Read part one here. On 2 May 1881, Stéphanie left Belgium for her new life in Austria. When Stéphanie entered the specially prepared train, she lost control and began to cry. Her mother held her and scolded her for breaking down. She was so exhausted that she fell asleep before they had left Belgium and [read more]
Princess Stéphanie of Belgium was born on 21 May 1864 as the daughter of King Leopold II of Belgium and Archduchess Marie Henriette of Austria at the Royal Palace of Laeken. She was their third child, after an elder sister named Louise and an elder brother named Leopold – who tragically died in childhood. Another [read more]
On 24 April 1854, at 7 o’clock in the evening, Elisabeth and Franz Joseph were married in the Augustinerkirche in Vienna. Over 15,000 candles lit the church as they were married, and the splendour was later described with the words, “All that the utmost in luxury, combined with the greatest of riches and truly imperial [read more]
On 23 April 1854, Elisabeth made her solemn entrance into Vienna ahead of her wedding. This began at the Favorita Palace (known as the Theresianum nowadays), which was hardly ever used. The ritual dressing for the event took several hours, and family members gathered at the palace for the ceremonial entrance. It wasn’t until the [read more]
On 20 April 1854, the 16-year-old Elisabeth left Munich, the city where she had been born, to be married to her first cousin, Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. The young Princess heard mass in the private chapel of the Herzog-Max-Palais before she began to say goodbye to the servants. She had brought a little [read more]
*contains affiliate links* 1 She had several tragic accidents The 18-year-old and pregnant Empress was going to the Hofburg with a court carriage when the horses went wild and threw off the coachman. He was taken to the Imperial family’s doctor but died of his injuries. In 1887, she was onboard the Imperial yacht Greif [read more]
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