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Marital love was rare among the Habsburgs. Much more important were long-planned dynastic relationships for the good of the empire. Across the continent, children who had never seen each other were promised to each other. A few defied this system, such as Archduke Johann, who married a postmaster's daughter, or Franz Ferdinand, who had to exclude his descendants from the throne in order to marry Countess Chotek. It took a lot of courage and conviction to defy the class prejudices of this family, which had been perfected over centuries.