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Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

The story of the tragic moment that started WWI.

On a summer day in Sarajevo in 1914, a young man fired two rounds of his pistol in the middle of the street, killing a Royal couple... He didn't know it then, but his actions would cause a chain reaction, resulting in the First World War. But who were Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, the Duchess Sofie? What kind of relationship did they have? And how did a single, chaotic day unravel into one of history’s most devastating turning points?

Anthony is joined for the final time this month by the marvellous Gareth Russell to retell this tragedy. Gareth's book is “The Emperors: How Europe's Rulers Were Destroyed by the First World War”.

Edited by Hannah Feodorov. Produced by Tomos Delargy. Senior Producer is Freddy Chick.

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50 minutes