Sophie of Bavaria: the Secret Empress of Austria, the Only Man in the Habsburg Court

A portrait of Sophie, Archduchess of Austria. Image from Wikimedia Commons

In assessing the life of Archduchess Sophie of Austria, one would easily detest her for the image projected by popular history and the media: a controlling mother, over-bearing mother-in-law, the villain in the romantic love story of Sisi and Franz Josef. Looking at the events that transpired in 1840s Austria, we can have a clearer picture of why Sophie had to toughen up. With revolutionaries threatening the demise of the House of Habsburg, a handicapped emperor, and a disinterested husband, Sophie had to gather her wits and do something to preserve the Habsburg monarchy.

Princess Sophie Friederike Dorothea Wilhelmine of Bavaria was born on January 27, 1805 in Munich, the capital of the then-electorate of Bavaria. She was the daughter of Maximilian Joseph, Elector and later, the first King of Bavaria, with his second wife, Caroline of Baden. Sophie was born alongside her twin sister, Princess Maria Anna, later Queen of Saxony.  The pair was one of the two set of twins born in her family.

King Maximilian’s titles as elector of Bavaria and count palatine of the Rhine ceased with the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806. Since he was a staunch supporter of Napoleon, it did not take long before Bavaria was proclaimed a kingdom. Sophie became Princess of Bavaria.

When Sophie learned that her parents had arranged for her to marry Franz Karl, Archduke of Austria—who was deemed by many as un-ambitious and incapable—she turned extremely furious that he called him an “imbecile”. Realizing, however, it was her duty to strengthen the ties between her country and its closest neighbor, Austria, she eventually decided to marry the archduke and his odd habits.

Sophie married Franz Karl, Archduke of Austria, on November 4, 1824, primarily out of her family’s desire to make her an empress of Austria. The union produced six children after six years of childlessness: Franz Josef, who succeeded as Emperor of Austria; Ferdinand Maximilian, the ill-fated emperor of Mexico, who was executed by firing squad; Karl Ludwig; Maria Anna, a stillborn son; and Ludwig Viktor.

In her early years in the Austrian court, Sophie allegedly had an affair with the exiled Napoleon II, who took up residence at the Austrian court. It was even rumored that the French prince imperial fathered her son Maximilian, who was born two weeks before Napoleon died in 1832.

Sophie left no stone unturned in rearing her eldest son Franz Joseph to become the future emperor of Austria. During the Revolutions of 1848, the empress barely exerted any effort in persuading her husband into resigning from his right to succeed to the throne just so then reigning Emperor Ferdinand I, her husband's brother, could finally pass the throne to their son.

Franz Joseph may have been the Emperor of Austria, but it was his mother who wielded the power behind the throne. During this period, the archduchess was known as the “only man in court” for her absolute authority over her husband and her son.

Sophie, a control freak, personally wanted her niece, Helene, the daughter of her sister Ludovika, to become the wife of Franz Joseph. In the end, however, her son fell in love with Helene’s younger sister, Elisabeth, more popularly known as “Sisi”, who the emperor married in April 1854. However, it seemed that she made life difficult for Sisi. The empress dismissed her parenting skills, calling her a “silly young mother”. She forcibly took charge of caring for Franz Joseph’s and Sisi’s children, not even allowing their mother to breastfeed them. She even named one of the children Sophie without the permission of the parents. Also, before giving birth to a son, Sophie would constantly mock Elisabeth for her failure to produce an heir.

Sophie never got over the shocking death of her son, Maximilian. In fact, his decision to accept the throne of Mexico caused disagreement between him and the emperor. He reigned anyway, but three years after, in 1867, Maximilian was deposed and was executed by firing squad. His one last request to his executioners was to not shoot his face so his mother could see his face again. The tragedy proved to be too much for Sophie that she retired from public life thereafter. Weakened by the death of Maximilian, and after suffering from a number of brain hemorrhages and losing her ability to speak, Sophie died on May 28, 1872 in Vienna, Austria at the age of 67.  Sisi was at Sophie’s bedside when the latter succumbed to her death. 

She left her with a farewell letter, which she wrote ten years before her death. “Dear children, remain, all of you, united in unalterable love and loyalty and reverence of the younger for their Emperor and lord," she wrote.

" My valued Franzi, since you are charged with a heavy responsibility for your Catholic empire, which you must most of all keep Catholic, though at the same time you will bestow paternal care on the several millions of different faiths. Only weakness, giving up on the part of the well-intentioned… encourages the pioneers of the revolution.” 

She was buried in the Imperial Crypt underneath the Capuchin Church and Monastery in Vienna.