague. This chateau, situated in Bohemia, was the favourite home of the Archduke and his wife. On 29 September 1902, the couple's first son, Maximilian, was born. A second son, Ernst, followed on 17 May 1904. In 1908, the Archduke's wife became pregnant again, but the fourth child, a boy, was stillborn on 7 November 1908. Since the Archduke had sworn an oath that any children he had with his morganatic wife could never succeed to the throne, he envisaged a future for them that would be normal and tranquil. He wanted his sons to lead the uncomplicated life of a country squire, while he intended that his daughter, Sophie, would be happy at the side of a socially-suitable partner whom she loved. He hoped that his children would grow up to be private individuals who could enjoy life without material worries, while leading lives of anonymity. Sophie later said that she and her brothers were brought up to know they were nothing special. She stated that her father had been firm with his children, but never harsh or unjust.
After assassination
After the assassination of her parents, Sophie and her two surviving brothers, Maximilian and Ernst, were taken in by their mother's brother-in-law and their father's close friend and shooting partner, Prince Jaroslav von Thun und Hohenstein. In late 1918, their properties in Czechoslovakia, including Konopiště and Chlumec nad Cidlinou, were confiscated by the Czechoslovak government. The children moved to Vienna and Schloß Artstetten.
Marriage and issue
Sophie married on 8 September 1920 in Tetschen, Count Friedrich von Nostitz-Rieneck, son of Count Erwein Felix von Nostitz-Rieneck and Countess Amalia Podstatzky-Lichtenstein. They had four children:
Count Erwein von Nostitz-Rieneck, died in a Soviet POW camp
Count Franz von Nostitz-Rieneck, killed on the Eastern Front
Count Aloys von Nostitz-Rieneck, married on 7 August 1962 in Leutkirch im Allgäu, Countess Theresia von Waldburg zu Zeil und Trauchburg, daughter of Erich, Prince of Waldburg-Zeil and Trauchburg, and Princess Monika of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg. They have four children:
*Count Friedrich von Nostitz-Rieneck, married on 19 October 2002 in Salzburg, Countess Stefanie von Calice, daughter of Count Heinrich von Calice and Countess Marie Therese von Küenburg. They have three children:
**Countess Ludmilla von Nostitz-Rieneck
**Count Erwein von Nostitz-Rieneck
**Countess Teresa von Nostitz-Rieneck
*Countess Monika von Nostitz-Rieneck, married on 14 July 1985 in Eisenerz, Baron Friedrich Mayr von Melnhof, son of Baron Friedrich Mayr von Melnhof and Countess Maria Anna von Orsini und Rosenberg. They have four children:
**Baron Friedrich Mayr von Melnhof, married on 10 September 2011, Countess Antonia Czernin von und zu Chudenitz, daughter of Count Hubertus Czerninvon und zu Chudenitz and Baroness Valeria von Baratta-Dragona. They have two children:
**Baron Matthäus Mayr von Melnhof, married in 2015, Baroness Anna Maria von Waechter. They have one son:
***Baron Matthäus Mayr von Melnhof
**Baroness Clarissa Mayr von Melnhof, married on 19 July 2014, Baron Leopold von Waechter, son of Baron Franz von Waechter and Countess Marie-Christine zu Stolberg-Stolberg. They have two sons:
***Baron Franz-Anton von Waechter
***Baron Josef von Waechter
**Baroness Franziska Mayr von Melnhof
*Countess Sophie-Bernadette von Nostitz-Rieneck, married on 3 September 1994 in Eisenerz, Count Christian von Seilern und Aspang, son of Count Franz Joseph von Seilern und Aspang and Countess Aglaia von Waldstein. They have three children:
**Countess Aglae von Seilern and Aspang
**Count Ferdinand von Seilern und Aspang
**Count Jakob von Seilern und Aspang
*Count Franz-Erwein von Nostitz-Rieneck, married on 23 June 2001 in Salzburg, Countess Isabelle Josephine von Moy de Sons, daughter of Count Jakob von Moy de Sons and Countess Diane d'Ursel. They have four children:
