Editing Empress Elisabeth of Austria (section)

==Empress of Austria==

[[File:Amanda Bergstedt 001.jpg|thumb|The young Elisabeth shortly after becoming Austrian Empress, by {{ill|Amanda Bergstedt|sv}} (1855)]]

After enjoying an informal, unstructured childhood, Elisabeth, who was shy and introverted by nature, and more so among the stifling formality of [[Habsburg]] court life, had difficulty adapting to the Hofburg and its rigid protocols and strict [[etiquette]]. Within a few weeks, Elisabeth started to display health problems. She experienced fits of coughing and became anxious and frightened whenever she had to descend a narrow or steep staircase.<ref name="ReferenceA">Vandereycken, Walter & Van Deth, Ron, "The Anorectic Empress: Elisabeth of Austria", ''History Today'', Vol. 46, April 1996</ref>

Early in her marriage she was surprised to learn that she was pregnant; she gave birth to her first child, daughter [[Archduchess Sophie of Austria|Sophie Friederike Dorothea Maria Josepha]] (1855–1857), just 10 months after her wedding. The elder Archduchess Sophie, who often referred to Elisabeth as "a silly young mother", not only named the child after herself without consulting the mother, but she took complete charge of the baby, refusing to allow Elisabeth to [[Breastfeeding|breastfeed]] or otherwise care for her own child. When a second daughter, [[Archduchess Gisela of Austria|Gisela Louise Marie]] (1856–1932), was born a year later, the Archduchess took this baby away from Elisabeth as well.<ref name="ReferenceB">Chauviere, Emily, "The Marriage of Emperor Francis Joseph and Elisabeth of Austria", 12 August 2011</ref>

The fact that she had not produced a male heir made Elisabeth increasingly unwanted in the palace. One day, she found a pamphlet on her desk with the following words underlined:

{{blockquote|...The natural destiny of a Queen is to give an heir to the throne. If the Queen is so fortunate as to provide the State with a [[Crown prince|Crown Prince]] this should be the end of her ambition{{snd}}she should by no means meddle with the government of an Empire, the care of which is not a task for women... If the Queen bears no sons, she is merely a foreigner in the State, and a very dangerous foreigner, too. For as she can never hope to be looked on kindly here, and must always expect to be sent back whence she came, so will she always seek to win the King by other than natural means; she will struggle for position and power by intrigue and the sowing of discord, to the mischief of the King, the nation, and the Empire...<ref>Sisa, Stephan, ''The Spirit of Hungary: A Panorama of Hungarian History and Culture'', Vista Court Books, 1995, p. 171</ref>}}

Her mother-in-law is generally considered to be the source of the malicious pamphlet although there is no evidence supporting that claim.<ref>Sisa, Stephan, ''The Spirit of Hungary: A Panorama of Hungarian History and Culture'', Vista Court Books, 1995</ref> The accusation of political meddling referred to Elisabeth's influence on her husband regarding his Italian and Hungarian subjects. When she traveled to Italy with him, he granted amnesty to a number of political prisoners at her suggestion.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kiste |first=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vuETDQAAQBAJ&dq=Elisabeth+++Franz+Joseph+I++political+prisoners++Italy&pg=PT41 |title=Emperor Francis Joseph: Life, Death and the Fall of the Habsburg Empire |date=2005 |publisher=The History Press |isbn=978-0-7524-9547-7 |language=en}}</ref>

===First visit to Hungary===

[[File:Franz Schrotzberg - Kaiserin Elisabeth (1837-1898) - GG 9560 - Kunsthistorisches Museum.jpg|alt=Portrait of Empress Elisabeth, 1857 aged 19|thumb|Portrait of Empress Elisabeth, 1857 aged 19|left]]

In 1857, Elisabeth visited [[Kingdom of Hungary|Hungary]] for the first time with her husband and two daughters, and it left a deep and lasting impression upon her, which many historians attribute to the fact that in Hungary, she found a welcome respite from the constraints of Austrian court life. It was "the first time that Elisabeth had met with men of character in Franz Joseph's realm, and she became acquainted with an aristocratic independence that scorned to hide its sentiments behind courtly forms of speech... She felt her innermost soul reach out in sympathy to the proud, steadfast people of this land..."<ref>Tschuppik, Karl, ''The Empress Elisabeth of Austria'', Constable Publishing, 1930</ref>

