Empress Elisabeth of Austria

Elisabeth (Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie; German: [eˈliːzaˌbɛt aˈmaːliə ɔʏˈɡeːniə]; 24 December 1837 – 10 September 1898), nicknamed Sisi or Sissi, was Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary from her marriage to Franz Joseph I on 24 April 1854 until her assassination in 1898. Elisabeth was born into the Bavarian House of Wittelsbach but enjoyed an informal upbringing before marrying her first cousin, Emperor Franz Joseph I, at 16. The marriage thrust her into the much more formal Habsburg court life, for which she was unprepared and which she found suffocating. The couple had four children: Sophie, Gisela, Rudolf, and Marie Valerie. Early in her marriage, Elisabeth was at odds with her aunt and mother-in-law, Archduchess Sophie, who took over the rearing of Elisabeth's children. The birth of a son, Rudolf, improved Elisabeth's standing at court, but her health suffered under the strain. As a result, she would often visit Hungary for its more relaxed environment. She came to develop a deep kinship with Hungary and helped to bring about the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary in 1867. The death of Crown Prince Rudolf and his mistress Baroness Mary Vetsera in a murder–suicide at his hunting lodge at Mayerling in 1889 was a blow from which Elisabeth never fully recovered. She withdrew from court duties and travelled widely, unaccompanied by her family. In 1890, she had the palace Achilleion built on the Greek island of Corfu. The palace featured an elaborate mythological motif and served as a refuge, which Elisabeth visited often. She was obsessively concerned with maintaining her youthful figure and beauty, developing a restrictive diet and wearing extremely tightlaced corsets to keep her waist looking very small. While travelling in Geneva in 1898, Elisabeth was fatally stabbed in the heart by an Italian anarchist named Luigi Lucheni. Her tenure of 44 years was the longest of any Austrian empress.

Infobox

Tenure

24 April 1854 – 12 October 1866

Coronation

8 June 1867

Born

Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria(1837-12-24)24 December 1837Munich, Bavaria

Died

10 September 1898(1898-09-10) (aged 60)Geneva, Switzerland

Burial

17 September 1898Imperial Crypt

Spouse

mw- Franz Joseph I of Austria (m. 1854)

Issue

mw- Archduchess Sophie Princess Gisela of Bavaria Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria Archduchess Marie Valerie

Names

NamesElisabeth Amalie Eugenie

House

Wittelsbach

Father

Duke Maximilian Joseph in Bavaria

Mother

Princess Ludovika of Bavaria

Tables

· Honours and arms

Sophie Friederike Dorothea Maria Josepha

Children

Sophie Friederike Dorothea Maria Josepha

Birth

5 March 1855

Death

29 May 1857

Notes

Died in childhood

Gisela Louise Marie

Children

Gisela Louise Marie

Birth

12 July 1856

Death

27 July 1932

Notes

Married, 1873 her second cousin, Prince Leopold of Bavaria; had four children

Rudolf Franz Karl Joseph

Children

Rudolf Franz Karl Joseph

Birth

21 August 1858

Death

30 January 1889

Notes

Married, 1881, Princess Stéphanie of Belgium; had issue; Archduchess Elisabeth Marie of Austria; died in the Mayerling incident

Marie Valerie Mathilde Amalie

Children

Marie Valerie Mathilde Amalie

Birth

22 April 1868

Death

6 September 1924

Notes

Married, 1890 her second cousin, Archduke Franz Salvator of Austria; had issue

Children	Birth	Death	Notes
Sophie Friederike Dorothea Maria Josepha	5 March 1855	29 May 1857	Died in childhood
Gisela Louise Marie	12 July 1856	27 July 1932	Married, 1873 her second cousin, Prince Leopold of Bavaria; had four children
Rudolf Franz Karl Joseph	21 August 1858	30 January 1889	Married, 1881, Princess Stéphanie of Belgium; had issue; Archduchess Elisabeth Marie of Austria; died in the Mayerling incident
Marie Valerie Mathilde Amalie	22 April 1868	6 September 1924	Married, 1890 her second cousin, Archduke Franz Salvator of Austria; had issue

· External links

Austro-Hungarian royalty