Sophie Esterházy-Liechtenstein (Vienna, 5 September 1798 – Vienna, 27 June 1869), was an Austrian courtier. She served as

Oberhofmeisterin Court Mistress ( da, hofmesterinde; nl, hofmeesteres; german: Hofmeisterin; no, hoffmesterinne; sv, hovmästarinna) or Chief Court Mistress ( da, Overhofmesterinde; ('grand mistress'); ; no, overhoffmesterinne; sv, överhovmästarinna; russia ...

(

mistress of the Robes The mistress of the robes was the senior lady in the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. Formerly responsible for the queen consort's/regnant's clothes and jewellery (as the name implies), the post had the responsibility for arranging the rota o ...

) to

Empress Elisabeth of Austria Duchess Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie in Bavaria (24 December 1837 – 10 September 1898) was Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary from her marriage to Emperor Franz Joseph I on 24 April 1854 until her assassination in 1898. Elisabeth was ...

in 1854-1862.

Early life

Princess Sophie Marie Josepha von und zu

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarchy ...

was born as third daughter of

Johann I Joseph, Prince of Liechtenstein Johann I Joseph (''Johann Baptist Josef Adam Johann Nepomuk Aloys Franz de Paula''; 26 June 1760 – 20 April 1836) was Prince of Liechtenstein between 1805 and 1806 and again from 1814 until 1836. He was the last Liechtenstein prince to rule unde ...

and his wife,

Landgravine Josepha of Fürstenberg-Weitra Landgravine Josepha of Fürstenberg-Weitra (german: Landgräfin Josefa zu Fürstenberg-Weitra; 21 June 177623 February 1848) was princess consort of Liechtenstein as wife of Johann I Joseph, Prince of Liechtenstein. By virtue of her birth, she ...

Court life

She was disliked by the Empress, as she was a friend and a confidante of the Empress' mother-in-law,

Princess Sophie of Bavaria Princess Sophie of Bavaria (Sophie Friederike Dorothea Wilhelmine; 27 January 1805 – 28 May 1872) was the daughter of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and his second wife Caroline of Baden. The identical twin sister of Queen Maria Anna of S ...

, and suspected to be her spy. She was also described as very strict, and her attitude toward Elisabeth was compared to a governess. She was replaced by

Pauline von Königsegg Pauline von Königsegg (1830–1912), was an Austrian court official. Karin Amtmann: Elisabeth von Österreich: Die politischen Geschäfte der Kaiserin. Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 1998. Early life ''Pauline Marie'' was born as younger daug ...

. She has been portrayed in numerous books about Elisabeth.

Personal life

She married in Vienna, on 4 August 1817, Count Vincenz Esterházy von Galántha (

Pressburg Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 140% of ...

, 25 October 1787 –

Eisgrub Lednice (; german: Eisgrub) is a municipality and village in Břeclav District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,100 inhabitants. It is known as part of Lednice–Valtice Cultural Landscape, a UNESCO World Heritag ...

, 19 October 1835), without issue.

References

* Egon Caesar Conte Corti: Elisabeth, „die seltsame Frau“. Nach dem schriftlichen Nachlass der Kaiserin, den Tagebüchern ihrer Tochter und sonstigen unveröffentlichten Tagebüchern und Dokumenten. Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 2003, (früherer Titel: Sissi - Glück und Tragödie einer großen Kaiserin). {{DEFAULTSORT:Esterhazy-Liechtenstein, Sophie 1798 births 1869 deaths Austrian ladies-in-waiting 18th-century Liechtenstein women 19th-century Liechtenstein women Daughters of monarchs