If the 19th Century had a figure that was beguiling and curiosity-inspiring as Princess Diana, it would have to be Elisabeth, Empress of Austria. An iconoclast who shunned the spotlight, she found a way into the public’s heart with her distinct personality and idiosyncratic habits. Moreover, she was and remains very popular in Hungary, a place she considered a second home.

Elisabeth, known by her nickname ‘Sisi,’ cut such an individualistic path, it’s hard to know where to start. A proto-hipster, she had a tattoo and dabbled in cocaine use. She drank wine with breakfast and worked out on the rings multiple times a day. She refused to let herself be photographed after age 30, and spent much of her time outside her native Austria.

One of the places she adopted as home away from home is Hungary, primarily staying at her country retreat, now known as the Gödölló Palace, just outside of Budapest. Here, Sisi distinguished herself by actually learning Hungarian, and sticking up for Hungary’s interest in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

125 years later, her story is told through the Netflix series The Empress. Staring Devrim Langnau as Sisi, the series was released in late September to strong reviews. IMDB summarises the 6-part series with the logline: Two young people meet. A fateful encounter - the proverbial love at first sight. He is Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary, she is Elisabeth von Wittelsbach, Princess of Bavaria and the sister of the woman Franz is to marry.

It’s worth pointing out that The Empress isn’t the only Sissi project around. This year also saw the feature film The Corsage debut at the Cannes Film Festival. By writer/director Marie Kreutzer, IMDB describes it like this: A fictional account of one year in the life of Empress Elisabeth of Austria. On Christmas Eve 1877, Elisabeth, once idolized for her beauty, turns 40 and is officially deemed an old woman; she starts trying to maintain her public image.

“Her image is one you can reimagine and reinterpret and fill with your own imagination, because we have a lot of stories about her, but you don’t know if they’re true,” Kreutzer recently told the New York Times.

True or not, it’s inarguable that Sisi is making a comeback in the public imagination. It’s questionable, however, if she ever left. Below find the trailer to Corsage, in German with English subtitles. However, the trained ear will also pick up a little Hungarian. Can you spot it?

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