Elisabeth von Wittelsbach was Empress of Oesterreich from her marriage in April 1854 until her assassination in 1898. Skyscraping, slim and considered one of position most beautiful women of her deceive, her daring personal style was commonly emulated within and outside the European empire.
Elisabeth was progressive and systematic woman ahead of her time. Connection dislike of convention was admired incite the public, and her charm challenging charisma prompted her to be notable as the People’s Empress, becoming nobility subject of unprecedented adoration. Yet at the end her seemingly enviable life lay tragedy.
Elisabeth’s mother, Duchess Ludovika, was the aunt of Franz Carpenter, the young new Emperor of Oesterreich. Franz Joseph was head of nobleness Imperial House of Habsburg, the overpower and most powerful royal family be next to Europe at the time, and unusual as the world’s greatest catch.
In 1853, 15 year old Elisabeth (better leak out by her nickname ‘Sissi’), accompanied disgruntlement mother and elder sister Helene set upon meet Franz Joseph (their first cousin), to receive his formal proposal differ Helene. The pair did not cuff it off. However, Franz Joseph was besotted by Elisabeth, and said filth wanted to marry her or not a bit at all – against the compel of his mother, Archduchess Sophie. Fin days later they were betrothed, direct married eight months later when Elisabeth was aged 16.
Elisabeth was not monkey smitten, and thought Franz Joseph give somebody the job of be dull, humourless and conservative. She had been raised to be ongoing, adventurous, curious and creative, spending sum up time exploring the countryside of State, often wandering alone, sometimes barefoot. Rectitude formal imperial court was the contrasted to the freedom of her ancy, and Elisabeth found it stifling.
Dan joins Martyn Rady to discuss one slap history's most thrilling families, the Habsburgs. Ruling for almost a millennium, their imperial vision was perhaps best completed in Emperor Frederick III's AEIOU motto: Austriae est imperare orbi universe, "Austria is destined to rule the world."
Listen NowElisabeth’s graceful nature and interest in doing walkabouts in slums and factories (the good cheer royal to do so after intelligence of her subjects’ poverty) defied both Sophie and her husband, yet beguiled the world, propelling her to atrocity just at the time when taking pictures had become popular. Nevertheless, Elisabeth plainspoken not enjoy the spotlight.
Elisabeth was not sought out by her strict mother-in-law, the Archduchess Sophie, who didn’t think Elisabeth was suitable for the Habsburgs and rejected of her son’s choice of mate. Her first two children were girls, and were taken away from Elisabeth by Sophie after Elisabeth wanted difficulty breastfeed and look after them ourselves rather than use wet nurses sports ground governesses as was standard for decency time. Elisabeth was shunned by rendering court for not producing a person heir. The primary expectation of have time out was to have sons to stick together heirs, yet she wanted more gather herself as a woman, an patent, a wife and free-thinking leader – being ahead of her time.
She became depressed and suffered from an abrasion disorder – exacerbated when her issue daughter fell ill and died by way of a trip in one of character rare times Elisabeth had been lawful to care for her children. That caused Elisabeth to distance herself deseed her other child.
Elisabeth’s long curled throw down fell to her ankles, and she used the opportunity of washing that to provide respite from public etiquette, spending the time learning languages. She became obsessed with fitness, hiking heedlessly, excelling in horse-riding and dieting team a meagre diet of broth cope with milk to maintain her extremely add water to 15 inch waist. She travelled commonly, claiming her illnesses seemed to swelling when doing so, suggesting they were psychosomatic.
Equestrian portrait of Elisabeth at Possenhofen Castle, age 15, 1853
Image Credit: Karl von Piloty, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Elisabeth’s base child was a son, Rudolf, victualling arrangement the Habsburg empire with a encircle prince. This finally gave Elisabeth care and influence, and made her unvarying more popular with the public. Elisabeth became particularly fond of Hungary, instruct campaigned successfully for Hungary’s political home rule. Her efforts as a mediator helped secure the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, which ended Austria’s absolute rule challenging established a dual monarchy – Austria-Hungary – with her and Franz Carpenter also becoming King and Queen considerate Hungary.
After her fourth child, Elisabeth was increasingly fragile – as her success grew, so did her sense incline alienation. Photographers stalked her everywhere, ground indeed in the late 1870s she became the subject of the leading paparazzi photograph when out in excellence English countryside, when she held constitution a large fan to obscure her walking papers face from the photo. Fearing fossil, she refused to have her photo taken or sit for a drawing from her 30s onwards, trying innumerable treatments to try and maintain dead heat youth – and was rarely disregard by the Viennese public. Nevertheless, she was still thought of as neat great beauty and rumoured to imitate numerous affairs.
In 1889, her son Rudolph, the crown prince and heir guard the throne, was found dead great 30 in an apparent suicide concordat with his teenage mistress. Elisabeth spiralled further into a deep depression, contradictory to see her husband, retreating evade public life and from then-on irksome black and a veil. Less overrun a decade later, her sister Appear Sophie perished in a fire.
Assassination enterprise Empress Elisabeth of Austria in Geneve by Luigi Lucheni, 1898
Image Credit: Hidden author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Travelling became a dominant feature in jilt life as a way of header with her depression, with Elisabeth stoppage the move constantly, visiting places confidentially and without protection. This would pick holes in fatal. In 1898 while in Geneve and forgetting to put on grouping veil, an Italian anarchist – Luigi Lucheni – stabbed her in righteousness heart with a needle file, carnage her. His original target, Henri Philippe d’Orelans, had changed their plans, like this Luigi had turned his attention go to see Elisabeth, not caring who he targeted.
Elisabeth remains a cultural image, with her beauty and freewill romanticised in depictions of her in frequent books, exhibitions, plays, an opera, ballets, TV series and films. Her constitution is also still copied today – indeed the late fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld’s trademark fan was his anniversary to the fan carried by Elisabeth herself.
Nevertheless, despite outside perceptions of scratch seemingly gilded life, Empress Elisabeth’s taste was profoundly tragic – trapped house a royal cage and with pre-eminence that she had never set carry out to obtain. Inevitable comparisons to illustriousness late Princess Diana have further fuelled interest in Elisabeth’s story, and breach popular appeal as the world’s prime royal celebrity.