Sissi was born as daughter
of Duke Maximilian and Duchess Ludovika in Bavaria. In 1853
she got to know her cousin Emporer Franz Joseph, who was
going to marry Sissi's sister Helene. Franz Joseph fell
in love with Sissi immediately and decided to marry her
instead of her sister. When Sissi arrived in Vienna, she
soon found out, that her life at the court in Vienna would
not be very easy.
The Viennese aristocracy was making fun of her and her mother
in law Sophie took over the control of her life. Her children
were taken from her and Sissi was barely allowed to see
them, putting her in deep depression and illness. After
two year of cure and lodging in Madeira, Korfu and Bavaria,
Sissi returned with new confidence to Vienna. She decided
to take control for political issues and soon took interest
in Hungary, the very troubled neighbour of Austria. In 1867
she was crowned Queen of Hungary. Sissi was obsessed with
her beauty and her perfect figure and taking care of her
body, resulting in anorexia. Her very liberal ideas, her
call for a republic structure and her effort for the poor
and troublesome made her very popular with the Austrian
people.
In 1870 she decided to withdraw from public life and tried
to live the life of a private person. On the 10th of September,
while she was walking through Geneva, she was assassinated
by a young Italian anarchist.
