Below, we separate fact from fiction in the life of The Empress's Elisabeth of Austria ... in real life as the show—and Princess Ludovika of Bavaria. Called Sisi by her family, she grew up ...

The show's focus remains on the crucial meeting between the young Bavarian Princess ... Austria on 2 December 1848 at the age of 18. Franz married Elisabeth of Wittelsbach, often called 'Sissi'.

Sissi, born Duchess Elisabeth of Bavaria ... with her marriage to Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary. Franz’s mother, Princess Sophie, had actually intended for her first son to marry ...