Gisela Of Austria - Unable To Win Her Mother's Love

[@manuelapinto4779]

It was the first time I've heard about Gisela. With such a memorable mother like Sissi, it's easy to forget about her children. Thanks Nieke!

[@TheKingsofFrance]

Really glad you liked the video Manuela !

[@LJB103]

Excellent video. While the Habsburgs were (in)famous for being inbred through marriages to other Habsburgs, the Wittelsbachs could give them a run for their money. Also, Gisela's husband was her 2nd cousin; her Wittelsbach paternal grandmother and her mother were aunt and niece! I seem to remember once reading that there were 22 marriages between Wittelsbachs and Habsburgs.

[@TheKingsofFrance]

Thanks for sharing this information with us.

[@beth7935]

Nice bio, & Gisela sounds awesome! I'm particularly impressed she helped deaf & blind people, cos disabled people were actually treated worse in that period- from the mid-19thc to the mid-20thc- than they had been previously (& also cos my Mum taught deaf kids & I worked in disability services). I'm not that interested in this era overall, but your videos are always interesting, this one included.

[@TheKingsofFrance]

Glad you liked the video.

[@bevinboulder5039]

Excellent biography as usual. Unconditional love from ones parents is often hard to come by even now in the 21st century.

[@TheKingsofFrance]

Thanks for watching Bev, and of course, sadly, you're right.

[@adriannespring8598]

Truth!!!

[@vishnukanagalingam1991]

Archduchess Gisela was a truly interesting and inspiring person. Thank you for telling her story.

[@TheKingsofFrance]

Thanks for watching Vishnu !

[@EmilyGloeggler7984]

Poor Gisela. My heart goes out to her. At least, she had her husband and her Dad’s love.

[@TheKingsofFrance]

Thank you for watching.

[@christinemiller8158]

Very sad that she did not have a close relationship with her mother ☹️. Merci 🌸♥️!

[@TheKingsofFrance]

Merci à toi Christine 🌻❤

[@aariley2]

Poor lady, but she didn't let it stop her from doing great good!

[@TheKingsofFrance]

Thanks so much for watching and commenting !

[@katherinehutton9870]

Her grandmother removed all of her grandchildren from Emperess Elizabeth right at their birth. Am except the yougest. Elisabeth had get permission to see her children and even when it was granted it WA for a limited period.

[@TheKingsofFrance]

Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@davidlogan4329]

Gisela was taken from her mother shortly after birth by the Archduchess Sophie, mother of Franz-Josef. It is hardly surprising therefore that there was no maternal bonding. The Archduchess Sophie was a cruel woman. Marie-Valerie was really the only child that Elisabeth bonded with as she was allowed to raise the child herself. Elisabeth also had her son Rudolf snatched away after birth.

[@Recartloaded]

That’s still not a excuse, when sisi was offered the chance to get to know her children better she declined, and she still was so rude to Gisela.

[@davidlogan4329]

@@Recartloaded try having a brutal and uncaring mother-in-law like Archduchess Sophie and you might begin to understand.

[@TheKingsofFrance]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts David.

[@davidlogan4329]

@@TheKingsofFrance very welcome indeed. Lots I could tell you. I've visited Schoenbrunn palace and the Hofburg plus the Kaiservilla at Bad Ischl. A friend of mine is the former chief guide at Schoenbrunn.

[@Recartloaded]

@@davidlogan4329 she was still cruel to her own daughter, her mother in law isn’t an excuse

[@paulkoza8652]

Thanks to The Kings of France for bringing this biography to light. I had not studied their life of her mother until I was in Vienna before Covid. Sisi's life is honored (glorified) there and in other parts of the former Austrian empire. Your biography of Gisela shows her from a completely different perspective. Not a kind individual indeed. It is a sad commentary on human relations and further solidifies my beliefs that monarchies are no different than commoners and thus have outlived their usefulness. Especially at tax payer expense.

[@TheKingsofFrance]

No, Sisi wasn't always kind. I'll do a video about that at a later stage.

[@mimfi]

I had never heard of Gisela of Austria. It is allways hard to hear that a mother doesn't like her daughter. Thank you for telling about her life! 🥰

[@TheKingsofFrance]

Thanks for watching.

[@adriannespring8598]

Many women aren't very maternal and many resent their own kids. Many women use their kids for power games with their spouses.

