Why the life of the Austrian Empress Sissi is compared to the story of Princess Diana

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

She had a carefree childhood and an almost "fabulous" life, so similar to a golden cage. She was loved and despised. They looked at her with admiration, adoration and envy. She was the very woman who once saw her, it was impossible to forget. And the history of the Bavarian rose is compared with the story of Princess Diana, who became the favorite of the whole world …

Elizabeth, daughter of Duke Maximilian Joseph of Bavaria and his wife Louis, was born on Christmas Eve 1837. Her father was a rather cheerful and eccentric aristocrat, something of a poet who felt at home in the forests and fields of his country estate. She spent her childhood in a carefree rural life in the company of her brothers, sisters, dogs and horses.

In August 1853, Archduchess Sophia, mother of Franz Joseph I, Emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire of the Habsburgs, invited her sister Ludovica and daughter Elena to Bad Ischl. Fifteen-year-old Sissy also came. These two ladies planned that the emperor, who at that time was twenty-three years old, would look at Elena as a future bride. To everyone's horror, he only looked at Sissy.

In April 1854, at the age of sixteen, Sissi married Franz Joseph and became Empress of Austria. In 1855 and 1856, she gave birth to two daughters, the eldest of whom died of measles at the age of two. Finally, in 1858, the long-awaited Crown Prince Rudolph was born.

However, the unusually beautiful and cheerful Sissy turned into a fairy-tale princess living in a gilded cage. As Empress of Austria, she had to behave appropriately, but her carefree country childhood made itself felt. Elizabeth openly despised the ceremony and was rewarded with strong disapproval from her mother-in-law, Archduchess Sophie. This formidable lady forbade shopping, trips out of town, drinking beer. She even took Sissy's children as soon as they were born and chose names for them! Franz Joseph would not mind his mother.

Persecuted by her mother-in-law, Sissy sought refuge from the public eye in her private quarters, and her health began to suffer. Was diagnosed with tuberculosis. In 1859 she was sent to Madeira aboard a yacht by the British Queen Victoria and lived there anonymously for several months. Despite her recovery, her attempts to return to Vienna, where her mother-in-law was still ruled, immediately led to a relapse, and she eventually took refuge in Corfu and Venice. Throughout her life, her husband remained completely devoted to her.

In the 19th century, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was called "the weak and sore link of Europe." Under the pressure of the desire for national identity on the part of the Slavs, Czechs, Italians and especially the Hungarians, the Habsburg empire collapsed, which was facilitated by the clumsy and indecisive policy of Franz Joseph. Nevertheless, through hard work, long hours, inimitable dignity and a deep sense of duty, he managed to preserve the remnants of the Empire during his sixty-eight years of reign from 1848 to 1916. Until 1914, there was a long period of peace and relative stability in Central Europe, but in 1919, the empire he had once saved collapsed like a house of cards, finally disintegrating.

In 1865, the man in charge of the upbringing of Crown Prince Rudolph, appointed by Archduchess Sophia, turned out to be an irresponsible rogue. This is what prompted Sissy to put forward an ultimatum to her husband that from now on she will be fully responsible for all decisions concerning not only herself, but also children. Franz Joseph agreed, and the mother-in-law's power began to weaken. And Sissy literally blossomed before our eyes. Her intelligence, beauty, simplicity and kindness from the very first seconds fascinated everyone around: from mere mortals, sick and wounded to Prussian generals.

Sissi began to take an interest in political issues, in particular the desire of the Hungarians to achieve independence. She was instrumental in achieving the Austro-Hungarian compromise, which gave the Hungarians a certain degree of self-government. This political decision was so successful for all parties that Franz Joseph and Elizabeth were crowned King and Queen of Hungary in June 1867. She now spent most of her time in the Hungarian palace located in Gödell, northeast of Budapest. She gave birth to another daughter, Marie-Valerie, who was raised as a Hungarian. Sissi spoke several languages, including German, French, English, Greek, and Hungarian. She had Hungarian servants and enjoyed immense popularity in this country up to the present day.

After 1870, the Bavarian rose largely retired from public life. She became an experienced and courageous horsewoman who enjoyed spending her winters hunting foxes in England and Ireland. Obsessed with her appearance and maintaining her figure, the unsurpassed Sissy trained almost daily in her own apartment, where she had her own training room. For decades, she followed a starvation diet that bordered on anorexia. When sciatica, who made itself known, made horseback riding impossible, she devoted herself to poetry and travel, especially the study of ancient Greece.

But as you know, every fairy tale has its own sad end. The news that the crown prince had committed suicide devastated Sissi and especially Franz Joseph, since he had no other male heirs. Although formally still an empress, Sissi spent the last ten years of her life on hectic travels, always dressing in black.

In September 1898, shortly before noon, she was stabbed to death by an Italian anarchist. There was nothing personal about it. Luigi was clearly ready to attack any member of the nobility, and Sissi was the first to stand in his way and fit that description. Wounded, but not realizing the seriousness of her injury, she staggered aboard the steamer and immediately after sailing, fainted, died.

It's hard not to draw a comparison between Sissy and Princess Diana. Both women were distinguished by their extraordinary beauty, charm and natural grace and were popular far beyond the borders of their country. Both departed from the ceremonies of outdated regimes, but still represented their countries with dignity and style. Both died tragically, leaving an indelible mark on history.

P. S

What happened in Mayerling's snow-covered hunting lodge on the night of January 29-30, 1889, is considered one of the most extraordinary tragedies of the 19th century. Sissi's son, Crown Prince Rudolph, was the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He secretly asked his dad to divorce his wife, Princess Stephanie, so that he could marry Maria Supper, a seventeen-year-old girl he had known for only a few weeks. The Pope refused and reported this to his father, Emperor Franz Joseph. After a terrible quarrel, the emperor told Rudolph that he was not worthy to inherit the throne.

Having suffered a double setback, the impressionable and emotionally agitated prince concluded a double suicide pact with Maria. They went secretly to Mayerling and spent the night together. At about seven o'clock in the morning, he first shot at Maria, and then shot himself.

Nevertheless, there are still many different alternative versions on this score. One of which says that in fact Rudolph was in poor condition. He suffered from syphilis, had a cocaine addiction and was depressed, considering himself worthless and unworthy to rule the state. In addition, Rudolph loved to play with firearms and turned to other young ladies with proposals for a death pact. He left three suicide notes: to mother Sissy, sister Maria-Valeria and a footman with a request to bury him next to his beloved. But here, too, fortune turned its back on him …

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