On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, were shot and killed in Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb and member of the nationalist group known as the Black Hand. The couple was visiting Sarajevo during a military parade when they were targeted due to their prominence in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which sought to maintain control over various ethnic groups in the Balkans. The assassination was a culmination of rising nationalist sentiments among Slavic peoples aiming for independence from Austro-Hungarian rule.

On that fateful day, the couple's motorcade took a wrong turn, leading them directly into the path of Princip. He seized the moment and fired two shots, one hitting Franz Ferdinand in the neck and the other striking Sophie in the abdomen. Both died shortly thereafter. The assassination triggered a series of events, including a complex web of alliances and mutual defense agreements among Europe’s great powers.

In the wake of the assassination, Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum to Serbia, leading to escalated tensions between the two nations. Russia began to mobilize in defense of Serbia, prompting Germany to declare war on Russia. This set off a chain reaction that pulled multiple nations into conflict, leading to the outbreak of World War I, a war that would change the political landscape of Europe and the world.