10. Her Husband May Have Given Her Syphilis
Franz Josef was a charming man who had a bit of a reputation for being a womanizer. He had many lovers before his marriage to Elisabeth and likely engaged in quite a few affairs, despite his eye for Elisabeth and admitted unfailing love for her. There is some evidence that his many relationships may have caused him to transmit to her a venereal disease. Some suggest that the condition may have been syphilis, but no one really knows for sure. However, the presence of a venereal disease would explain her excessive absences from the court and her reticence to have more than two children.
Though a strappingly attractive ruler, Franz Josef led an empire that decreased in size throughout his reign. He ruled from the mid-nineteenth century until nearly the end of World War I when he died in 1916. Despite his abilities as an athlete, hunter, and all-around charismatic man, he proved that he was unable to maintain any level of control of his empire or his family. Frequent family squabbles, particularly between his wife and mother, led to great unhappiness in court, exacerbated by Sisi’s numerous illnesses, the deaths of two of their children, and a collapsing empire.