Unlike Archduchess Sophie, who despised the [[Hungarians]], Elisabeth felt such an affinity for them that she began to learn Hungarian. In turn, the country reciprocated in its adoration of her. Writing about his visit to Hungary in 1934, [[Patrick Leigh Fermor]] notes that Elisabeth's picture was "framed on desks and tables and grand pianos", and that her love for Hungary and the Hungarians "was returned with interest and still declared, thirty-six years after her assassination, with all the ardour of [[Edmund Burke|Burke]] for [[Marie Antoinette]]."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fermor |first1=Patrick Leigh |title=[[Between the Woods and the Water]] |date=1986 |page=33}}</ref>

This same trip proved tragic when both of Elisabeth's daughters became ill. While Gisela recovered quickly, two-year-old Sophie grew steadily weaker before finally succumbing to her illness and dying. It is generally assumed today that she died of [[typhus]].<ref name="ReferenceB" /> Her death pushed Elisabeth, who was already prone to bouts of melancholy, into periods of heavy [[Depression (mood)|depression]], which would haunt her for the rest of her life. She turned away from her living daughter and began to neglect her.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}} In December 1857, Elisabeth became pregnant for the third time, and her mother, who had been concerned about her daughter's physical and mental health, hoped that this new pregnancy would help her recover.<ref name="ReferenceA" />

===Birth of a son===

[[File:Josef Kriehuber Kaiserin Elisabeth mit ihren Kindern 1858.jpg|thumb|Empress Elisabeth with her two children and a portrait of the late Archduchess Sophie Friederike (1858)]]

On 21 August 1858, Elisabeth finally gave birth to an heir, [[Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria|Rudolf Franz Karl Josef]] (1858–1889). The 101-gun salute announcing the news to Vienna also signaled an increase in her influence at court. This, combined with her sympathy toward Hungary, made Elisabeth an ideal mediator between the Hungarians and the Emperor. Her interest in politics had developed as she matured; she was liberal-minded, and placed herself decisively on the Hungarian side in the increasing conflict of nationalities within the empire.

Elisabeth was a personal advocate for the Hungarian Count [[Gyula Andrássy]], who also was rumored to be her lover.<ref name="ReferenceA" /> Whenever difficult negotiations broke off between the Hungarians and the court, she assisted in resuming them. During these protracted dealings, she suggested to the emperor that Andrássy be made [[premier]] of Hungary as part of a compromise, and in a forceful attempt to bring the two men together, strongly admonished her husband:{{blockquote|I have just had an interview with Andrássy. He set forth his views clearly and plainly. I quite understood them and arrived at the conclusion that if you would trust him{{snd}}and trust him entirely{{snd}}we might still be saved, not only Hungary, but the monarchy, too... I can assure you that you are not dealing with a man desirous of playing a part at any price or striving for a position; on the contrary, he is risking his present position, which is a fine one. But approaching shipwreck, he, too, is prepared to do all in his power to save it; what he possesses{{snd}}his understanding and influence in the country{{snd}}he will lay at your feet. For the last time I beg you in Rudolf's name not to lose this, at the last moment...<br>...If you say 'No', if at the last moment you are no longer willing to listen to disinterested counsels. Then... you will be relieved forever from my future... and nothing will remain to me but the consciousness that whatever may happen, I shall be able to say honestly to Rudolf one day: "I did everything in my power. Your misfortunes are not on my conscience."<ref name="Sisa, Stephan 1995, p. 172">Sisa, Stephan, ''The Spirit of Hungary: A Panorama of Hungarian History and Culture'', Vista Court Books, 1995, p. 172</ref>}}

When Elisabeth was still blocked from controlling her son's upbringing and education, she openly rebelled.

[[File:Achilleion 1 123.JPG|thumb|Empress Elisabeth and Emperor Franz Joseph]]

Due to her nervous attacks, fasting cures, severe exercise regime, and frequent fits of coughing, the state of her health had become so alarming that in October 1860, she was reported to suffer not only from [[anemia|green-sickness]], but also from physical exhaustion.<ref name="ReferenceA" /> A serious lung complaint of "Lungenschwindsucht" ([[tuberculosis]]) was feared by [[Joseph Škoda]], a lung specialist, who advised a stay on [[Madeira]].<ref name="Weindel, Henri 1909, p.141">de Weindel, Henri, ''The real Francis-Joseph: the private life of the emperor of Austria'', D. Appleton & Co., 1909, p. 141.</ref> During this time, the court was rife with malicious rumors that Franz Joseph was having a liaison with an actress named Frau Roll.<ref name="Weindel, Henri 1909, p.141" />

