For German television, the 180-minute two-part series was shortened by around 75 minutes and shown under the same title as a one-part film reduced to the romance with Mary Vetsera.

[15][16] Crown Prince Rudolf is a sensitive and intelligent young man who recognises and supports the need for changes and innovation for the Habsburg monarchy on the threshold of the twentieth century.

However, neither his father, Emperor Franz Joseph, who adheres stoically to strict traditions, nor other political rulers such as the new Prime Minister Count Eduard Taaffe or the conservative Archbishop Schwarzenberg, who see these ideas as a threat to their position, want to hear anything about his vision of a united Europe.

There Rudolf experiences the happiness of love for the first time when, on the advice of his fatherly friend, the court painter Hans Canon, he mingles incognito with his people and meets Sarah, the daughter of a Jewish baker.

After Rudolf drowns his grief in alcohol in the following months, he finally throws himself into politics with renewed zeal after Canon reminds him that a man can only change something if he acts accordingly.