Being a prince wasn't the great work it was reputed to be either - they had little more say in who they married. Mind you some of those marriages worked out beautifully; Marie Feodorovna and Alexander III for example only married because his elder brother died before he could marry Marie (Princess Dagmar of Denmark). The marriage of George V and Mary of Teck had a similar awkward beginning but both were extremely successful and happy. On the other hand marriages for love could be disastrous; Franz Joseph's to the spoiled and narcissistic Empress Elisabeth for example.

Everybody talks about how unhappy SHE was - how about HIM? SHE traveled at will, built herself huge expensive palaces and did exactly as she liked. HE stayed home, worked hard at being Emperor and was humbly grateful for whatever crumbs of attention she spared him.

Elisabeth is blamed by some historians for the Mayerling suicide/murder. Granted she was a neglectful mostly absent mother. Granted Rudolph probably inherited some unfortunate mental weaknesses from her but blaming her for an action he took of his own free will is as unfair as blaming Stephanie or Mary Vetsera.