[@mariah4531]

Well, from what I've read Sisi tried at first but she was very young and insecure and her MIL took over all decisions. When Sisi asserted herself and took her two daughters on a journey they both got sick and the oldest one died. After that Sisi detached herself from her children until the youngest was born over ten years later and gave all her love to that one.

[@mimfi]

@@mariah4531 You make an interesting point that explains a lot. Took me while to realize what MIL means 😊

[@mariah4531]

@@mimfi Oh, sorry, I probably spend too much time on Reddit, they use MIL for mother in law a lot.

[@Recartloaded]

It’s so sad that her mother treated her so badly

[@fiachramaccana280]

its a bit more complex than that. The children were removed from the mother under Austrian court protocol. So its unfair to blame the Empress. The Empress was not particularly happy with court life as a result. She preferred to spend as much of her time as possible away from the court. Her daughter was lucky to marry into the Bavarian royal family whose way of life was far more relaxed and normal.

[@Recartloaded]

@@fiachramaccana280 it’s not “unfair “ even when she got the chance to know Gisela she still treated her badly talked about her appearance and judged her weight . Her mother forced her to marry Leopold the prince of Bavaria just because leopold wanted to marry someone her brother also wanted to marry so she sold her daughter out even though she said teen marriage wasn’t a good thing while she allowed her younger daughter to wait until she was 22 to marry and even attended and helped her get ready for her wedding while she didn’t for Gisela at all.

[@bjetkabathory5185]

@@Recartloaded Gisella´s mother spoiled all her empathy on herself, perhaps because since her wedding nobody offered any empathy to her. Gisella spent a lonely, rather sad childhood in a dysfunctional family. She may have considered her marriage the best escape available. And she & Leopold had a very happy & long family life together. BTW Gisella´s family had not a big choice, as concerns her future husband. The Habsburg family laws allowed only marriages to royal blood Catholics. And single, of course. There were only several young men corresponding with the conditions in Europe among Gisella´s generation. That´s why her parents arranged her marriage so early.

[@daniyalshah4338]

Love from england

[@TheKingsofFrance]

Thanks so much for watching !

[@cerberus6654]

Really enjoyed this! Especially the photos you sourced. Thanks.

[@TheKingsofFrance]

Thank you so much for watching.

[@BeeKool__113]

Fantastic video as always! I knew about Sisi but not that much about her children. Very interesting.

[@TheKingsofFrance]

So glad you liked it. Next week I'll do a video on Maria Valerie, the 4th child of Sisi.

[@BeeKool__113]

@@TheKingsofFrance Oh, awesome! Can't wait!! Thank you!

[@BeeKool__113]

@The Kings of France I love your channel! So informative and fun. I learn something new everytime I stop by for a visit. Keep up the marvelous work you do! We all very much appreciate it. Thank you! Happy Sunday! 🥰❤️

[@plamenivanov92]

Sisi's favorite child was her youngest daughter Marie Valerie Mathilde Amellie

[@TheKingsofFrance]

I'll be doing a short video on her next week !

[@plamenivanov92]

The portrait of Ludovica is part of The Schonheitengalerie (The Gallery of Beauties) by Joseph Carl Stiller I have them all in a folder in my PC and on my smartphone

[@TheKingsofFrance]

Very cool Plamen !

[@ChibiProwl]

Merci for the new videos about Sisi's kids

[@TheKingsofFrance]

Thank you for watching !

[@creatingkismet2075]

Another excellent video about an interesting life. Thank you.

[@TheKingsofFrance]

Thanks very much for watching Cherie !

[@MichelleBruce-lo4oc]

Hi, awesome live history video I enjoyed it. How are you and cute Rani your cat doing? I'm doing well. My cat Benjamin says hi to you and cute Rani your cat. Today my cat Benjamin tipped is water dish over for attention. In the end he got lots of attention. How does Rani your cat get attention? Does she play tricks on you to get attention? We have nice weather in Ontario Canada. How's the weather where you are? Have a great day see you next video greetings from Canada 😊 your history videos are always enjoyable

[@TheKingsofFrance]

Hi Michelle and Benjamin ! Glad to hear you are both doing well. Rani wakes me up at 4 am for her food, does that count ? The weather here is great, finally summer time ! Enjoying it to the fullest !

[@badassunicorn5351]

Susi had some serious mental health issues. Great video!!

[@TheKingsofFrance]

Agreed. Thank you for watching.

