Charting the rise and fall of Empress Elisabeth “Sissi” of Bavaria—often compared to Princess Diana—this riveting royal drama could be your next obsession.
The daughter of a Bavarian duke, Elisabeth never aspired to a role in the Habsburg court, reveling in the freedom of her life in the countryside outside of Munich. Yet, in the summer of 1853, Sisi traveled with her mother Ludovika and beautiful older sister Helene to the Austrian resort of Bad Ischl to meet with her cousin, Emperor Franz Joseph, whom the family believed would propose to Helene.
Despite reports that Elisabeth fell in love with Franz as quickly as he fell in love with her, adjusting to the Habsburg court proved difficult for her from the beginning. When a state carriage paraded her through Vienna during her wedding celebrations, Sisi could be seen weeping by the thousands of spectators who lined the roads.
It set the tone for the next 40 years of Elisabeth’s life, defined by adulating praise and moments of resistance against the strictures of court, worlds away from her Bavarian childhood. Making matters worse: Elisabeth’s fraught relationship with Archduchess Sophie—who, until Sisi’s marriage, had been the highest-ranking female member of the Viennese court—and Franz’s reckless younger brother Maximilian, who was by no means content playing the spare to Franz’s heir.
Much like the Princess of Wales, Sisi inspired almost manic devotion amongst the public from her wedding onwards, becoming the first celebrity royal in Europe. Naturally, her famous beauty helped. Her chestnut hair reached past her waist, with Elisabeth spending three hours having her locks tended to each day . As she aged, a fear of losing her beauty consumed her.