The Dove and the Eagle ... that's how Elisabeth of Austria (1837-1898), the famous Sissi, and King Ludwig II. of Bavaria called each other. From the same family, Sissi had much in common with Ludwig II, who adored her.  There has been much speculation as to the relationship between Ludwig II and Elisabeth and while there is little remaining personal documentary evidence to link them romantically, there was an undeniable bond between them. They shared many characteristics, including a slightly imperious manner which concealed acute shyness and hypersensitivity.

Grand-daughter of the King of Bavaria, Maximilian I, she married the Emperor Franz-Josef in 1854.  She was an extremely beautiful woman with a mane of hip-length chestnut brown hair.  Tall, slender and supple, she had a penchant for gymnastics far ahead of her time and a great belief in walking as a healthy exercise. Riding was her greatest passion and she was said to be the best horsewoman in Europe.  

She also wrote poetry and in many of her verses is clearly to be seen her misery and loneliness. She was an admirer of Heinrich Heine and her poems have been published by the Osterreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften.

Her grief was to be extended when, only three years after the death of King Ludwig II, she was crushed by her son's death in equally mysterious and horrible circumstances in Mayerling.  

On September 9, 1889, while she was visiting Geneva (Switzerland) incognito, she was murdered by an Italian anarchist, Luigi Luccheni.

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