Elisabeth seized on the excuse and left her husband and children, to spend the winter in seclusion. Six months later, a mere four days after her return to Vienna, she again experienced coughing fits and fever. She ate hardly anything and slept badly, and Škoda observed a recurrence of her lung disease. A fresh rest cure was advised, this time on [[Corfu]], where she improved almost immediately. 
If her illnesses were mostly [[psychosomatic]], abating when she was removed from her husband and her duties, her eating habits were definitely causing physical problems as well. In 1862, she had not seen Vienna for about a year when her family physician, Fischer of Munich, examined her and observed serious anemia and signs of [[edema|dropsy]]. Her feet were sometimes so swollen that she could walk only laboriously, and with the support of others.<ref>Norton, Frederick, ''A Nervous Splendor'', Penguin Press, 1980</ref> On medical advice, she went to [[Bad Kissingen]] for a cure. Elisabeth recovered quickly at the spa, but instead of returning home to assuage the gossip about her absence, she spent more time with her own family in Bavaria. She returned in August 1862, shortly before her husband's birthday, but immediately suffered from a violent migraine and vomited four times en route, which might support a theory that some of her complaints were stress-related and psychosomatic.<ref name="ReferenceA" />

Rudolf was now four years old, and Franz Joseph hoped for another son to safeguard the succession. Fischer claimed that the health of the Empress would not permit another pregnancy, and she would need to visit Kissingen regularly for a cure. Elisabeth fell into her old pattern of escaping boredom and dull court protocol through frequent walking and riding, using her health as an excuse to avoid both official obligations and sexual intimacy. Preserving her youthful appearance was also an important influence in her avoidance of pregnancies: "Children are the curse of a woman, for when they come, they drive away Beauty, which is the best gift of the gods."<ref>Larisch, Marie, ''My Past'', G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1913, p. 137.</ref>

She was now more assertive in her defiance of her husband and mother-in-law than before, openly opposing them on the subject of the military education of Rudolf, who, like his mother, was extremely sensitive and not suited to life at court.<ref name=":0">Hamann, Brigitte, ''The Reluctant Empress''</ref>

===Hungarian coronation===
{{further|Apostolic Majesty}}

[[File:Ferenc József koronázása Budán.jpg|thumb|Coronation of Franz Joseph and Elisabeth as Apostolic King and Queen of Hungary]]
[[File:Georg Raab - Kaiserin Elisabeth im ungarischen Krönungsornat.jpg|alt=Elisabeth in her coronation Dress Looking Over her Shoulder looking down.|thumb|Empress Elisabeth in the Hungarian coronation dress and rose diadem (1867) by {{ill|Georg Raab|de|Georg Martin Ignaz Raab}}|left|upright]]

After having used every excuse to avoid pregnancy, Elisabeth later decided that she wanted a fourth child. Her decision was at once a deliberate personal choice and a political negotiation: by returning to the marriage, she ensured that Hungary, with which she felt an intense emotional alliance, would gain an equal footing with Austria.{{citation needed|date = June 2016}}

The [[Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867]] created the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. [[Gyula Andrássy|Andrássy]] was made the first Hungarian [[prime minister]] and in return, he saw that Franz Joseph and Elisabeth were officially crowned King and Queen of Hungary in June.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tihany |first1=Leslie C. |title=The Austro-Hungarian Compromise, 1867–1918: A Half Century of Diagnosis; Fifty Years of Post-Mortem |journal=Central European History |date=June 1969 |volume=2 |issue=2 |page=115 |doi=10.1017/S0008938900000169 |jstor=4545523 |s2cid=145522363 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4545523 |access-date=25 October 2022}}</ref>

