Countess Irma Sztáray de Sztára et Nagymihály (10 July 1863 – 3 September 1940) was a Hungarian courtier and memoirist. She was the last

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a Royal court, court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking nobility, noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was o ...

Empress Elisabeth of Austria Elisabeth (born Duchess Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie in Bavaria; 24 December 1837 – 10 September 1898), nicknamed Sisi or Sissi, was Empress of Austria and List of Hungarian consorts, Queen of Hungary from her marriage to Franz Joseph I of Austri ...

, and the sole companion traveling with the empress when she was assassinated.

Early life

The Hungarian countess Irma was born as the daughter of Count Viktor Sztáray de Sztára et Nagymihály ( hu) (1823–1879) and Countess Mária Török de Szendrõ ( hu) (1835–1916).

Court lady

Sztáray got the position of

lady in waiting A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but ...

at the Imperial court of Austria. She never married and had no children, as she dedicated her whole life to the Empress and the court. She accompanied Elisabeth during her last four years, from 1894 until 1898, on her journeys to Hungary, Italy, Switzerland, Algeria and Greece. Her memoirs ''Aus den letzten Jahren der Kaiserin Elisabeth'', which she wrote many years after Empress Elisabeth's death, were published in German and are a valuable source which gives detailed insights into Sisi's final years. For her services, Irma Sztáray received a medal of honour from Emperor Franz Joseph I right after Elisabeth's assassination.

Later years

Following Empress Elisabeth's death, Sztáray traveled to Italy with her mother to recover from the tragedy. After returning home, she joined the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

and helped care for the wounded in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

as a nurse. In 1907, she donated the black silk jacket that Empress Elizabeth was wearing on the day of her death to the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Museum at the

Buda Castle Buda Castle (, ), formerly also called the Royal Palace () and the Royal Castle (, ), is the historical castle and palace complex of the King of Hungary, Hungarian kings in Budapest. First completed in 1265, the Baroque architecture, Baroque pa ...

in Hungary. Sztáray lived in seclusion in her family's castle in Szobránc,

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

(today Sobrance,

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

) until her death. She died on 3 September 1940, at the age of 77.

In popular culture

The 2023 German-Austrian-Swiss film '' Sisi & I'', directed by Frauke Finsterwalder, tells the story of Empress Elisabeth of Austria from the point of view of Sztáray, who was portrayed by German actress

Sandra Hüller Sandra Hüller (; born 30 April 1978) is a German actress. She has appeared in German, Austrian, British, French, and American films. She has received various accolades, including two European Film Awards, a César Award and three German Film Aw ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sztaray, Irma 1863 births 1940 deaths Hungarian countesses Ladies-in-waiting from Austria-Hungary 19th-century memoirists Women memoirists People from Austria-Hungary Red Cross personnel Hungarian nurses Irma