Franz Joseph was the eldest son of Archduke Francis Charles and Sophia, daughter of King Maximilian I of Bavaria. As his uncle Emperor Ferdinand (I) was childless, Franz Joseph was educated as his heir-presumptive. In the spring of 1848 he served with the Austrian forces in Italy, where Lombardy-Venetia, supported by King Charles Albert of Sardinia, had rebelled against Austrian rule. When revolution spread to the capitals of the Austrian Empire, Franz Joseph was proclaimed emperor at Olmütz (Olomouc) on December 2, 1848, after the abdication of Ferdinand—the rights of his father, the archduke, to the throne having been passed over. Hopes of a revival of monarchist sentiments were raised by his radiant, youthful appearance.