She was called by the nickname ‘Sissi’ from an early age but she was born Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie of the House of Wittelsbach on 24 December 1837 in Munich, Bavaria. Her parents were Maximilian Joseph, Duke of Bavaria and Ludovika, Royal Princess of Bavaria.
Empress of Austria
Enamored with traveling from an early age, she accompanied her mother and 18-year-old sister, Helene to the Upper Austrian resort of Bad Ischi to meet her maternal cousin, Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria. It was hoped Helene would make a favourable impression of the young emperor but instead he fell for Elisabeth and married her in Vienna on 24 April 1854. In later years Sissi wrote that she always regretted accepting his proposal.
In the ensuing years Elisabeth bore three children, Sophie (1855), Gisela (18586) and the crown prince, Rudolf (1858). She soon fell ill to a presumed lung disease and left Vienna for warmer climes. She wintered in Madeira but fell ill again after returning to Vienna and sailed to Corfu. Her children were raised by Sophie, her mother-in-law and Sissi was denied any major influence over them.
Queen of Hungary
She returned to Vienna and once again exerted a strong influence over her husband so that in 1867 as Empress of Austria she was at his side when they were crowned King and Queen of Hungary. The next year she gave birth to a third daughter, Marie Valerie. Unfortunately, her continued erratic behavior had a negative effect on her marriage. Her passion for fashion, dieting, horse back riding and lovers was more important to her than her political duties. Once again she took to traveling, spending little time with her children, she visited Hungary, England, Madeira and Corfu.
Mayerling Affair
Tragedy struck in 1889 when Elisabeth learned of the death of her son, Crown Prince Rudolf. The 30-year-old prince and his lover, Baroness Mary Vetsera had been found dead, apparently by suicide in their hunting lodge Mayerling in Lower Austria.
Elisabeth now spent even less time in Austria with her husband though paradoxically she wrote more letters and through their correspondence they grew closer. She spent much of her time cruising the Mediterranean on the Imperial Yacht Miramar, favoring Cap Martin in the French Riviera and the island of Corfu. She visited Egypt, Turkey, Greece, Malta, Spain and Portugal, places few royals bothered to tour. In the summer she often visited Bad Ischl in Austria or Switzerland’s Lake Geneva.
Assassination
It was at Lake Geneva, on 10 September 1898 that the 60 year old Empress was walking the promenade to board the steamship Geneve when Luigi Lucheni, a young anarchist drove a sharpened file into her heart. Unaware of the severity of the wound due to her tight corset holding the bleeding back, she boarded the ship. It was not until the wound was exposed that the severity of the puncture became apparent. She died soon afterwards and was buried in the Imperial crypt in Vienna.
Source:
Brigitte Hamann - The Reluctant Empress: A Biography of Empress Elisabeth of Austria – 1968
