Sisi in Madeira
Elisabeth in Bavaria

Sisi’s flight to Madeira

After the birth of Crown Prince Rudolf in 1858, Elisabeth recovered slowly. She had not been allowed to nurse her son, so she suffered from milk congestion and fevers. Her fever remained for weeks after the birth, and Elisabeth became terribly weak. Her mother, Ludovika, was summoned to Vienna, and she arrived with several of [read more]

Grand Empress Dowager Xiaoning
China

Grand Empress Dowager Xiaoning – The nefarious Consort who destroyed the Ming Dynasty

Grand Empress Dowager Xiaoning is known as one of the most controversial figures in China. Many historians have accused Grand Empress Dowager Xiaoning of causing the Ming dynasty’s downfall.[1] Did Grand Empress Dowager Xiaoning deserve the blame? She has been accused of seducing Emperor Shenzong of Ming and trying to interrupt the rightful succession by [read more]

sisi
Elisabeth in Bavaria

Sisi’s lost love

As the young Elisabeth travelled to Bad Ischl in 1853, where she would eventually leave as the Emperor’s fiancé, she was mourning the loss of her first love. Elisabeth had fallen in love with a young man who was considered totally unsuitable for her. His name was Count Richard S, and he had been in [read more]