The Tragedies and Triumphs of Sissi’s Sisters
Wild affairs, secret pregnancies, lavish parties, and military standoffs in the highest aristocratic circles
Romy Schneider’s performance as Sissi in the famous movie series made Empress Elisabeth of Austria, nicknamed Sissi, an icon. Much is known about the tragedies in her life and her love story with Emperor Franz Joseph. However, the empress had four sisters and five brothers, two of whom unfortunately died shortly after birth. How did Sissi’s sisters live? What are their stories?
Growing up in Munich’s Duke-Max Palace as close family members of the reigning Wittelsbach dynasty, they had a lovely childhood. Their father was Duke Max Joseph, their mother, Princess Ludovika Wilhelmine. The family spent the summer months, so beloved by Sissi, at Possenhofen Palace on Lake Starnberg, a place that would hold lovely carefree childhood memories for her other sisters. While Elisabeth’s marriage is one of the most famous love stories of the 19th century, her sisters, on the other hand, made a name for themselves with affairs, secret pregnancies, and one sister even tried to fight off Italian nationalist troops.
