In a nutshell:
Netflix’s The Empress is pitched as a sumptuous reimagining of the life of Elisabeth of Bavaria—known universally as Sisi—a German princess turned Austrian empress who battled against the restrictions of the Habsburg court in the 19th century.
What will the plot of The Empress cover?
According to Netflix, the drama will trace Sisi’s life from her teenage years onwards.
The daughter of a Bavarian duke, Elisabeth never aspired to a role in the Habsburg court, reveling in the freedom of her life in the countryside outside of Munich. Yet, in the summer of 1853, Sisi traveled with her mother Ludovika and beautiful older sister Helene to the Austrian resort of Bad Ischl to meet with her cousin, Emperor Franz Joseph, whom the family believed would propose to Helene. Instead, the Emperor became enamoured with the 15-year-old Sisi, with the couple marrying the following spring.
Despite reports that Elisabeth fell in love with Franz as quickly as he fell in love with her, adjusting to the Habsburg court proved difficult for her from the beginning. When a state carriage paraded her through Vienna during her wedding celebrations, Sisi could be seen weeping by the thousands of spectators who lined the roads. She caused a further scandal at her reception when—rather than giving her much-loved cousins a kiss on the hand in accordance with royal tradition—she embraced them both in a hug, much to the disdain of her mother-in-law, Archduchess Sophie.
It set the tone for the next 40 years of Elisabeth’s life, defined by adulating praise (“It is the Empress who attracts them all,” Sophie wrote of her daughter-in-law’s internationally famous beauty. “For she is their joy, their idol.”) and moments of resistance against the strictures of court, worlds away from her Bavarian childhood. Making matters worse: Elisabeth’s fraught relationship with Archduchess Sophie—who, until Sisi’s marriage, had been the highest-ranking female member of the Viennese court—and Franz’s reckless younger brother Maximilian, who was by no means content playing the spare to Franz’s heir.
Who is in the cast of The Empress?
The German series has cast newcomers Devrim Lingnau and Philip Froissant as Sisi and Franz, respectively. Melika Foroutan, Johannes Nussbaum, Elisa Schlott, Jördis Triebel, Wiebke Puls, and Almila Bagriacik will also appear in yet-to-be-disclosed roles.
Why are there so many comparisons between Sisi and Diana, Princess of Wales?
Much like the Princess of Wales, Sisi inspired almost manic devotion amongst the public from her wedding onwards, becoming the first celebrity royal in Europe. Naturally, her famous beauty helped. Her chestnut hair reached past her waist, with Elisabeth spending three hours having her locks tended to each day (she also swore by washing her hair with a mixture of eggs and cognac). As she aged, a fear of losing her beauty consumed her. She refused to be photographed over the age of 30, developing special anti-aging creams made from wax, almonds, and rosewater to preserve her youth and—according to reports—dying her hair with indigo.
Simultaneously, she battled with an eating disorder. Rather than the bulimia that plagued Diana, Sisi compulsively exercised for hours every day to maintain her 18-inch waist into her 50s, and would often subsist on a diet of broth, milk, and oranges. Her gymnastic equipment—on which she did punishing exercises—can still be seen in her dressing room at the Hofburg today.
In spite of a reputation for narcissism, Sisi also cared deeply for her subjects—famously helping to care for the wounded during the Austro-Prussian War in 1866. She is also credited with getting her husband to pardon Italian rebels and helping the court to soothe Hungarian tensions—and loathed what she felt were pointless court traditions. She often vented her frustrations in her poetry. (“Oh, had I but never left the path / That would have led me to freedom / Oh, that on the broad avenues / Of vanity I had never strayed / I have awakened in a dungeon / With chains on my hands,” reads one memorable passage.) Like Diana, Elisabeth also died relatively young, after an Italian anarchist fatally stabbed her in Geneva.
When is the release date for The Empress?
The Empress will hit Netflix on September 29, as revealed in a German-language teaser earlier this year.
How should I entertain myself until The Empress premieres?
Romy Schneider famously played Sisi in a ’50s trilogy opposite Karlheinz Böhm’s Franz. Filming took place at the Habsburg seats of Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna and the Kaiserville near Salzburg, with the movies later becoming one of the most successful German-language productions in history. As for the lavish costumes? Art-deco designer Gerdago (née Gerda Gottstein)—often referred to as the Austrian equivalent of Edith Head—recreated the elaborate dresses of the period for the hundreds of cast members. Schneider would go on to play Sisi again in Luchino Visconti’s 1973 biopic Ludwig, which dramatized the life of Sisi’s cousin, the so-called mad king Ludwig II—best remembered for commissioning the Neuschwanstein castle in honor of Wagner.
If you’re keen for a more factual account of Elisabeth’s life, German scholar Brigitte Hamann’s biography, The Reluctant Empress, gives a compelling overview of her triumphs and failures—and provides welcome historical context behind the Sisi myth. Take the fact that, when Sisi’s only son and heir Rudolf tragically committed suicide in 1889, it made Archduke Franz Ferdinand the heir presumptive, with his subsequent assassination giving rise to the First World War.
And after The Empress premieres? Phantom Thread’s Vicky Krieps will appear as Sisi in Corsage (out December 30), a Cannes hit that’s being compared to Spencer for its stark portrayal of Elisabeth’s claustrophobic royal life. Rather than her teenage years, the films opens on Sisi’s dreaded 40th birthday, focusing on the lengths she goes to in order to stay youthful.