[@rayn8740]

Did she live in the Residenz München palace during her marriage? If so, what kind of hotel would have been more fabulous than that? The family photo was probably not the most flattering. The children did look like they'd just come in from playing to sit for it. Though her husband matured into a rather handsome man. I wonder why her mother chose to intercede in the matchmaking if she thought her future son-in-law resembled a pig. I wonder if she did it as a favor to the uncle who also benefited from the deal. There wasn't much time devoted to their married life together. I'd like to know if they were faithful to each other. Obviously her mother felt that the children were all his, but did he have mistresses or liaisons with ladies of the court? Were they "good" parents? What was the relationship with her father like? What happened to their children? How were they affected by WW2? Obviously, I enjoyed it, because I want more.

[@Elizabeth-nt7uq]

She did it to degrade her daughter! The Empress Hated children, Hated the effects of pregnancy on her figure! Narcissist should have her pic under it in the dictionary! Her Mil was controlling, but I also believe she took them so they would survive!!

[@TheKingsofFrance]

thanks for watching and commenting. I think next week I'll do her sister, Marie Valerie.

[@cherylbrooks7005]

❤️

[@TheKingsofFrance]

❤

[@Kingpowch]

I really question some of Sisi's choices and behaviour in her life. Anyway, thank you for making this video. What do you think about Sisi, Nieke?

[@TheKingsofFrance]

Quite frankly, she wasn't as kind as she's portrayed in the movies. At all. I will do some videos on her at a later stage.

[@petercafrancisca4569]

Think she might have some undiagnosed mental issues, she had a cousin who went mad. There are a lot of weird things about her, always traveling, she has no close profile picture/paint after 35 years old, her and Franz Joseph were not the super couple we are getting shown in movies, he had a mistress to keep him company while she was away traveling.

[@Meela234]

What her mother said about the children was very rude, but they all did look like their father tho. Lol

[@TheKingsofFrance]

Yes but still, not something one would say about one's children.

[@totoarriba]

Since the 1950s there has been a really big Sisi hype in Germany, Austria and Switzerland due to the 3 movies with Romy Schneider and Karl Heinz Böhm. Sisi's 3 daughters and her son have not gained that much interest.

[@TheKingsofFrance]

Sisi wasn't quite as kind as they portrayed her to be either...

[@savagedarksider2147]

I have A question for you Kings of France; have you ever heard of Alternate history hub ?

[@TheKingsofFrance]

Nope, Is it a youtube channel ?

[@savagedarksider2147]

@@TheKingsofFrance Yes. Please reply.

[@reniasva]

Empress Sissi was a horrible mother. She only cared for her children when she felt like it or when it made her look good. Rudolf tried to talk to her at christmas eve 1888 with tears in his eyes, but Sissi was disgusted by that. She said something along the lines of "Men don't cry. Pull yourself together!" Poor Gisela had a poor childhood, but she became happy later in life. I think most people really think of the Romy Schneider version of Sissi, when it comes to that topic. The real empress was a cold-hearted selfish woman. A champagne socialist, an egotistical maniac and utterly self-centered. A lot of people still disdain Marie Antoinette, although she was a very generous and nice person, despite being clueless, yet they love and revere Sissi, one of the worst consorts of all time. Weird.....

[@TheKingsofFrance]

I know, right ! I have far more sympathy for Marie Antoinette…

[@reniasva]

@@TheKingsofFrance Thanks, Nieke! You're not alone :)

[@MarinaKaFai]

I think she was kept away from her mom because her grandma deemed Sissi too young and too wild or inexperienced to raise children.

[@eburel506]

I read cause sisi’s mother in law was super controlling and thought she could raise the children better. Her mother in law to for first baby away shortly after being born and named her without sisi’s consent. When her oldest daughter died while they were on vacation her mother in law said it was cause Sisi was a terrible mother.

[@Recartloaded]

That’s literally what the video said

[@TheKingsofFrance]

Thanks very much for watching and commenting.

[@caramia4143]

What a paradox. Too young/wild and inexperienced to raise children but not too young/wild and inexperienced to get married, consummate it, and give birth.

[@Recartloaded]

@@caramia4143 the archduchess only let Franz Joseph marry Elisabeth because he threatened that if he wasn’t allowed to propose to Elisabeth he wouldn’t propose or marry anyone else…

[@savagedarksider2147]

I was watching this Wonderful KZbinr; her name is :TF excursion-Russia. She hasn't upload any videos in A year.

[@TheKingsofFrance]

I haven't heard of her...

[@sandie157]

Wow Sisi looked beautiful, but clearly she was a bit of s cow,

[@TheKingsofFrance]

She wasn't always kind....