As soon as the midwife announced that labor was about to begin, a whole ceremony began. The birth of a future heir to the throne—since it was accepted that the unborn child could only be a boy—was anything but a private event. To avoid any dispute over the newborn's identity, the birth must be attended by witnesses who were not limited to the family. An altar was also erected from which a chaplain would assist the Archduchess with her prayers. The room was soon filled with people, to the point that the air soon became stifling, especially as the labor dragged on. Hours had passed since the first contractions. As night fell, many withdrew in search of a well-deserved rest. The respite was short-lived. Around two o'clock in the morning, the Baroness [Louise of Sturmfeder] was hastily summoned to the woman in labor: the outcome was imminent this time. It seemed that the news had time to circulate in the Hofburg. The room was once again full. The Emperor rushed to Sophie to encourage her in this ordeal, while some of the audience had difficulty bearing the young woman's cries, to the point that the room gradually became empty. In the end, only six people remained, including the Emperor [Franz I] and Queen Caroline [of Bavaria], whom Sophie had insisted on having with her. It was still necessary to wait until a quarter to ten for the delivery to finally occur. The labor had lasted nearly two days in total. To avoid the worst for both mother and child, the doctors finally decided to resort to irons. But to the utmost joy! Sophie had given birth to a boy. The Emperor himself opened the door to announce the great news to all those who had been waiting in the antechamber. Sophie had already forgotten the pain she had endured. “As soon as I knew that my little one was alive,” she would later declare, “I hardly thought about the past sufferings anymore […]. They are nothing compared to the bliss of having a child.” The young mother now lay in her bed, radiant with happiness. Eventually, only the doctors and the governess remained in the room. She recounted the rest: “I sat until nine o’clock, then the little one was carried into his room, and little by little, calm returned. Now my shift has begun. Besides, no one tells me what to do or how to do it. I only leave the room for an hour, otherwise I write, I read, I work, I take the little one to the Archduchess and I sleep very little." Two days later, the newborn was baptized with the double name of Franz Joseph. As always in princely families, this choice was not left to chance personal inclinations. New in the history of the family, it is, as it should be, the bearer of a political program. The first name responds firstly to the desire to honor Emperor Franz, who will also be the godfather of the newborn. But Franz is also the first name of the husband of Maria Theresa, the founder of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty. In this association, it still represents the Baroque age, both one of the highest moments of Austrian grandeur and one of the major components of the Habsburg tradition. The second name embodies another aspect of the family heritage. It refers to Joseph II, whose reign symbolized both the monarch's devotion to the imperial office and the primacy of the state over private interests. However, Sophie never called her son anything other than Franzi, a diminutive laden with affection to which she remained faithful until her elder son ascended the throne. With this change in status, Franzi would take a back seat to Emperor, a title under which he would henceforth appear in Sophie's diary, except in particularly emotional moments when she would call him "my darling child" or "my beloved child."
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