Sisi: Empress of Exploits and Austria

This is just one of many articles featuring Empress Sisi of Austria on Etiquipedia. She was an Empress who had chafed at the Royal Court etiquette of the Austrian Imperial family ever since she married the young Emperor Franz Josef. You can read one article here ~ According to Encyclopedia.com, “Elisabeth, Empress of Austria (1837-1898), was the beloved “Sisi,” one of the most famous royal celebrities of her day. As the consort of the emperor of Austria—a land that dominated the map of Europe at the time—Elisabeth was a well-known figure whose exploits were avidly chronicled in the nineteenth-century press much in the same way that Britain's Diana (1961-1997), Princess of Wales, would be a hundred years later.”

Not as Good as Her “Ma” –

The Opinion of an Austrian Princess on a Circus Rider's Feat

Nearly everybody knows that the eccentric Empress of Austria carries her fondness for hunting to such, a pitch that up to recent years she used to brave the terrible fits of “mal de mer” that are caused by the Irish channel for the sake of enjoying the superb hunting that can still be found in the Emerald Isle– one free joy not yet a hunted out of it by the ubiquitous and iniquitous Sassenach. But it is not generally known, says the New York Journal, that the first lady of the land in Austria is also a fancy rider, used to have a private arena, and when in playful mood would give exhibitions of startling equestrian skill to a select circle of more or less discreet friends. 

One day when her little daughter, Stephanie, was on a visit at the home of a noble in another part of the Empire it occurred to her hosts that perhaps a circus that was performing in the neighborhood would afford the infant princess a novel delight. They took the child, and were astonished at the profound gravity with which her little eyes watched the performers leaping through hoops of colored paper, turning somersaults or riding two horses at once. "Well," said one at last, "what does our little Princess think of it?" "Not much," replied the child, shaking her head sagely. "My ma can do those things a heap better." Then, with an air of profound conviction: "My ma's a born circus rider." Imagine, if you can, Austria's etiquette, and then imagine the thrill of amazement and horror which the child's remark produced. – Bridgeport-Chronicle Union, 1894

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