Above: Crown Prince Rudolf dressed for a hunt, 1888.

Source: Osterreichische Nationalbibliothek (Austrian National Library)

13. The Last Night

On January 29th, the same day that Helene met with Krauss and Taaffe, Count Hoyos and Prince Philipp took the 6 a.m. train to Baden and reached the hunting lodge at 8:10.

Rudolf joined them for breakfast a few minutes later. He was in a cheerful mood but said he would not be able to take part in the day's hunting because of a cold he claimed to have contracted during his trip to Mayerling, supposedly from a chill he caught while pushing the cab or running down the hill to the hunting lodge.

Count Hoyos was puzzled as to why Rudolf had driven all the way to Mayerling by cab rather than taking the train to Baden but he asked no questions. He and Prince Philipp, along with a retinue of servants, went hunting without Rudolf.

Prince Philipp returned early, at about 1:30, since he had to leave for Vienna to attend the royal family dinner to which Rudolf was also invited. Rudolf asked Prince Philipp to convey his regrets to Franz Josef, excusing himself on account of his cold, and also sent a telegram to Princess Stephanie saying that he was too ill to travel to Vienna.

Count Hoyos got back from the hunt at about 5:30 p.m. and had supper with Rudolf at 7 p.m. Once again Rudolf was in a good mood and ate heartily as he had done at breakfast. After supper he excused himself, saying that he had to nurse his cold. This was the last time Count Hoyos saw Rudolf alive.

As Rudolf retired he instructed Johann Loschek, "You must not let anyone into my room, even if it is the Emperor." Loschek claimed that he heard Mary and Rudolf talking earnestly all through the night, but not loudly enough for him to understand what they were saying.