Archduchess Elisabeth Marie was born on 2 September 1883 as the only child of Crown Prince Rudolf and Princess Stéphanie of Belgium. When her father died by suicide at Mayerling, she was just five years old.
One might wonder whether there was ever any true harmony in this princess’s life. Her grandmother, the eccentric Empress Elisabeth (Sisi), despite being distant and cold toward her own son, nevertheless blamed Stéphanie for Rudolf’s death — an opinion widely shared by the court society that was always hostile toward the Crown Princess. Tragically, young Elisabeth Marie was drawn into this atmosphere early on, which damaged her relationship with her mother. Stéphanie’s second marriage and departure from Vienna practically severed their contact.
Elisabeth Marie’s later relationships were no less troubled. At the age of 20, she appealed to her grandfather, Emperor Franz Joseph, for permission to marry Prince Otto von Windisch-Graetz. The stunned groom-to-be reportedly learned of this arrangement only after the fact, leaving him no opportunity to refuse. The marriage produced four children, yet her bond with them remained distant, and the couple eventually separated. After the fall of the monarchy, Elisabeth Marie entered politics and joined the Social Democratic Party of Austria, earning the nickname the Red Archduchess. For decades, she lived with a fellow politician before finally obtaining a legal divorce when the law changed. Her relations with her children deteriorated to such an extent that they once even considered having her committed to a mental institution. Ever resentful, she ultimately disinherited them all.
Elisabeth Marie’s life seemed to move from one scandal, quarrel, or eccentricity to another — patterns perhaps rooted in her deeply troubled personality. She died in 1963 at the age of 79.
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