Born Elisabeth Amalia Eugenia in Munich into the royal Bavarian House of Wittelsbach. She and her siblings grew up in an unrestrained and unstructured environment, and as a child, she loved to spend time in nature and often skipped her educational lessons. In 1853, at 15, she accompanied her mother and sister Helene to meet her sister’s betrothed, their cousin, 23 years old Emperor Franz Joseph. On their arrival, the emperor set his eyes on young Sisi and decided to marry her instead of Helene. Their wedding took place eight months later, and she became Empress of Austria. Growing up carefree, she had struggled to adapt to the formality of court life and soon developed a health problem. Her behavior antagonized her aunt and mother-in-law, Archduchess Sophie of Austria, who thought of her as a silly young woman. When Sisi had her first child, her mother-in-law named the newborn after herself and took the baby without allowing Sisi to raise her. The same thing happened again when she had her second child Archduchess Gisela of Austria. In 1857, the 20 years old empress first arrived in Hungary. There, she felt independent again and connected with the Hungarian people, who were infatuated with her. Throughout the years, Sisi spent much time in Hungary, learned Hungarian, and even played an instrumental role in the negotiation that formed the Austro-Hungarian monarchy in 1867. Upon this agreement, Sisi became the queen of Hungary. On the same first trip, both of her children became ill, and while Gisela recovered, Sophie didn’t. Following her daughter’s death, the already melancholic empress fell into periods of depression and developed an eating disorder. In 1858, she gave birth to her third child and heir to the throne, Archduke and Crown Prince Rudolf. Once again, she was prevented from taking an active role in her son’s life, which aggravated her eating disorder and deteriorated her mental and physical health. In the next two years, she traveled to various places to recover. After returning to Vienna, she was pressured into having another child to secure the succession, and in 1868, she gave birth to Archduchess Marie Valerie. This time, she insisted on remaining in control of her child’s upbringing. Despite her victory, the lack of stimulation in Vienna and her uncommunicative relationship with her husband made her restless, and for the next three decades, she became a frequent traveler. She toured the world, visiting Greece, Portugal, Italy, Malta, Turkey, Morocco, and Egypt. In 1889, her son committed suicide with his mistress. Deeply depressed, Sisi began to wear only black, and her travels became more frequent and longer, barely visiting her husband in Vienna. On 10 September 1898, while walking along the promenade in Geneva, she was stabbed by an Italian anarchist. She was 61 years old. Her funeral was held seven days later, and she was buried in the Imperial Crypt of the Church of the Capuchin Friars in Vienna. Read more...