The Rose of Bavaria: A Free-spirited Beauty Who Bathed Her Ankle-length Hair in Cognac and Eggs.
Franz Winterhalter’s iconic 1865 portrait of Elisabeth (Sisi) at age 27, with a coquettish smile and bejeweled hair.
Born on December 24th, 1837, in Munich, Sisi’s story is about a beautiful, strong-willed, independent young woman who marries into a royal family very different from her own. Growing up, Elisabeth—nicknamed Sisi—and her siblings enjoyed an unrestrained and unstructured life where the beauty often skipped her academic lessons to enjoy her passion for riding in the countryside.
In 1853, Sisi’s life was forever changed when her family visited Franz Joseph, the Emperor of Vienna, to finalize an arranged marriage to Sisi’s sister, Helene. Born into a branch of the royal Bavarian family, Helene was the intended wife. However, struck by Sisi’s beauty, the Hapsburg King fell in love with Sissi at first site, vowing to make her his wife. Having caught the eye of the Emperor, Franz Joseph asked for Sisi’s hand in marriage instead.
Sadly, the enigmatic couple’s new life together got off to a difficult start. In 1854, upon marrying the Emperor of Austria in Vienna at 16, Sisi immediately became overwhelmed by the rigidity and rules of royal life. Compounding Sisi’s difficult transition to the royal court, the Emperor’s overbearing and controlling mother (Archduchess Sophie) disapproved of the union and became an ever increasing wedge between the newly married couple.
Sisi’s troubles were not only due to being forced to conform to a demanding and restrictive new royal life. Sisi was also excessively focused on her beauty. She exercised rigorously and dieted to maintain her 19-inch waist, which, at one point, only measured 16 inches in circumference. She installed a gymnastics room at the palace and took up fencing in her 50s to keep her figure. A fervent horsewoman, she rode daily for hours on end, becoming the world’s best female equestrian at the time. After riding, Sisi often went on walks for up to 10 hours. At times, Sisi’s rigorous exercise, stress from battling with her domineering mother-in-law, and restrictive diet brought her to exhaustion.
Although she exercised and dieted rigorously, her favorite indulgence was a box of candied violets or violet ice cream from Demels in Vienna. Today, Sisi’s picture is immortalized on chocolate boxes in Vienna, and you can still find violet ice cream at Demels.
A Beloved Empress
Sisi quickly became loved by the people of Vienna for her sympathy of their democratic struggles. Having grown up independently with strong free will and little supervision in Bavaria, Sisi empathized with the people of her nation and sought freedom from the control of aristocracy by rebelling against the rigid rules of the Imperial Vienna Court.
To escape her gilded cage, Sisi frequently traveled between the Imperial Palace to Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna and to locations throughout Austria, such as the Imperial Palace Innsbruck, Leopoldskron Castle in Salzburg, Hofburg Palace, and the Imperial Villa in Bad Ischl.
Sisi was happiest in the saddle riding through the countryside and became an expert equestrian and a poet. The Empress’s accomplishments equaled her beauty, and her horse-riding skills ranked her as the best female equestrian in Europe.
Revered for both her beauty and accomplishments, Sisi still inspires adulation among sportswomen, fashion icons, travelers, poets, and Hungarians to this day.
An Epic Beauty
The Empress was widely regarded throughout the continent as one of the most beautiful and accomplished women of her era. Sisi was a unparalleled beauty, with her pride and joy being her ankle-length hair.
Emperor Franz worshipped his wife and even had a painting of Sisi with her hair billowing down in natural splendor hung above his desk where he could gaze upon her beauty.
By age 21, Sisi had born three children, only two of whom lived. Her first child was a daughter, Sophie Friederike, who died at the young age of two. Shortly after, Gisela, a second daughter, was born. Then, Sisi gave birth to a son and the heir to the throne, Rudolf.
,However, Sisi’s children grew up apart from their mother, who suffered bouts of melancholy. Sisi’s mental health was severely affected by the deaths of her two children, Sophie, who died at the age of two and her son, Crown Prince Rudolf. Prince Rudolf was found dead at a hunting lodge in Mayerling on the morning of January 30, 1889, with Maria Vetsera, Prince Rudolf’s rumored seventeen-year-old paramour. The cause of their deaths was reputed to be a murder-suicide pact.
Saddened by the ill fates of her family and eternally in mourning, Sisi only wore black from this time forward.
Grieving from the deaths of her children, Sisi became reclusive. No one except her chambermaids saw her face, which she hid behind a veil, fan, or umbrella when she went out into the open. The last photo of Sisi was taken at age thirty, and the last painting at age forty.
Sisi’s Death: A Tragic Victim of an Assassin’s Blade.
On September 10, 1898, during a visit to Switzerland, a man bumped into Sisi on the banks of Lake Geneva. The Empress thought the man had merely knocked her over, so she stood up, apologized to passers-by for her mishap, and hurried with her chambermaid onto the ship, which she was about to sail across the lake.
Once on board the ship, the Empress collapsed. Apparently, Sissi was unaware she had been stabbed and did not notice her injury. An assassin had thrust a sharpened file into her heart.
Sisi’s last words were, “What actually happened?” Minutes later, the woman who was to become the most famous of all Habsburgs died at the age of 60. Sisi had been mortally stabbed by an Italian anarchist, Luigi Luccheni.
The Royal Funeral Procession
During Sisi’s life, the Hungarians held her in high regard because she supported their autonomy as the Austrian empire, which became Austria-Hungary. Show below is the Royal Austrien hearst, which carried Sisi’s body.
Dennis Jarvis from Halifax, Canada, CC BY-SA 2.0
Sisi was mourned deeply by thousands of her loyal subjects. The inscription on her coffin reads, “Elisabeth, Empress of Austria”. Having adored Sisi, the Hungarians insisted the words “and Queen of Hungary” be added to the inscription.
As evidence of her popularity, the entire empire fell into deep mourning, with 82 sovereigns and high-ranking nobles joining her funeral procession to the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church on September 17, 1897.
For those who love to immerse themselves in a book, I highly recommend the captivating two-book series, The Accidental Empress and Sisi, Empress on Her Own by Allison Patiki shown below:
If you enjoy cinematic films, I recommend Netflix’s 2022 version of Sisi’s life titled The Empress. The Empress will transport you back in time to the early years of Sisi’s and Emperor Franz Joseph’s passionate attraction and marriage:
For those of you who love all things royal like I do, I hope you enjoy reading and watching the movie The Empress on Netflix.