As a coronation gift, Hungary presented the royal couple with a [[Royal Palace of Gödöllő|country residence]] in [[Gödöllő]], {{convert|20|mi|km|order=flip}} east of [[Budapest]]. In the next year, Elisabeth lived primarily there, leaving her neglected and resentful Austrian subjects to trade rumors that if the infant she was expecting were a son, she would name him Stephen, after the [[Stephen I of Hungary|patron saint and first king of Hungary]]. The issue was avoided when she gave birth to a daughter, [[Archduchess Marie Valerie of Austria|Marie Valerie Mathilde Amalie]] (1868–1924). Dubbed the "Hungarian child", she was born in Buda 10 months after her parents' coronation and baptised there in April.<ref name="Sisa, Stephan 1995, p. 172" /> Determined to bring up this last child by herself, Elisabeth finally had her way. She poured all her repressed maternal feelings on her youngest daughter to the point of nearly smothering her. Sophie's influence over Elisabeth's children and the court faded, and she died in 1872.{{citation needed|date = June 2016}}

===Marriage===

[[File:Elisabeth and Franz Joseph I of Austria young couple.jpg|thumb|Empress Elisabeth and Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria as a young couple c. 1855]]

Franz Joseph was passionately in love with his wife, but they had a very complex relationship. He was a stolid and sober man, a political conservative who was still guided by his mother and her adherence to the strict [[Habsburg Spain|Spanish Court]] ceremony regarding both his public and domestic life, whereas Elisabeth inhabited a different world altogether. Restless to the point of [[hyperactivity]], naturally [[introverted]], and emotionally distant from her husband as she got older, she fled him as well as her duties at the Vienna court, avoiding them both as much as possible; as a means of escape from her life and her misery, Elisabeth embarked on a life of endless travel and saw little of her children. Franz Joseph indulged her wanderings, but constantly and unsuccessfully tried to tempt her into a more domestic life with him.<ref name="ReferenceB" /> Their correspondence increased during their last years, however, and their relationship became a warm friendship.
The Empress slept very little and spent hours reading and writing at night, and even took up smoking, a shocking habit for women, which made her the further subject of already-avid gossip. She had a special interest in history, philosophy, and literature, and developed a profound reverence for the German lyric poet and radical political thinker [[Heinrich Heine]], whose letters she collected.<ref name="ReferenceC">Norton, Frederick, ''A Nervous Splendor'', Penguin, 1980</ref>

[[File:The Austrian Imperial family in Göddollo.jpg|thumb|Engraving depicting the Hungarian royal family at [[Royal Palace of Gödöllő|Gödöllő Palace]] ({{Circa|1870}})|left]]

She tried to make a name for herself by writing Heine-inspired poetry. Referring to herself as [[Titania (A Midsummer Night's Dream)|Titania]], [[William Shakespeare]]'s Fairy Queen, Elisabeth expressed her intimate thoughts and desires in a large number of romantic poems, which served as a type of secret diary.<ref name="ReferenceA" /> Most of her poetry relates to her journeys, [[Classical Greece|classical Greek]] and romantic themes, and ironic commentary on the [[House of Habsburg|Habsburg dynasty]]. Her wanderlust is defined by her own work:

{{poem quote|
O'er thee, like thine own sea birds 
  I'll circle without rest
For me earth holds no corner 
  To build a lasting nest.}}

Elisabeth was an emotionally complex woman, and perhaps due to the melancholy and eccentricity that was considered a given characteristic of her [[House of Wittelsbach|Wittelsbach]] lineage (the best-known member of the family being her favorite cousin, the eccentric [[Ludwig II of Bavaria]]),<ref>Landi, Karoline Franziska M. Zanardi, ''The Secret of an Empress'', Houghton Mifflin Co., 1914, p. 29</ref> she was interested in the treatment of the mentally ill. In 1871, when the Emperor asked her what she would like as a gift for her [[Name day|Saint's Day]], she listed a young tiger and a medallion, but: "...a fully equipped [[lunatic asylum]] would please me most".<ref name="ReferenceA" />

===Mayerling incident===
{{main|Mayerling incident}}

[[File:Mayerling 1889.jpg|thumb|The imperial hunting lodge at [[Mayerling]], in which Crown Prince Rudolf died by suicide in 1889]]

In 1889, Elisabeth's life was shattered by the death of her only son [[Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria|Rudolf]], who was found dead together with his young lover Baroness [[Baroness Mary Vetsera|Mary Vetsera]], in what was suspected to be a [[murder–suicide]] on Rudolf's part. The scandal was known as the "Mayerling incident" after the location of Rudolf's hunting lodge in [[Lower Austria]], where they were found.

