The Tale Of Austria's 'Reluctant Empress' Was Far Darker Than We Ever Knew

Being a 19th-century European royal was a fascinating pursuit. You got access to the best of everything — food, clothing, education — but were forced to follow strict rules. For those who didn't want to be paraded under piles of hot fabric and deal with serving their demanding people, this commitment was torture. Empress Elizabeth of Austria, better known as Sisi, was someone who struggled with her position. She was terrified that the appointment would be the end of her — and unfortunately, she was right.

Living The Dream

Sisi was born in 1837 in Munich in the German state of Bavaria. Her childhood sounds beautiful — she spent her youth playing in the Bavarian woods with her seven siblings. They would ride horses and climb the nearby mountains. This peace wouldn’t last.

A Big Wedding

On April 25, 1854, she married the 23-year-old Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria when she was only 16. Austria was Europe’s second largest empire at the time, so this union was an important one.

Mismatched

Franz was a kind husband to Sisi. He’d known her from a young age, since the two were cousins and he’d long been interested in her. The feeling wasn't mutual. When they were courting, she was too nervous to eat anything around him.

Out Of Place

As Sisi grew used to living in the Hofburg imperial palace, she drew further inward. She hated being in the court and didn’t have any friends. Franz and his mother, Archduchess Sophie, ignored and abhorred her neglect of her social life, respectively.