Sixteen-year-old Bavarian duchess Elisabeth "Sisi" falls in love with her sister's intended fiancé Emperor Franz Joseph and the two later marry. She moves to Vienna and finds herself having to navigate the complexity of court politics and her husband's scheming family members. Her mother-in-law Sophia, who is also her aunt, antagonizes her almost immediately. Her brother-in-law Maximilian, Franz Joseph's younger brother, keeps trying to outshine his older brother and prove that he is more worthy to rule.
In December 2020, Netflix announced it was about to start production on a 6-part series with the working title The Empress based on the life of the Austrian Empress Elisabeth of Bavaria, nicknamed Sissi. The series would be directed by Katrin Gebbe and Florian Cossen with Bernd Lange and Jana Nandzik writing. Devrim Lingnau and Philip Froissant were announced as being cast in the lead roles.[5] In November 2022, Netflix renewed the series for a second season.[6]
Historical Inaccuracies
Elisabeth (Sisi) had brown eyes
Elisabeth was more fair-haired than her sister Helene when she was younger, which was a significant factor in Franz Joseph's attraction towards her.
Elisabeth and Franz Joseph's first meeting at Bad Ischl wasn't outdoors, but during tea with more relatives present than shown.
Sisi and Franz are shown mutually falling in love. In reality, Franz was more in love with Sisi than she was with him. Sisi was equally shocked at Franz's proposal.
Franz didn't propose publicly, but had Archduchess Sophie request Ludovika's permission.
Franz Joseph's second younger brother, Karl Ludwig, was in love with Elisabeth and wanted to marry her, not Maximilian as shown. During childhood, Karl Ludwig and Elisabeth exchanged letters and gifts.
While Sophie was reluctant over Franz and Elisabeth's marriage and was strict over Elisabeth's behavior at court, there is no evidence to support she actually hated Sisi. In reality, Sophie's letters and diaries positively describe her daughter in law.
Archduchess Sophie was in love with Napoleon II (her future husband’s nephew) when she was younger, not Swedish Prince Gustav as shown. Maximilian was allegedly the result of said relationship, not Franz Joseph, although these rumors were deemed dubious.
Franz Joseph and Maximilian had a sour relationship as adults, but there is no evidence that the latter conspired to overthrow his brother as Emperor. [7]
^Hamann, Brigitte (1982). Elisabeth: Kaiserin wider Willen [The Reluctant Empress- A Biography of Empress Elisabeth of Austria]. Translated by Hein, Ruth. Piper Verlag GmbH.
