B008AITH44 EBOK (84 page)

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After a long separation, Elisabeth saw her two children Gisela and Rudolf again in Venice. Next to Sisi is Rudolf’s governess Karoline von Welden.

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Two of the trio of famous Winterhalter portraits of the Empress, 1864.

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Elisabeth’s youngest child, Marie Valerie, with the Empress’s favorite niece, Baroness Marie Wallersee, the future Countess Larisch.

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Crown Prince Rudolf in the 1870s

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Princesses Gisela and Marie Valerie in 1885 

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In the mid 1860s, at the height of her beauty, Sisi enjoyed being photographed—but not with her children or her husband. She would pose alone, or with her dogs.

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One of the very rare photographs of Sisi smiling (Photograph by Albert of Munich)

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Franz Joseph and Sisi as King and Queen of Hungary, with Gisela and Rudolf in Hungarian costume. In the background, Gödöllö Castle near Budapest, a gift from the people of Hungary.

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Although there is no evidence that Sisi ever permitted herself to be photographed with her husband, she did pose with her beloved brother Duke Karl Theodor.