In everyone's minds, what should the princess look like?
Beautiful, noble, gorgeous, arrogant?
These Elizabeth Marys have all these, and she also has the shortcomings of rebellion, willfulness, ego, and wanton behavior. No one could do anything about her, because she was the only granddaughter of King Franz Joseph I of Austria-Hungary and his wife, Princess Sissi.
Elizabeth Mary
Elizabeth lived a toss-up life, turning against her mother, cutting off her husband, falling out with her children, and finally joining the Social Democratic Party and becoming the "red" archduke who defected from the royal family.
Let's take a look at the life of this outrageous grand duke.
01 Complex home environment
Princess Sissi gave birth to three daughters and a man, the eldest daughter died prematurely, and only two daughters survived: Gisela and Mary, and a son, Rudolf, who inherited the family business. Rudolf grew up in the lap of his father, but his ideas were more liberal to his mother, Princess Sisi. He was handsome, but debauched, sensitive and fragile. When they married Princess Stephanie of Belgium at marriageable age, the two gave birth to only one child, Elisabeth Marie Henrie éléfé Stephanie Gisella, the heroine of this article.
Princess Stephanie and husband Rudolf
The union of the prince and the princess seemed to be a match made in heaven. But within a few years of marriage, the couple's love was consumed. Personality mismatch, yes! There is also a gap in ideas! It even has something to do with Princess Sisi's mother-in-law's mocking disregard for her daughter-in-law. Two people go farther and farther apart in marriage, the man is drunk and abusive, and the woman is in love with others... The reason for the mere existence of Elizabeth Mary's child was also because Rudolph had transmitted syphilis to his wife, leaving her infertile forever.
Elizabeth Mary lost her father when she was 5 years old.
Crown Prince Rudolf
The fragile crown prince dragged his mistress to commit suicide in the Hunter's Hut in Meerin, leaving his parents and wife and the mess of austria-Hungary behind. After the loss of her son, her grief-stricken mother, Princess Sissi, pointed all the fingers at her daughter-in-law. If it were not for the daughter-in-law not giving birth to a male heir to her son, if she had not given her son enough family warmth, how could Rudolph have committed suicide?
She completely ignored her son's history of affair that could not be told for three days and three nights, and also ignored the fact that it was because her son transmitted syphilis to his wife that she could not get pregnant, and hated her daughter-in-law Stephanie to the bone marrow.
Elizabeth Mary, who lost her father
Franz Joseph I probably also blamed his daughter-in-law, who, after marrying into the Austrian royal palace, never spoke to Stephanie in private. First, he kept the law of etiquette, and second, he turned to his wife. For this daughter-in-law, I can't talk about liking it. After the death of his son Rudolf, the king simply transferred custody of his only granddaughter from his daughter-in-law, intending to take care of himself.
02 The history of the raising of the princess
When Stephanie wanted to travel abroad with her daughter, she was stopped by Franz. Stephanie then learned that she was isolated from her daughter's upbringing. Stephanie, who was blamed and ignored for no reason, was very aggrieved, and she also wanted to have a good relationship with her daughter, but in the old-fashioned and serious Austrian royal palace, the former crown princess was not literate. Under the deliberate neglect of the king and queen, she could only watch as the daughter she had raised with her own hands was getting farther and farther away from her.
Stephanie and daughter Elizabeth Mary
Franz was an official and well-known diligent emperor who did not spend much time with Elizabeth. In limited companionship, grandfather would always tell little Elizabeth about her father's deeds. He took out a photo album to share with his granddaughter how smart and studious young Rudolph was, and how humble and courteous he was when he grew up... As he spoke, he remembered his son who had died prematurely and began to choke up. In such a repetitive narration, Elizabeth's filter on her father is eight feet high, and in her heart, the image of her father is tall and heroic, and if she does not die early, she will have done something. And the mother... The mother was in the grandmother's mouth the one who killed the father with the watery poplar flower. Her dislike for Stephanie is beyond words, while her grandfather is silent, which makes little Elizabeth believe that in the tragedy of her father's death, the responsibility must be on the mother's side.