[[File:László Erzsébet királyné.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|left|Elisabeth in [[Mourning|mourning dress]], by [[Philip de László]] (1889)]]

Elisabeth never recovered from the tragedy, sinking further into melancholy. Within ten years, she had lost her father, [[Duke Maximilian Joseph in Bavaria|Maximilian Joseph]], in 1888; her only son Rudolf in 1889; her older sister [[Duchess Helene in Bavaria|Helene]] in 1890; her mother, [[Princess Ludovika of Bavaria|Ludovika]], in 1892; and her younger sister, [[Duchess Sophie Charlotte in Bavaria|Sophie Charlotte]], during an accidental fire at the [[Bazar de la Charité]] in 1897. After Rudolf's death she was thought to have dressed only in black for the rest of her life, although a light blue and cream dress discovered by The Hofburg's Sisi Museum dates to this time.<ref name="Bowers Bahney 2015" /> To compound her losses, Count [[Gyula Andrássy]] died on 18 February 1890. "My last and only friend is dead," she lamented. Elisabeth's youngest daughter Marie Valerie declared, "...she clung to him with true and steadfast friendship as she did perhaps, to no other person."<ref>Sisa, Stephan, ''The Spirit of Hungary: A Panorama of Hungarian History and Culture'', Vista Court Books, 1995, p. 173</ref>

The Mayerling incident increased public interest in Elisabeth, and she continued to be an icon and a sensation in her own right wherever she went. She carried a white [[Umbrella|parasol]] made of leather in addition to a concealing fan to hide her face from the curious.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TycC_OQQ6QQC&pg=PP6|title=The Reluctant Empress: A Biography of Empress Elisabeth of Austria|last=Hamann|first=Brigitte|date=2012|publisher=Faber & Faber|isbn=9780571287567|language=en}}</ref>

===Physical regimen===
At {{height|m=1.73}}, Elisabeth was unusually tall for her time. Through fasting and exercise such as gymnastics and riding, she maintained her weight at approximately 50&nbsp;kg (110 pounds) for most of her life.

In deep mourning after her daughter Sophie's death, Elisabeth refused to eat for days{{snd}}a behavior that would reappear in later periods of melancholy and depression. Whereas she previously had supper with the family, she now began to avoid this; and if she did eat with them, she ate quickly and very little. Whenever her weight threatened to exceed 50 kilos, a "fasting cure" or "hunger cure" would follow, which involved almost complete fasting. Meat itself often filled her with disgust, so she either had the juice of half-raw beefsteaks squeezed into a thin soup, or else adhered to a diet of milk and eggs.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

[[File:Empress Elisabeth of Austria in dancing-dress, 1865, Franz Xaver Winterhalter.jpg|thumb|Empress Elisabeth of Austria in Courtly Gala Dress with Diamond Stars, by [[Franz Xaver Winterhalter]] (1865)]]

Elisabeth emphasised her extreme slenderness through the practice of [[tightlacing]]. During the peak period of 1859–60, which coincided with Franz-Joseph's political and military defeats in [[Second Italian War of Independence|Italy]], her sexual withdrawal from her husband after three pregnancies in rapid succession, and her losing battle with her mother-in-law for dominance in rearing her children, she reduced her waist to 40&nbsp;cm (16&nbsp;inches) in circumference.

Corsets of the time were split-[[Busk (corsetry)|busk]] types, fastening up the front with hooks and eyes, but Elisabeth had more rigid, solid-front ones made in Paris out of leather, "like those of Parisian [[courtesan]]s", probably to hold up under the stress of such strenuous lacing, "a proceeding which sometimes took quite an hour". The fact that "she only wore them for a few weeks" may indicate that even leather proved inadequate for her needs.<ref>Larisch, Marie, ''My Past'', G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1913, p. 78.</ref> Elisabeth's defiant flaunting of this exaggerated dimension angered her mother-in-law.{{Citation needed|date=December 2011}}
Although on her return to Vienna in August 1862, a [[lady-in-waiting]] reported that "she eats properly, sleeps well, and does not tight-lace anymore",<ref>Corti, Count Egon, ''Elizabeth, Empress of Austria'', Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2007, p. 107</ref> her clothing from this time until her death still measured only 47–49.5&nbsp;cm (18 ½–19 ½&nbsp;inches) around the waist, which prompted the Prince of [[Grand Duchy of Hesse|Hesse]] to describe her as "almost inhumanly slender".<ref>Haslip, Joan, ''The Lonely Empress: Elisabeth of Austria'', Phoenix Press, 2000, p. 334</ref> She developed a horror of fat women and transmitted this attitude to her youngest daughter, who was terrified when, as a little girl, she first met [[Queen Victoria]].<ref>Corti, Count Egon, ''Elizabeth, Empress of Austria'', Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2007, p. 425</ref>

