What happened to Jan III Sobieski's family after his death? The sons of the victor at Vienna were sent to a Saxon fortress, and the king himself waited almost 38 years for a funeral at Wawel Castle—to be laid to rest next to the man who had imprisoned his children.

Why did Prince Alexander refuse the crown handed to him on a silver platter? How did Sobieski's granddaughter escape captivity in Innsbruck and frighten the King of England? And how was it possible for a family that had everything to vanish in 44 years?

📜 ABOUT THE FILM
This is a documentary story about the fall of the Sobieski family—from the victory of Vienna in 1683 to the death of the last member of the family in 1740. You'll discover the family war at Wilanów after the king's death, the fierce election of 1697, the kidnapping of Princes Jakub and Konstanty by Augustus the Strong, and their captivity in the Königstein Fortress. We also tell the story of Queen Marie Casimire, also known as Marysieńka, who ended her life in exile in France, and the dramatic wedding of Maria Klementyna Sobieska to a pretender to the throne of England. This is the story of a Polish royal dynasty whose bloodline lives on in emperors and Bonnie Prince Charlie, though her surname has disappeared forever.

💬 QUESTION FOR VIEWERS
Aleksander Sobieski could have become King of Poland, but he refused because his brother was imprisoned. Did he do the right thing—or did he lack the courage to save his family? Tell us in the comments what you would have done.

🔔 If you enjoy true stories of Polish kings and their families, stories not taught in school, subscribe to The Forgotten Royals channel and ring the bell so you don't miss the next story.

📚 SOURCES
Zbigniew Wójcik, "Jan Sobieski 1629–1696," PIW, Warsaw 1983
Jan III Sobieski, "Letters to Marysieńka," ed. Leszek Kukulski, Czytelnik, Warsaw 1962
Paweł Jasienica, "The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth", PIW
Władysław Konopczyński, "History of Modern Poland"
Michał Komaszyński, "Maria Casimire d'Arquien-Sobieska, Queen of Poland (1641–1716)", Wydawnictwo Literackie, Cracow 1983; "The Beautiful Queen Maria Casimire d'Arquien-Sobieska", Cracow 1995
Aleksandra Skrzypietz, "Royal Sons – Jakub, Aleksander, and Konstanty Sobiescy", Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego, Katowice 2011; "Jakub Sobieski", Poznań 2015
Aleksandra Skrzypietz, "The Court of Marie Casimire in Blois – Its Composition and Dissolution after the Queen's Death", Wilanów Studies, vol. XXIII, 2016
Anna Czarniecka, "The Letters of Queen Marie Casimire as an Element of the Political Campaign during the Interregnum (1696–1697)", Wilanów Studies, vol. XXIII, 2016
Charles Wogan, "Female Fortitude Exemplify'd...", London 1722
Hanna Osiecka-Samsonowicz, "Esequie solelenni celebrate nel 1743 a Żółkiew per il principe reale Jakub Ludwik Sobieski", Eastern European History Review, 2020
Museum of King Jan III's Palace at Wilanów — online research materials (including Hanna Widacka, "Funeral of King Jan III Sobieski")

#Sobiescy #JanIIISobieski #PolishHistory #Marysieńka #Documentary