Read part three here. Elisabeth and Leopold lived together as he was making a career for himself in politics. Of her children, only her daughter was still living with her. She bought the so-called Windisch-Graetz Villa on the outskirts of Vienna in 1929. However, peace would be hard to find. By 1932, national socialism was [read more]
Read part two here. Prince Otto hated all the travelling that Elisabeth did, and he eventually stopped joining his family. Their marriage was now clearly in trouble, and their paths began to grow apart. Later Elisabeth would say that Otto had a venereal disease, which he passed to her. She wrote, “I fell ill as [read more]
Read part one here. After the death of Crown Prince Rudolf, Countess Elisabeth Coudenhove was appointed as a governess for young Elisabeth. The Countess would make a big impact on Elisabeth’s life, and she would remember her fondly for the rest of her life. Elisabeth’s mother, Stéphanie, had a difficult time at court – her [read more]
The baby was lovely. From the bottom of my soul, I thanked God for the treasure he had bestowed upon me, and took the little one into my arms. On 2 September 1883, Archduchess Elisabeth Marie of Austria was born as the daughter of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria and Princess Stéphanie of Belgium. She [read more]
Read part two here. In October 1888, Stéphanie returned from a trip to Greece. She wrote in her memoirs, “But I was horrified as soon as I set eyes on the Crown Prince. His decay was so greatly advanced as to have become conspicuous. He was frightfully changed; his skin was flaccid; his eyes were [read more]
Read part one here. In 1868, Empress Elisabeth gave birth to a fourth child – a daughter named Marie Valerie. Unlike with Sophie (who died young), Gisela and Rudolf, Elisabeth kept Marie Valerie close to her, and as a result, the siblings did not become particularly close. In fact, Rudolf was extremely jealous of Marie [read more]
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