In her youth, Elisabeth followed the fashions of the age, which for many years were [[crinoline|cage-crinolined]] hoop skirts, but when fashion began to change, she was at the forefront of abandoning the hoop skirt for a tighter and leaner silhouette. She disliked both expensive accoutrements and the protocol that dictated constant changes of clothing, preferring simple, monochromatic [[riding habit]]-like attire.<ref name="deburgh" />{{rp|292}} She never wore [[petticoat]]s or any other "underlinen", as they added bulk, and was often literally sewn into her clothes, to bypass waistbands, creases, and wrinkles and to further emphasize the [[wasp waist]] that became her hallmark.<ref>Larisch, Marie, ''My Past'', G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1913, pp. 65, 78.</ref>

[[File:Franz Adam - Kaiserin Elisabeth von Österreich zu Pferd.jpg|thumb|Empress Elisabeth on horseback, 1856|left]]

The empress developed extremely rigorous and disciplined exercise habits. Every castle she lived in was equipped with a [[gym]]nasium; the Knights' Hall of the [[Hofburg]] was converted into one, mats and balance beams were installed in her [[Bedroom|bedchamber]] so that she could practise on them each morning, and the [[Kaiservilla|Imperial Villa]] at [[Bad Ischl]] was fitted with gigantic mirrors so that she could correct every movement and position. She took up [[fencing]] in her 50s with equal discipline.  She rode every day for hours on end, becoming a skilled horsewoman, possibly the best-known of her time.  When, due to [[sciatica]], she could no longer endure long hours in the saddle, she substituted with walking, subjecting her attendants to interminable marches and hiking tours in all weather.{{Citation needed|date=December 2011}}

In the last years of her life, Elisabeth became even more restless and obsessive, weighing herself up to three times a day. She regularly took steam baths to prevent weight gain; by 1894, she had wasted away to near [[emaciation]], reaching her lowest point of 43.5&nbsp;kg (95.7&nbsp;lbs). There were some aberrations in Elisabeth's diet that appear to be signs of [[binge eating]].<ref name="Bowers Bahney 2015" /> On one occasion in 1878, the Empress astonished her travelling companions when she unexpectedly visited a restaurant incognito, where she drank champagne, ate a broiled chicken and an Italian salad, and finished with a "considerable quantity of cake". She may have satisfied her urge to binge in secret on other occasions; in 1881, she purchased an [[English country house]] and had a spiral staircase built from her sitting room into the kitchen, so that she could reach it in private.<ref name="ReferenceA" />

It has been suggested by historians that these habits indicate a restrictive eating disorder. Walter Vandereycken, a professor of psychology, has stated that: "numerous documents repeatedly describe her considerable fear of weight gain and the psychopathological changes specific for [[anorexia nervosa]]."<ref>Vandereycken, W., & Abatzi, T. (1996). Das anorektische Leben der Kaiserin Elisabeth von Osterreich (1837–1898). Schlankheitskult im Hause Habsburg [The anorectic life of Empress Elisabeth of Austria (1837–1898). Slenderness cult of the Habsburg family]. Der Nervenarzt, 67(7), 608–613.</ref>

===Beauty===

[[File:Kaiserin Elisabeth im Morgenlicht.jpg|thumb|Portrait of Elisabeth depicting her long hair. Made by Franz Xaver Winterhalter in 1865, it was supposedly one of Emperor Franz Joseph's favourite paintings of his wife.]]

She is considered one of the most beautiful and famous women of 19th century Europe.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Matthews |first1=Mimi |title=The Beauty Rituals of 19th Century Empress Elisabeth of Austria |date=5 October 2015 |url=https://www.mimimatthews.com/2015/10/05/the-beauty-rituals-of-19th-century-empress-elisabeth-of-austria/ |access-date=10 October 2022}}</ref> In addition to her rigorous exercise regimen, Elisabeth practiced demanding beauty routines. Daily care of her abundant and extremely long hair, which in time turned from the dark blonde of her youth to chestnut brunette, took at least three hours.{{citation needed|date = July 2016}} Her hair was so long and heavy that she often got upset and complained that the weight of the elaborate double braids and pins gave her headaches.

