Letter: The example of royal Europe
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Your support makes all the difference.From Ms Patricia Graham
Sir: Germaine Greer (24 November) describes the sad history of previous Princesses of Wales. Reading an account of the twilight of the Hapsburg Empire, I am struck by the similarities between Princess Diana and Elizabeth of Bavaria - the celebrated "Sisi" - Empress to Franz Joseph of Austria.
Married in 1854 at 16 years of age, she was celebrated from the outset for her beauty and lively disposition. The famous painting by Winterhalter shows her in 1867 in a magnificent white ball dress, her hair ornately plaited and interlaced with diamond stars, a veritable dream princess. Four years into the marriage, however, after the birth of a Crown Prince, she had already begun to exhibit symptoms similar to those described by the present Princess of Wales. She suffered throughout her subsequent life from an eating disorder, which made her as "thin as a beanpole" and developed a passion for gymnastics. Her private gymnasium is still to be seen in the Hofburg Palace.
No doubt part cause of the disorder was the stifling atmosphere of the court of Vienna and the constant intervention in the lives of the imperial couple of the Empress Dowager, her own aunt, Sophia of Bavaria. It seems likely, too, that she was uninspired by her worthy but pedantic husband.
Sisi came to be regarded by her enemies and to some considerable extent by the Viennese public as "mad". By contrast, in Hungary, she was received with great affection, not least for her efforts to learn Magyar. She became an ally of the Prime Minister, Count Andrassy, and had some success in building support for the Hapsburgs against the rising tide of Magyar nationalism. For the rest, unable to settle in Vienna, she travelled fitfully about Europe, while pursuing a variety of cultural enthusiasms.
The Emperor was involved in a series of extra-marital liaisons, which Sisi tolerated and even encouraged, but his affection for her did not alter.
Sisi's life was marked by tragedy, including the early death of her eldest daughter, Sophie and the suicide at Mayerling of her only son, the Crown Prince Rudolf. Her sad history ended in 1898 with her assassination at the hands of an Italian anarchist while travelling in Switzerland.
Yours sincerely,
Patricia Graham
Tonbridge, Kent
24 November
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