1837 born as daughter of Duke Maximilian and Duchess Ludovika in
Munich (
Bavaria). At the age of 16 she fell in
love with her cousin
Franz Joseph, emperor of
Austria, who was formerly promised to her sister Helene. Soon he decided to marry Elisabeth instead of Helene.
But soon the aristocracy of Vienna mocked about her, now being Empress. Inspite of this the common people loved her and gave her the nickname "Sissi". So her mother in law, a leaderperson and very dominant woman, took over control of her life and away Elisabeth's children.
Elisabeth emotional unstable fled to several places like Korfu, Madeira or her birthplace Munich longing for cure of her depression, leaving her children without cover and abandoning the man who loved her.
A few years later she returned to the court of Vienna and decided to take control over her life, her children and political issues, especially Hungary, a troubled neighboring nation of Austria. Finally she and her husband were crowned as king and queen of Hungary.
After this sucess "Sissi" abandoned her beloved ones and her duties another time, becoming obsessed by her own beauty ( finally leading to anorexia nervosa ) and travelled through the whole world, meanwhile taking a very liberal political point of view but not able ( or willing ) to stand up for it, though the people never noticed, still glorifieing her as one of them.
When her son Rudolf committed suicide after an unsuccesful revolt she finally became settled, emotional more dead than alive, troubled by the failures and mistakes she made through her life.
Finally she was killed ( some say freed ) by an italian assasin ( his motives are still unclear for he was sent to kill someone else ).