Her hairdresser, [[:de:Franziska_Feifalik|Franziska Feifalik]], was originally a stage hairdresser at the Wiener [[Burgtheater]]. Responsible for all of Elisabeth's ornate hairstyles, she generally accompanied her on her wanderings. Feifalik was forbidden to wear rings and required to wear white gloves; after hours of dressing, braiding, and pinning up the Empress' tresses, the hairs that fell out had to be presented in a silver bowl to the reproachful Empress for inspection. When her hair was washed with a combination of eggs and cognac once every two weeks, all activities and obligations were cancelled for that day. Before her son's death, she tasked Feifalik with tweezing gray hairs away,<ref name="ReferenceC"/> but at the end of her life her hair was described as "abundant, though streaked with silver threads".<ref name="deburgh" />{{rp|58}}<ref>Tschuppik, Karl, ''The Empress Elizabeth of Austria'', Constable, 1930, p. 114.</ref>

Elisabeth used these captive hours during grooming to learn languages; she spoke fluent English and French, and added [[modern Greek]] to her Hungarian studies. Her Greek tutor, [[Constantine Christomanos]], described the ritual:

{{blockquote|'Hairdressing takes almost two hours,' she said, 'and while my hair is busy, my mind stays idle. I am afraid that my mind escapes through the hair and onto the fingers of my hairdresser. Hence my headache afterwards.' The Empress sat at a table which was moved to the middle of the room and covered with a white cloth. She was shrouded in a white, laced [[peignoir]], her hair, unfastened and reaching to the floor, enfolded her entire body.<ref name="ReferenceD">Unterreiner, Katrin, Sisi – Mythos und Wahrheit [Legend and Truth], Brandstätter, 2005</ref>}}

Elisabeth used cosmetics and perfume sparingly, as she wished to showcase her natural beauty. On the other hand, to preserve her beauty, she tested countless beauty products prepared either in the court pharmacy or by a lady-in-waiting in her own apartments. She appeared to favor "Crème Céleste" (compounded from white wax, [[spermaceti]], sweet almond oil, and [[rose water]]), but also used a wide variety of other facial tonics and waters.

Her night and bedtime rituals were just as demanding. Elisabeth slept without a pillow on a metal bedstead, because she believed it was better for retaining and maintaining her upright posture; either raw [[veal]] or crushed strawberries lined her nightly leather facial mask.<ref>Fellner, Sabine/Unterreiner, Katrin, Rosenblüte und Schneckenschleim [Rosebud and Slug Slime], excerpt, Kurier (Vienna) – Health, 24 November 2006, p. 17.</ref> She was also heavily massaged, and often slept with cloths soaked in either violet- or cider-vinegar above her hips to preserve her slim waist; her neck was wrapped with cloths soaked in Kummerfeld-toned washing water.<ref name="ReferenceD" /> To further preserve her skin tone, she took both a cold shower every morning (which in later years aggravated her [[arthritis]]) and an olive-oil bath in the evening.<ref name="ReferenceA" />

Elisabeth had an aversion to being photographed, especially later in her life, and was quick with a fan or sunshade to prevent her portrait being taken.<ref name="deburgh" />{{rp|8}}

===Travels===

[[File:Sissi's desk in Achilleion.jpg|thumb|Elisabeth's desk at the [[Achilleion (Corfu)|Achilleion]] in Corfu]]

On her imperial steamer, ''Miramar'', Empress Elisabeth travelled through the [[Mediterranean]]. Her favourite places were [[Cape Martin]] on the [[French Riviera]], and also [[Sanremo]] on the [[Italian Riviera|Ligurian Riviera]], where tourism had started only in the second half of the nineteenth century;{{citation needed||date=September 2022|reason=Genoa and its Riviera already appeared in "The Voyage of Italy" by Richard Lassels (1670)}} [[Lake Geneva]] in [[Switzerland]]; [[Bad Ischl]] in [[Upper Austria]], where the imperial couple would spend the summer; and [[Corfu]].<ref>Haderer, Stefan, ''Where an Empress used to lodge: Imperial residences of Empress Elisabeth of Austria'', Rosvall Royal Books, 2009, pp. 44–45</ref> The Empress also visited countries not usually visited by European royals at the time: [[Morocco]], [[Algeria]], [[Malta]], [[Turkey]], and [[Egypt]]. About her travels, she commented: "If I arrived at a place and knew that I could never leave it again, the whole stay would become hell despite being paradise".

