Was Austrian Empress Elisabeth ‘Sisi’ the original royal rebel? Before Prince Harry and Princess Diana, this 1800s Hungarian queen bucked tradition, as portrayed in Oscar-tipped Corsage
- It’s been over a century since her death, but Empress Elisabeth of Austria is back in the modern spotlight with her life the subject of hit new Netflix series The Empress
- Vicky Krieps plays the royal rebel in the Oscar-shortlisted Corsage, while biopic Sisi & I opens in March – so what can we learn from the blueblood’s battle against tradition today?
More than a century after her death, Empress Elisabeth of Austria is enjoying an unprecedented pop culture moment.
She’s the subject of hit Netflix series The Empress, which was renewed for a second season last autumn, and two new films: Sisi & I, due later this spring, and IFC Films’ Corsage (now in theatres), which stars Vicky Krieps (Phantom Thread) and was shortlisted for the best international feature film Oscar.
Who was she? And why is she everywhere? We talk to Krieps and Hadley Meares, a historical journalist, to find out more about the reluctant royal.
Who was Empress Elisabeth of Austria?
Elisabeth, nicknamed Sisi, was just 16 when she was married, against her will, to Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria in 1854. Beloved for her compassion toward the sick and poor, she also fought for the rights of the people of Hungary, which was part of her husband’s empire.
But privately, Sisi struggled with mental illness as well as grief following the deaths of her son and sister. She was assassinated by an Italian anarchist in 1898 at age 60, after 44 years on the throne.
