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Concept
Archduchess Gisela of Austria
Summary
Archduchess Gisela Louise Marie of Austria (12 July 1856 – 27 July 1932) was the second daughter and eldest surviving child of Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth of Austria.
Although christened Gisella, she only ever wrote her name with one L. Just like her elder sister Archduchess Sophie and her brother Crown Prince Rudolf, Gisela was raised by her paternal grandmother, Archduchess Sophie of Austria. Of a sober nature like her father, she kept a reserved attitude towards her mother. She had a very close relationship with her brother, whose suicide affected her greatly.
Her father collected some of the family's personal items, such as the first pair of shoes worn by each of his children. Among these keepsakes was a poem written for him by a young Gisela one Christmas; the poem was said to be the most treasured item among this collection. Archduchess Gisela was also known to paint in her later years.
On 20 April 1873, at the age of 16, Gisela was married to Prince Leopold of Bavaria in Vienna. Prince Leopold was a son of Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria and Auguste Ferdinande of Austria: Gisela's second cousin. Leopold had initially fallen for Princess Amalie of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, whom Empress Elisabeth's younger brother Duke Maximilian Emanuel in Bavaria intended to marry. The Empress therefore arranged an encounter of Leopold and Gisela at Gödöllő Palace, and the prince knew he could not refuse her offer.
According to a letter to his mother written in 1872, Emperor Franz Josef wanted the match between his daughter and the Wittelsbach prince, as there were so few Catholic princes available at that time. It seems he felt he had to secure the only viable candidate to whom he could give Gisela (whom he called "our darling girl" during the wedding rites) with confidence. Prince Leopold received the immense dowry of a half a million guilders and soon overcame his former infatuation with Princess Amalie.
Gisela's mother remained absent during the wedding celebrations.
Official source
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