Empress Elizabeth "Sisi"
Nee Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria (1837–1898), "Sisi" was a cousin of King Ludwig II of Bavaria. She married the 24-year old Emperor Francis Joseph in 1854. Despite a cold start to their marriage, the two eventually reconciled, and fell in love. Theirs was a classic, mid-19th century, courtly relationship, where occasional infidelity by one or both parties was discretely accepted. They were, for the most part, "happy" by the standards of the day, and were married for over 44 years. When Elisabeth was assassinated in 1898, the widowed emperor was devastated by the loss. Creating the Order of Elisabeth was as much a public show of affection as his memorial to her as it was to honor Saint Elisabeth.
Read more about this topic: Order Of Elizabeth
Famous quotes containing the word empress:
“We never really are the adults we pretend to be. We wear the mask and perhaps the clothes and posture of grown-ups, but inside our skin we are never as wise or as sure or as strong as we want to convince ourselves and others we are. We may fool all the rest of the people all of the time, but we never fool our parents. They can see behind the mask of adulthood. To her mommy and daddy, the empress never has on any clothes—and knows it.”
—Frank Pittman (20th century)