The engagement of Emperor Franz Joseph to Elisabeth, Princess in Bavaria

Lithograph on paper, by Vinzenz Katzler after Anton Ziegler, 1853

Franz Joseph ascended the throne very young, when only 18 years old. The fact that a ruling monarch was looking for a bride here ensured that Franz Joseph's efforts were followed very closely.

The emperor's mother, Archduchess Sophie, took the task of finding a suitable bride for her son very seriously. A very close-knit family network worked here in the background: Franz Joseph's mother had excellent contacts thanks to her sisters, who were married to the most important courts in the German states. Franz Joseph's later father-in-law, Duke Max, derisively described the lively exchange of information as “crinoline whispers”.

Sophie gave her son freedom of choice - but within strict limits: Franz Joseph was to choose his future wife from among the daughters and nieces of Sophie's sisters.

After Franz Joseph was unsuccessful at the royal courts of Dresden and Berlin, he finally chose his cousin Elisabeth.