Sisi was just 17 when her first child, Archduchess Sophie was born. After a short while Sophie was taken away from Sisi and Franz Josef’s mother took control of the child. The Empress did not even have any say in the decision to name her daughter Sophie, after her mother-in-law.
Franz Josef’s mother warned of the dangers of taking Sophie away when Sisi and Franz Josef toured Austria’s Italian provinces. After the unsuccessful tour in Italy they then set off for Hungary, taking Sophie and her younger sister Gisela. First Gisela fell ill but recovered. Sophie did not recover and her early death shattered Sisi.
Attributed to User Marie Valerie on de.wikipedia (Unknown) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