Stephanie with Elizabeth Mary
Princess Sissi did not like to be called a grandmother all her life, and she was indifferent to any grandchild. But after the assassination, almost all of her personal property in her will was bequeathed to her granddaughter, Elizabeth Mary. Franz, who first lost his only son and then lost his beloved wife, held his granddaughter in the palm of his hand and asked the stars not to give the moon. Little Elizabeth lived up to expectations and grew into a fiercely stubborn, unruly, and unruly princess.
In 1900, the tenth year after Rudolf's death, Stephanie no longer wanted to endure the oppressive atmosphere of the Vienna Royal Palace, preferring to give up the title of princess to marry a Hungarian Protestant count. Franz Joseph agreed and gave her a dowry. The opposite of his attitude was Stephanie's father, Leopold II, with her daughter Elizabeth Marie. Leopold II lost face mainly because his daughter insisted on intermarrying with nobles. Elizabeth, on the other hand, sees this as another betrayal of her father by her mother, who declares that if her mother had to remarry, she would sever all ties with her mother, Stephanie. Years of repression and pain were no match for her daughter's incomprehension, and stephanie, who was heartbroken, cut off her daughter and left Vienna and her second husband away.
03 Robbed someone else's fiancé
Little Elizabeth grew up under the careful care of her grandfather. She avoided the defect of her mother's small swollen eye bubbles, and had a thick dark brown hair, slender, not as bright as her grandmother Princess Sissi, but also a delicate and beautiful little beauty. But on the contrary, the temper of the little princess, her arrogance and temper are as famous as her beauty, and the people in the palace give her the nickname "Little Cannon Battle".
At this time, Franz was choosing a husband for his granddaughter, and originally wanted to marry prince Albert, the heir to the Belgian throne. However, Stephanie's remarriage left Prince Albert's father, Leopold, strongly dissatisfied. Of course, this dissatisfaction is not only directed at Stephanie's noble marriage, in fact, the Belgian royal family is also not optimistic about Elizabeth. Albert's own sister questioned her brother's vision: "Although Elizabeth is very beautiful, are you not afraid that her spirit is as unstable as her grandmother and father?" ”
Prince Albert of Belgium
This political marriage was ultimately over. Because Elizabeth met Prince Otto Wallander of Wendish Graz at a social ball. The relationship was not a good match at all, Otto was ten years older than Elizabeth, born in a very small principality, and had a lower status than the woman, not to mention that Otto was already engaged to the lady of the Count's house of Shu'anbang and was going to marry the next year.
Elizabeth's first love network, in Vienna to wind and rain to rain, no matter how difficult the things she wanted, she was just begging her grandfather. So Elizabeth ran to Franz and begged her grandfather to allow her to marry Prince Otto. At first, Franz refused, how could the betrothed little prince deserve his golden granddaughter? He planned to give his granddaughter to The Crown Prince of Germany, Wilhelm, who was handsome and powerful, and this was a good match for his granddaughter.
Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany
But Elizabeth begged her grandfather bitterly, and she wept silently in the palace. Franz, still unable to bear to see his granddaughter sad, told Elizabeth that if she had to marry Prince Otto, she would lose the austrian inheritance. Elizabeth pleaded with her grandfather with tears, she never felt that she could take on the responsibility of a country, she just wanted to find a beloved person to live happily. Franz thinks of his son, who died prematurely, and he is persuaded, so he hints at Prince Otto to break off the marriage contract and marry his granddaughter.
Prince Otto was stunned by the pie falling from the sky, and everyone looked at him with envy and jealousy, but he, he was not happy. Although his original fiancée had a general family status, she was right with him, and now let him marry the Golden Phoenix Lady in the Austrian royal palace?
