The corpse of Maximilian of Habsburg photographed by Francois Aubert.

After being executed by firing squad on June 19, 1867, the body of Maximilian I of Mexico was embalmed twice, the first time very poorly.

The man in charge of preserving the body was a certain Dr. Licea, who not only did a poor job and took a week to complete it, but also showed a lack of respect for the deceased’s body. “What a delight it is to wash one’s hands in the blood of an emperor,” he exclaimed as he removed Maximilian’s entrails. A Mexican officer known as “The Hyena” placed the viscera around the former monarch’s head. “Did you want a crown? Well, this is your crown now.”

Since the liquid used for embalming was unsuitable, Maximilian’s body began to decompose rapidly. Instead of using blue prosthetic eyes, matching the color of the emperor’s eyes, the glass eyes of a Virgin statue from the Cathedral of Querétaro were used.

Locks of Maximilian’s beard and hair, and even handkerchiefs soaked in his blood, were sold at a high price by Dr. Licea for his own profit.

News of the execution reached Austria on July 1 via the U.S. embassy. Emperor Franz Joseph demanded the immediate return of his brother’s remains so they could be buried in the family crypt, but Benito Juárez refused. This stance forced him to send Admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff, hero of Lissa, with a frigate to convince the Mexicans that it was best to see reason.

Since the embalmed body was in terrible condition, it was re-embalmed, this time by doctors Agustín Andrade, Rafael Ramiro Montaño, and Felipe Buenrostro. It was properly made up and fitted with a false beard, then immersed in arsenic for preservation. The Mexican government donated a richly adorned coffin.

On November 26, Maximilian returned to Austria on the same ship that had brought him to this Mexican adventure.

When his mother, Archduchess Sophie, saw the body, she said, “That is not my son.”


📌 Following a criminal trial, Dr. Licea was imprisoned for two years. He defended himself by saying that he received no financial support from the authorities and therefore performed the embalming using chemicals that were not appropriate. However, he could not refute the charges of theft and sale of items he had taken from the emperor’s body.

After a long wait and the arrival of his remains from Europe, the body of Maximilian I of Mexico was received with imperial honors in Trieste before being transported to Vienna. There, a solemn state funeral was held in the presence of the court of Franz Joseph I of Austria, where various efforts were made to restore his dignity—not only to give the deceased a memorable send-off but also for the sake of his family. Finally, he was buried in the Imperial Crypt of the Capuchins, the resting place of the Habsburg dynasty, thus closing a tragic chapter in history.

Even so, with the passage of time and attempts to restore his honorable image, the figure of Maximilian remained shrouded in controversy until the end. But he will always be a lasting memory in history; some may remember him as an idealist, others as an emperor imposed by vested interests, but one thing that will never be forgotten is that, despite everything—including the treatment of his body—he became a symbol of the collapse of the Second Mexican Empire and a warning about the consequences of political ambition.

To conclude this story in memory not of an emperor but of a man whose end, though not what was expected, was in keeping with his ideals—for a farewell is not the end but the beginning of a legacy that will endure—let us now reflect on a bit of history and pay tribute to the man behind the controversy.