Welcome to the History Tricks, where any resemblance to a boring old history lesson is purely coincidental.

And here's your 30-second summary.

This shy young noblewoman was plucked from obscurity and shoved onto the world stage with very little warning.

She had a troublesome mother-in-law and found that the limelight was a difficult place for her to live.

But her beauty and genuine concern for the common people made her into a beloved, if reluctant, icon.

Her untimely death shocked the whole world.

The End

Let's talk about Empress Sissy of Austria.

But first let's drop her into history.

In 1837, Princess Alexandra Vittoria became Queen Victoria and began her 63-year reign.

Michigan was admitted as the 26th US state and Chicago became incorporated as a city.

Then just a serial novel, Charles Dickens Oliver Twist, was first published.

Candlemaker William Proctor and his brother-in-law, Soapmaker, James Gamble, founded Proctor and Gamble Company.

Charles Lewis Tiffany and his friend, John Young, opened a New York City stationery and fancy goods in Poreum 16 years later.

It would change its name to Tiffany and Company.

Pharmacist John Lee and William Perens began manufacturing Worcestershire sauce,

King Gustav IV of Sweden, King William IV of the United Kingdom, and Queen Villamina of Prussia all died,

Future President Grover Cleveland, Future Tycoon JP Morgan, and Future Showman Cowboy Bill Hickock were born,

and in 1837, Future Empress Sissy entered the world.

Duchess Elizabeth Amali Yugenie in Bavaria was born on Christmas Eve, 1837,

the fourth of the 10 children of Duke Maximilian Joseph in Bavaria, and Princess Ludovica of Bavaria.

Mama's brother was the King of Bavaria, her sister was the Queen of Prussia.

...