Daisy Goodwin has said Sisi reminds her of Princess Diana. Do you see parallels?

Daisy Goodwin has said Sisi reminds her of Princess Diana: Each was unhappily married at a very young age to a much older husband with whom she had little in common; each was idolized and hounded for her glamor; each found consolation both in affairs and in charity work. What do you think of these parallels?

Yes and no. I think both of them were lonely and lived in fishbowls. But for different reasons. Sisi's husband seemed to love her and want to see her happy. But the lifestyle of someone in her position was such that she had a role to play and that is the fishbowl life. Princess Di had a jerk for a husband who did not love her. He loved someone else. He just used Princess Di to provide an heir to the throne. I really dislike him, but I did not have that feeling for Sisi's husband.

I definitely saw parallels. Especially in how Bay was attracted to her and her royalty. I mean, if Princess Di was interested in a man, could he have turned her down?!

I also see the parallels but agree that Sisi's husband seemed to care for her which I don't think was the case with Diana as the marriage progressed. Both lived in fishbowls but certainly for Diana there was greater pressure from the constant media coverage.

The author probably wanted to draw parallels between the two, but ultimately as a reader, I felt there wasn't any.

Princess Diana was cold compared to the passionate Sisi. Princess Diana's only passion seemed to have been the Prince of Saudi Arabia, but Sisi had quite a few lovers and a lowly English Bay Middleton!

Sisi was a Victorian era princess, while Diana was the hollywood/Disneyland Princess, pardon me dear Brits! Diana was an American wet dream princess, and Sisi, gosh...An Austrian one. Royalty is very closely linked with cruelty. Princess Diana embodied none of it...

Their spouses were worlds apart too. Sisi was married to an Emperor, while Dear Di was married to a Prince who would never become King, one who couldn't marry his true love and had to settle for the virginal Diana to provide heirs for the throne. Poor Prince Charles, Poor Diana!

But Sisi; tragic, majestic, royal, and cruelly beautiful!

Loved her characterization by the author.

glad I received this book. Thank you.

There are parallels. I do think they both were unhappy, lonely women searching for love and attention from their husbands and found it very difficult to lead private lives. The attention they both got, unfortunately, was from the media and society rather than the true love they both craved.

I think that both Sisi and Diana were unfulfilled. They both felt confined by society's pressures

I think the Empress of Austria had far greater depths than Princess Diana who seemed woefully undereducated. Sisi was adept at languages and diplomacy and though constrained by her title, office and position as wife of a powerful world leader was less of a "bird in a gilded cage." Franz Joseph did seem to love her. Princess Diana was subject to relentless scrutiny of film cameras and endless paparazzi who documented every move. In many ways, the Empress, had more respect and privacy. Both were teenagers who married into the monarchy but Sisi became more adept at carving out her own life despite the constraints.

I do seem some parallels between Sisi and Diana. A strong pursuit and struggle to maintain physical beauty was one of the first similarities I thought of. Diana's battle to remain lean and her struggle with bulimia & Sisi's passion to maintain her figure at all costs were a commonality although I do think those are common struggles of a lot of females who are thrust in the spotlight (celebrities, socialites, royalty). Both were uncomfortable with royal duty and constant scrutiny. But I think I see more differences in the fact that Diana was a devoted mother (Sisi's children were taken away from her & raised by her Mother-in-law) who also loved her husband very much, although he did not return that love. She only sought love outside her marriage when it became evident that her husband was in love with someone else. In other sources, I have read that Sisi's husband was very much in love with her and doted on her.

Yes, I do see parallels. Both married to older men with domineering mothers. Both adored by the public. Both dealt with eating disorders. Both died young. But I get the impression that the author threw in quite a few deliberate parallels.

Maybe. Who know what Diana's life was like behing closed doors. I can only hope that her beauty rituals were not as extreme as SiSi's.

Parallels between Sisi and Diana did not occur to me until I read the question. Certainly both were royalty although Sisi I believe was born a royal - not so with Diana. Both lived in a fishbowl. Diana was a better mother and to me seemed more sincere with her charitable work. I agree with Annar that we can't know what Diana's life was like behind closed doors. Both were loved by their subjects.

I agree with Julianna. The connection never even occurred to me. I can see similarities now but I live in Diana's time so her life is more real to me. I never saw her as selfish or self serving like Sisi but it's possible she was

Yes, in that she feels stifled in her position, and prefers activities outside the norm for an Empress. She does not, however, have the empathy for the common person that Princess Diana seemed to have. Sisi was stunned that Queen Victoria had her photo taken with her personal servant, and put it on display for guest to see.

I also didn't think of the parallels until I read the question. Sissi seems more passionate and a more accomplished woman. Both she and Diana are into beauty and love the attention of men. But as was noted earlier, Sissi's husband loved her. I can't say, given what we know, that Charles loved Diana.

I do see parallels. They were both stuck to live a public life with no fulfillment from their husband. Sisi had the love of her husband. Diana was definitely fulfilled by being a mother to William and Harry, but she seems to have missed out on the love of a husband.

I agree with Bettyt and I think the author did a wonderful job developing Sisi.