After her son's death, she commissioned a palace on the Island of Corfu which she named "[[Achilleion (Corfu)|Achilleion]]" after [[Homer]]'s hero [[Achilles]] in the ''[[Iliad]]''. Emperor Franz Joseph was hoping that his wife would finally settle down at the Achilleion, but she soon lost interest in the fairytale property. The building was purchased by [[German Emperor]] [[Wilhelm II, German Emperor|Wilhelm II]] after her death.<ref name="Bowers Bahney 2015" /> It was later acquired by the nation of [[Greece]] (now the [[Greek National Tourism Organization]]) and converted to a museum.<ref>{{cite web |title=Welcome to Achilleion Palace |url=http://www.achillion-corfu.gr/default_en.html |website=achillion-corfu.gr |publisher=Hellenic Tourism Properties S.A |access-date=23 December 2018 |archive-date=2 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200402095310/http://www.achillion-corfu.gr/default_en.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Newspapers published articles on her passion for [[equestrianism|riding sports]], diet and exercise regimens, and fashion sense. She often shopped at the Budapest fashion house, ''Antal Alter'' (now [[Alter és Kiss]]), which had become very popular with the fashion-crazed crowd. Newspapers also reported on a series of reputed lovers.{{Citation needed|date=September 2009}} Although there is no verifiable evidence of her having an affair, one of her alleged lovers was [[George "Bay" Middleton]], a dashing [[Anglo]]-[[Scottish people|Scot]]. He had been named as the probable lover of Lady Henrietta Blanche Hozier and father of [[Clementine Churchill|Clementine Ogilvy Hozier]] (the wife of [[Winston Churchill]]). Elisabeth encouraged her husband [[Franz Joseph I of Austria|Franz Joseph]]'s close relationship with actress [[Katharina Schratt]]<ref name="Bowers Bahney 2015" /> to assuage his loneliness during her long absences.

On her journeys, Elisabeth sought to avoid all public attention and crowds of people. She was mostly travelling incognito, using pseudonyms like "Countess of [[Hohenems|Hohenembs]]". She also refused to meet European monarchs when she did not feel like it. On her high-speed walking tours, which lasted several hours, she was mostly accompanied by her Greek language tutors or her ladies-in-waiting. Countess [[Irma Sztáray]], her last lady-in-waiting, describes the reclusive and highly sensitive Empress as a natural, liberal and modest character, as a good listener and keen observer with great intellect.<ref>Haderer, Stefan, "Empress Elisabeth's Final Odyssey", ''European Royal History Journal'', Issue 64, Vol. 11.4, Aug 2008</ref>

While in Greece during her travels at the age of 51 (1888), Elisabeth got a tattoo of an anchor on her shoulder to reflect her love of the sea.<ref>{{cite web |title=Austria's free-spirited Empress Sisi and her life |url=https://www.austria.info/en/culture/sisi-empress-of-austria |website=www.austria.info |access-date=2 April 2024 |language=en}}</ref>

Almost all of the 10 companions who traveled with Elisabeth during her various journeys were in their mid-twenties and of Greek origin. The most famous one was Constantin Christomanos, a future playwright and theater director, whose memoirs of Elisabeth were banned by the Viennese court. The others were the lawyer Nikos Thermoyanis, Roussos Roussopoulos, who thanks to Elisabeth became an honorary consul in Budapest, Constantin Manos, who became a resistance fighter against the Turks in Crete, and [[Marinos Marinaky]], a future sportsman and co-founder of the famous Greek football club [[Panathinaikos F.C.|Panathinaikos]]. The last tutor who accompanied the Empress was the English-Greek Frederic Barker. He also served as a middleman for negotiations to sell the [[Achilleion (Corfu)|Achilleion]]. After Elisabeth's death, Barker continued to stay in touch with the imperial family and became a [[Freemasonry|freemason]]. On her voyages, Empress Elisabeth was also attended by a Swedish therapist, Arvid Ludvig Kellgren, to whom she even wrote romantic poetry.<ref>Haderer, Stefan, ''Im Schatten Homers'', NeoPubli Vienna, 2021</ref>