**Countess Theresita von Nostitz-Rieneck
**Countess Sophie von Nostitz-Rieneck
**Countess Helena von Nostitz-Rieneck
**Count Louis von Nostitz-Rieneck
Countess Sophie von Nostitz-Rieneck, married on 18 August 1953 in Graz, Baron Ernst von Gudenus, son of Baron Erwein von Gudenus and Baroness Sidonia von Morsey gennant Picard. They have four children:
*Baroness Sophie von Gudenus, married on 2 July 1981 in Weiz, Count Thomas von Seilern und Aspang, son of Count Franz Joseph von Seilern und Aspang and Countess Aglaia von Waldstein. They have four children:
**Countess Sophie von Seilern and Aspang married in 2017, Baron Alexander von Seckendorff-Gutend
**Countess Marie Magdalena von Seilern and Aspang
**Countess Franziska von Seilern and Aspang
*Baroness Sidonie von Gudenus, married on 17 July 1982 in Thannhausen, Count Alexander von Seilern und Aspang, son of Count Karl Josef von Seilern und Aspang and Countess Henriette von Seilern und Aspang. They have four children:
**Countess Antonia von Seilern and Aspang, married on 28 June 2014 in Litschau, Count Maximilian von Clary und Aldringen, son of Count Félix von Clary und Aldringen and Countess Franziska von Thurn und Valsassina-Como-Vercelli.
**Countess Ilona Marie von Seilern and Aspang
**Count Mathias Ferdinand Marie von Seilern and Aspang
**Countess Olivia Hemma Maria Johanna von Seilern and Aspang
*Baron Erwein von Gudenus
*Baron Ferdinand von Gudenus, married on 11 August 1987 in Vienna, Countess Caroline von Hoyos zu Stichsenstein, daughter of Count Bernhard von Hoyos zu Stichsenstein and Countess Alexandra von Herberstein. They have two children:
**Baron Anton von Gudenus
**Baroness Lucy von Gudenus
Later life
In 1938, following the Anschluss, her brothers Maximilian and Ernst were arrested by the Gestapo as a result of making anti-Nazi statements and deported to Dachau concentration camp. Their properties in Austria were confiscated by Nazi authorities. They both survived their imprisonment in Dachau. Sophie's husband died in 1973, after which she led a quiet life in Austria, accompanied at times by her grandchildren. In 1981, she visited Konopiště for the first time in sixty years. During this visit, she talked of how happy her family life had been there. Sophie lived to be 89 years old, dying in October 1990 at Thannhausen, Austria. She was laid to rest beside the body of her husband in the family crypt of her son-in-law, Baron Ernst Gudenus, at nearby Weizberg. She had outlived both of her younger siblings by many years.
During the trial of the men accused of murdering Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, the only defendant to express remorse was Nedeljko Čabrinović, who expressed his regrets for what he had done and apologized to the children of the victims. Princess Sophie and her brothers were told about Čabrinović's apology and wrote a letter to him. In the letter, they said they had heard about his apology and stated that his conscience could be at peace because they forgave him for his role in the murder of their parents. Sophie and Max signed the letter, but Ernst refused. The letter was delivered personally to Čabrinović in his cell at Theresienstadt, in Bohemia, by the Jesuit Father Anton Puntigam, who had given the last rites to Franz Ferdinand and his wife. On 23 January 1916, Princess Sophie and her brothers were informed that Čabrinović had died.
Fictional appearances
A fictional version of Princess Sophie, played by Danish actress Amalie Ihle Alstrup, appeared in "Vienna, November 1908", an episode of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles later re-edited to form half of The Perils of Cupid. Young Indyfalls in love with the princess and shares his first kiss with her, but is forbidden from seeing her further. Several times during the series, he is shown wearing a locket that contains her picture, which she gave to him.
