Morton and Shaw

        The Crown Prince, although it sounds impressive, is but a name for the early 30's Rudolf. He had many titles, Rudolf; however, they did nothing for him. More like he could do nothing with them. Politically, he was much on the side of Liberalism. Not like his father, Franz-Joseph. Franz-Joseph was very conservative minded, and had a completely opposite view from his son's. Their differences may cause conflict in the empire. Though the Crown Prince was optimistic about new liberal policies, at the time of his death, it appeared the people were not as enthusiastic about the new turn of events. Like most media sources, theories started spreading like wild-fire. This eventually came to an end; and when the truth came out about Rudolf's suicide, there had to be someway to allow a true Catholic burial for him. The piece describes the solution most clearly when it states, "Rudolf had not been quite lucid when he placed the revolver against his temple.By the lights of the Catholic Church he was not a suicide. Hence he could be buried, after the Habsburg manner and with Habsburg solemnity, in the crypt of the Capuchin friars, like all of his ancestors before him" (254). This turn of events show cases the mysteriousness that the Empire will hold when its authenticity is being questioned.
            The stories in the Royal Babylon show the fraudulence in the Empire. Many of the leaders that were on display in this book were involved in some sort of inappropriate behavior. Any kind of activity that was seen as sin by the Catholic church, they did. All they had to do was ask for forgiveness and go on their way. For example, Philip D'Oreleans, who had around one-hundred ladies in which he was involved. Even more unusually promiscuous, King George II had regular arrangements to see women. In fact, his wife would make some of these arrangements to be sure that he would get someone uglier than her. His daughter was even aware of this occurrence as the book reads, "...Princess Anne, hoped he take even more mistresses so that "Mama might be a little relieved from the ennui of seeing him in her room"(195). This was the way of life in the Empire. The rulers often engaged in terrible activities or habits. This is not a defense; rather, a note that not just some but most were engaging in these activities.
               In the end, then, we see the overarching corruption of the Empire in both stories. Not only the poor relationship it caused Rudolf and Franz-Joseph to have; but also the coldness of covering up Rudolf's true reasoning for suicide for the sake of the Empire. It is much more easily seen in the Royal Babylon. Every story gives the specifics as to what happened behind the scenes in the Empire. An interesting look inside the lens with more of a disturbing feeling in the end. Unfortunately, this corruptness lives on; in different shapes and forms, the Empire still lives.