But this matter has nothing to do with Otto's wishes, just like the emperor of the Chinese feudal dynasty let you still be the lord, do you have the right to say?
In the end, Prince Otto dissolved his previous marriage contract, and he and Elizabeth married in Hofburg. Elizabeth lost her right to the throne, but Franz, who loved her, retained her title and gave her a generous dowry.
Elizabeth eventually got her wish, and Prince Otto became the instrumental man for Franz to fulfill her granddaughter's wishes.
04 Shoot your husband's lover
A prince Otto who did not want to climb a branch and a fiery archduke who thought that he was married to a love affair, this relationship was forced by Elizabeth, she got what she wanted, but she did not expect that this was the beginning of the tragedy.
No matter how beautiful Elizabeth is, Otto doesn't like this one at all. Coupled with the fiery temper of the grand duke, the two people had constant friction soon after marriage. The powerful Elizabeth will never back down, and she repeatedly suppresses people, which also makes Otto dissatisfied. Only a year or so after their marriage, Elizabeth became pregnant with her eldest son, and Prince Otto secretly cheated.
Otto took advantage of his wife's pregnancy to have an affair in Prague with a French actress named Louis Ziegler. After the news leaked, Elizabeth was furious and took a gun to arrest Xiao San. When she saw her husband rolling with Xiao San in disheveled clothes, the string called reason in her brain broke, and Elizabeth pulled out her pistol and gave Louis a shot.
Otto slipped back home with his wife, and the poor actress struggled in the hospital for a few days and died. The scandal put the face of the Viennese royal family on the ground again. Franz, who had always loved his granddaughter, silently covered up the truth for her granddaughter, and the only punishment Elizabeth received was that her grandfather did not attend the baptism of Elizabeth's eldest son, Franz Joseph.
Everything seems to have dissipated, but the seeds of hatred have long been planted, the couple can no longer cover up their unbearable lives with the veil of warm pulse, and in the resentment, Elizabeth's first love becomes an indelible wound. They continue to have children and hurt each other, but live under one roof and sustain this devastated marriage.
Elizabeth Mary and four children
The couple had three sons and a daughter: Franz Joseph, Ernst, Rudolf and Stephanie.
05 Meet true love again
The couple broke up around 1909, after giving birth to their youngest daughter, Stephanie. There is a theory that Otto discovered that his daughter was not his own at all. In order not to irritate the elderly grandfather, the Elizabeths did not divorce, but each went out looking for a lover.
Elizabeth Mary with her youngest daughter Stephanie
The price of first love was so painful that Elizabeth grew up in this marriage. The world did not revolve around her, and some feelings could not be obtained in any way, even if she was the most honorable grand duke of the country. The marriage dragged on, with the death of Elizabeth's grandfather Franz in 1916 and the complete disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire a few years later. Elizabeth's marriage to Otto also fell apart with the disappearance of the royal family.
After the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, there was open strife between various parties, and the political arena set off one bloody storm after another. Curiously, Elizabeth, a former important member of the royal family, voluntarily gave up her royal status after the death of her grandfather and chose to join the Social Democratic Party of Austria. The Austrian Social Democratic Party is mainly social democratic, although it is one of the many branches of Marxism, but it is still capitalist in nature, because of the social democracy, so Elizabeth is still considered a "red grand duke".
At an election meeting, Elizabeth met Leopold Peznek, then chairman of the Audit Office. Leopold was a teacher, and although he was not of a high birth, he was well educated and seemed personable. The two fell in love at once. Elizabeth had a husband, Leopold was not a good person from the current point of view, he was already married and had a son, and his wife was locked up in a mental hospital, which is really imaginative.
Elizabeth's courage to break through everything was revealed again, and she demanded a divorce from her husband in the form of legal proceedings. However, Prince Otto, who was now living in poverty, delayed the procedure, and it was not until March 1924 that Elizabeth was granted a judicial separation. The two then went to court over property and the upbringing of their children, but this did not prevent Elizabeth from entering a new life, and she bought a villa and happily began to live with Leopold.
