WWI Murder Mystery needs your help!

Hello everyone. Here is an idea I think this forum might enjoy. My wife has decided to begin writing a WWI themed dinner mystery theater piece entitled "Who Killed the Archduke?" She has turned to me to help come up with historic characters to represent. I am honestly out of more suggestions so I am turning to the forums for assistance. Here is her list so far. We have an excess of about 3 more women who need characters so female characters are most appreciated. As I understand they will be in costume and it will be photographed. I will be sure to share the photos when the project is finally completed. Thanks for any help!


1. Mata Hari
2. Flora Sanders
3. Edith Cavell
4. Dame Helen Charlotte Isabella Gwynne-Vaughan
5. Tsar Nicholas II
6. Kaiser Wilhelm
7. Winston Churchill
8. King Albert of Belgium
9. Nikola Pasic (Serbian prime minster)
10. Franz Joseph I (Austro-Hungarian Emperor)

Sophie, Duchess of Hohenburg, wife to the Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Anastasia, daughter to Czar Nicky II
Edith Wharton

My youngest son's mother in law is old country Serbian. By coincidence so is my dentist.

I'll have my son ask his wife to ask her who the powers to be at the time in Serbia were, and what their wives' names were.


One name you left off was Victor Emmanuel III of Italy. Italy and Austro-Hungary disputed their border and who 'owned' Trieste from almost year dot. It's not unbelievable that Italy would back an assassination, let things kick off and wait to - hopefully - pick up a little territory. One could even say that was their motive for not entering the war until 1915 in much the same way Mussolini waited until the French already had the stuffing kick out of them and the Poms looked to be on the ropes before declaring war.

Don't forget Woodrow Wilson.

Read something once (which I haven't verified the accuracy of) that talked about how the king of Russia, England, and Germany were all cousins at the time of WWI.
Kaiser Wilhelm apparently once said, "If my grandmother had been alive, she would never have allowed it."

So depending upon how silly you'd like the dinner theater to be, you might have a surprise (beyond the grave) visit by a very upset Queen Victoria! A seance theme, perhaps!

Queen Victoria was descended from one of the German Royal families, as was Albert, the Prince Consort. All three royal families had family ties to one another through many decades of inter-marriage. One of Queen Victoria's granddaughter, Alix of Hesse, was Nicolas' wife.

How about Countess Constance Markievicz. Irish rebel of that period!

Thank so much everyone! Lots of people to research. I feel like Countess Constance Markievicz is a good pick for my fiery Irish wife.