She was the 19th-century version of a global superstar. People obsessed over her hair. They whispered about her diet. They tracked her travel schedule like it was some kind of high-stakes sport. But if you think Empress Sisi of Austria was just a tragic princess trapped in a gilded cage—the way she’s often portrayed in The Empress or the classic Sissi films—you’re only getting about ten percent of the story.
Elisabeth of Bavaria wasn't just a face. She was a complicated, often frustrating, and deeply modern woman who basically spent her entire life trying to escape a job she never applied for. Honestly, she was a bit of a rebel, but not always in the "heroic" way we like to imagine today.
The Hair, The Fasting, and The Reality of Being Empress Sisi of Austria
Let's talk about the hair first, because Sisi definitely did. It was ankle-length. It took three hours to style every single day. If a single strand fell out during the brushing process, her hairdresser, Fanny Feifalik, reportedly had to hide it or risk a royal meltdown. This wasn't just vanity. For Empress Sisi of Austria, her beauty was her only real currency in a court that otherwise wanted her to be a quiet, obedient baby-machine for the Habsburg line.
She was basically the original influencer, but with a much darker edge. She was terrifyingly disciplined. While the rest of the Viennese court was stuffing themselves with Sachertorte and heavy gravies, Sisi was often living on nothing but orange juice, thin broth, or—oddly enough—the strained juice of raw steaks. She had gymnastics rings installed in her dressing room. She walked for seven or eight hours at a time, leaving her ladies-in-waiting exhausted and limping behind her.
Historians like Brigitte Hamann, who wrote the definitive biography The Reluctant Empress, suggest she likely struggled with what we would now diagnose as anorexia nervosa. She weighed herself daily. If she tipped over 50kg (about 110 lbs), she’d go into an immediate fasting cycle. She was 5'8". That’s a dangerously low BMI, but in her mind, control over her body was the only way to spite the mother-in-law, Archduchess Sophie, who controlled everything else.
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The Hungarian Connection: More Than Just a Flirtation
The movies love to focus on her romance with Emperor Franz Joseph. And yeah, he was obsessed with her. He wrote her "My Dear Angel" letters until the day she died. But Sisi? She grew bored of him pretty quickly. He was a bureaucrat. He loved stamps and military uniforms and waking up at 4:00 AM to sign papers. She loved Byron’s poetry, the sea, and political intrigue.
Her real passion was Hungary. At the time, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was a powder keg. Most of the Viennese elite looked down on the Hungarians as rebels. Sisi did the opposite. She learned the language (which is notoriously difficult) and became close friends—some say too close—with Count Gyula Andrássy.
She wasn't just doing this to be nice. She played a massive role in the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867. She pushed Franz Joseph to give Hungary its own constitution and parliament. It’s one of the few times she actually used her power for something bigger than her own personal freedom. When they were crowned King and Queen of Hungary in Buda, it was arguably the only time she actually looked happy in her official role.
The Tragedy at Mayerling and the Black Veil
Everything changed in 1889. Her only son, Crown Prince Rudolf, was found dead in a hunting lodge at Mayerling alongside his teenage mistress, Mary Vetsera. It was a murder-suicide. The scandal rocked Europe, but it absolutely destroyed Sisi.
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She gave away all her jewelry. She wore nothing but black for the rest of her life. She became a ghost. She spent her final decade wandering the Mediterranean on her yacht, the Miramare, or hiding behind leather fans and silk umbrellas so no one could see her aging face. She even got an anchor tattoo on her shoulder—a move that was absolutely scandalous for a woman of her rank in the 1880s. It was her way of saying she belonged to the sea, not the Hofburg Palace.
The End in Geneva: A Pointless Death
Her death was as surreal as her life. In 1898, while walking to a steamship in Geneva, she was approached by an Italian anarchist named Luigi Lucheni. He didn't even know who she was at first; he just wanted to kill "someone royal" to make a point. He stabbed her with a sharpened needle file.
Because her corset was laced so tightly, she didn't even realize she’d been lethally wounded. She boarded the boat, fainted, and only when they loosened her stays did the blood begin to pour out. She was 60 years old.
Why Sisi Still Matters to Us
We’re still talking about Empress Sisi of Austria because she’s a mirror for our own modern anxieties. We see a woman who was obsessed with her image, who felt alienated by her job, and who struggled with mental health in an era that didn't even have a word for it.
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She wasn't a saint. She was often cold to her older children. She was self-absorbed. She spent ridiculous amounts of taxpayer money on her "Achilleion" palace in Corfu. But she was undeniably human.
How to Explore the Sisi Legend Yourself
If you’re genuinely interested in the real Elisabeth and want to get past the Netflix gloss, here is what you should actually do:
- Read the Poetry: Sisi wrote volumes of poetry inspired by Heinrich Heine. It’s often moody, cynical, and surprisingly funny. It gives you a direct line into her head.
- Visit the Sisi Museum in Vienna: Don't just look at the gowns. Look at the exercise equipment. Seeing the actual gymnastics bars she used in the 1800s makes her "fitness obsession" feel much more real and visceral.
- Check Out "The Reluctant Empress" by Brigitte Hamann: If you want the facts without the romantic fluff, this is the gold standard. It deconstructs the myth while still respecting the woman.
- Watch 'Corsage' (2022): While it takes creative liberties, this film captures the stifling, claustrophobic atmosphere of her later years better than any of the "fairytale" versions.
The story of Sisi is a reminder that even the most beautiful, powerful people in the world can be trapped by the very things that make them famous. She spent her life trying to run away, and in a way, through her legend, she’s still moving.