Well I promised you more on the sad fate of Sisi and her beloved son Rudolf. So without further ado, let’s pull back those tapestry drapes and find out what happened!
After the death of her daughter, Sisi was overcome with depression and felt her life spiraling out of control. She vowed to remedy this the only way she knew how. She had always paid attention to her appearance in the past but she soon became so obsessed with diet and exercise that it became the main driving force in her life. She was so consumed with her appearance that she would fast for days or she would eat only miniscule meals of milk and eggs. She had a gymnasium installed in the palace as well as mats and balance beams in her bedroom so she could exercise when she woke up each morning. She rode her horse for hours every day and took up fencing. But none of this could ease her sadness. Her sorrow was not only due to the loss of her child, but also the rigors of living within the confines of the royal family. In particular, her dictatorial mother-in-law looked at Sisi as more of a brood mare than an empress worthy of her exalted son.
On 21 August 1858, Sisi finally gave birth to a son. After the birth, her mother-in-law took over the job of raising the boy, much to Sisi’s dismay. Rudolf was very much like his mother in sensitivity and temperament. When his father Franz Joseph wished the boy to enter military training, Sisi forbade it, knowing it to be unsuitable to her vulnerable son’s personality. But even with all of Sisi’s arguments on Rudolf’s behalf, she spent very little time with the boy or his older sister Gisela. She was prone to chronic illnesses. There is speculation today that her symptoms could have been psychosomatic or a result of venereal disease, since she had been withholding affection from her husband for quite some time. However, this seems unlikely. It was rumored that Franz Joseph was having an affair with an actress named Frau Roll. Sisi began using her illnesses as an excuse to escape from her husband and children. Her doctors would advise her to go away on a rest cure, sometimes for months or years at a time. Her health would improve but the symptoms would come back with a vengeance once she returned home.
As for Rudolf, in May of 1881, at the age of 23 he married Princess Stephanie of Belgium. They had one child, a daughter named Elisabeth, born two years after the marriage. The husband and wife soon grew apart and Rudolf began drowning his sorrows with alcohol and multiple affairs. He even wrote to the Pope in hopes of annulling his marriage, but his father put a stop to that.
In 1887, Rudolf bought Mayerling, a hunting lodge in the woods of Vienna. In late 1888, the 30-year-old Crown Prince met the 17-year-old Baroness Marie Vetsera and the two began an affair. The union was destined to end tragically. Emperor Franz Joseph demanded that his son end the affair once and for all. The relationship was indeed ended, but in a suicide pact. The Crown Prince shot his mistress in the head and then turned the gun on himself and ended his misery. Cover-ups ensued and the press was told that Rudolf had succumbed to a heart attack. But inquisitive members of the press soon found out about the involvement of the Baroness. Deeper investigations revealed that it was actually a lovers’ suicide.
Sisi once again retreated into severe depression and never fully recovered from the loss of her only son. To make matters worse, over the course of just a few years she lost her father, mother, and sister. The Empress dressed only in black for the rest of her life. Due to the scandal that seemed to follow her, the press and the public began to hound her and turn her into a public celebrity and icon. She took to carrying a parasol and a fan to hide her face from prying eyes when out in public.
Okay, I think that’s enough misery for one post. We still have one more installment to go before Sisi has her final rendezvous with fate. And I’ll delve into the creation of a legend based on myths and half-truths that has lasted for more than a century. But to lighten the mood a bit for now, I’ve included a couple of Vienna street scenes from our vist.