During World War II, Leopold was arrested by the Nazis and sent to the Dachau concentration camp, but Elizabeth did not abandon it and insisted on rescue, and eventually the man was successfully released and became the first president of the Austrian Federal Court of Audit after the war. The lawsuit with her ex-husband lasted until 1948, when elizabeth could not wait to marry Leopold after she formally divorced Prince Otto, who was already 65 years old.
06 Stephanie and Stephanie
I don't know how Elizabeth felt about naming her little daughter Stephanie, after all, in her mouth, she hated her mother so much that after her second marriage, Elizabeth never contacted her birth mother, all when she was dead. And this strange mother-daughter relationship continues to her daughter, who should be intimate mother and daughter, but they are not even as good as strangers.
Elizabeth's eldest son, Franz Joseph, became a vintner's agent; Ernst traveled far and wide to the United States; Rudolf was by his side, but he didn't make any difference; and his rebellious youngest daughter Stephanie went to Belgium to find her grandmother's Side of the Belgian Royal Family.
Stephanie was married to a Belgian nobleman, which was clearly not something Elizabeth,the mother was happy to see. The daughter did not spare the dowry from her mother, elizabeth not only did not give, but also tore her face, and fought with her daughter in the newspaper, which was also a miracle that the people "liked to hear" at that time. Mother and daughter spit on each other and fight each other.
Elizabeth Mary's youngest daughter Stephanie and her second husband
The mother-daughter resentment towards each other even influenced Stephanie's choice of her second husband. Elizabeth disliked her daughter's second husband so much that she would never allow him to step into her own house. But when people asked why Stephanie chose Mr. Carl Axel as her partner, Stephanie replied, "Because Mom didn't like him." ”
The two Stephanie, whose mother died in 1945, did not reconcile with their daughter for the rest of their lives, and even removed them from the list of heirs. When Elizabeth was critically ill, her daughter hoped to inherit her property, but she did not agree, and she bequeathed to the Republic of Austria about 500 heirlooms owned by the Habsburg royal family. Let these artworks and books be put back where they were.
In the 8th year of their marriage, Leopold died of a heart attack. Elizabeth lived 7 years longer than he did. On March 16, 1963, he died alone in a villa on the outskirts of Vienna, without the company of children, at the age of 80.
It's hard to judge what kind of a princess Elizabeth really is. She lost her father at an early age, but received the most love from her grandparents Franz and Sissi. The two old men compensated her for their son's guilt and pity, and the little princess was spoiled and untamed. When her mother was about to remarry, she saw it as a betrayal and cut off contact completely. And when she wants to marry someone, she completely ignores the other party's ideas, and pries people in the corner to achieve the goal. But when her marriage was unhappy, she did not hesitate to leave and live with her lover.
Elizabeth was brave and decisive, with a decision that the average woman did not have. With all due respect, she is inherently selfish, extremely self-absorbed and emotional towards herself and others. Wanton behavior, unreasonable trouble, in order to achieve the goal can use all kinds of means. She was not a pleasing girl, but she was a truly golden princess. Perhaps she had the courage to make a choice, and in her life love was incomparably noble, for her own love, for the first time, she gave up the title of heir to the throne, and also had to stay with Prince Otto; the second time, she abandoned the royal name and also wanted to marry Leopold. Bloodline, status, title, affection, she can leave anything behind. She only asked for what she wanted, and the riches were just a passing cloud. Fortunately, Elizabeth begged for mercy and eventually stayed with her second husband for the rest of her life.
And her relationship with her daughter was finally as if her mother and her were the same, completely broken, old and dead did not interact with each other, the last few of the most honorable women of the Habsburg family, their relationship is like a reincarnation, generation after generation of mother-in-law discord, generation after generation of mother-daughter opposite, the fate is such a twist and turn.