What did Sisi fall ill with? What changed during her absence from the Viennese court? What happened to her only son Rudolf?
Elisabeth’s potential, which lay in her appearance and her natural character, was a great advantage for Emperor Franz Joseph during state visits . Elisabeth was met with great warmth and sympathy from the people everywhere. Everyone was curious to see the beautiful empress.
In the Hofburg in Vienna, Sisi was deeply depressed and could not get used to the stiff and cool atmosphere at the imperial court. She became ill, which manifested itself in a cough, fever and melancholy . A change of residence was called for.
Sisi must have loved her Franz Joseph dearly, but she suffered from his pathological sense of duty and his emotional coldness. His numerous infidelities are also likely to have left their mark on her.
In 1860, she embarked on extended trips to Madeira and Corfu to cure her officially diagnosed pulmonary consumption. At the insistence of the court, she reluctantly returned to Vienna in 1862. During this time, she began to mature and become aware of her “power”.
The transformation to a self-confident young empress
Sisi returned to the Viennese court visibly changed. The shy young woman had become a self-confident and strong personality who now dictated her guidelines.
First of all, she demanded separate bedrooms, which was rather unusual at the Viennese court. Crown Prince Rudolf’s upbringing was the next point of discussion. She insisted that he receive a bourgeois-liberal up bringing instead of a military education.
Her beauty was in full bloom and Franz Joseph was completely smitten with her, which may not necessarily have been the case the other way round. Nevertheless, the relationship consisted of a great deal of respect and trust, as the following excerpt from a biography shows:
“Even if you were quite wicked and sectarian, I love you so infinitely that I cannot be without you.” From a letter from Franz Joseph to Elisabeth. quoted from: Conte Corti, Egon Caesar: Elisabeth. The Strange Woman, Vienna 1942, p. 163
The ultimatum because of Rudolf’s strict upbringing
Crown Prince Rudolf was considered to be exceptionally gifted and intelligent. At the age of five, he already spoke four languages (German, Hungarian, Czech and French). His physical condition was rather sickly and anxious. He was also in great need of affection.
From the age of 6, he was separated from his sister Gisela and given a male tutor, Count Gondrecourt. He was supposed to “toughen” him up with military methods. He occasionally woke Rudolf with pistol shots and made him drill for hours in the rain and cold, making the child increasingly ill. Finally, Sisi intervened and issued an ultimatum: Gondrecourt had to leave or she would leave the Viennese court.
Rudolf was given a more liberal education by Colonel Latour. He recovered, received an extensive education and developed into an educated young man. Nevertheless, the deficits of his childhood kept catching up with him and his life came to a tragic end.
Tip from Sisi’s Amazing Journey: There are many memorials to Empress Elisabeth in Vienna. The statue in the Volksgarten is a beautiful place to immerse yourself in the life of the unfortunate empress. She sits all alone and hidden to the far left of the entrance to Josef-Meinrad-Platz.