Countess Marie Festetics von Tolna (20 October 1839 – 16 April 1923), was an

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New Yor ...

ess, diarist and

lady-in-waiting A 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 of lower rank than the woman to whom ...

Family

Born in Tolna,

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...

, into an old and distinguished House of Festetics, she was the fifth child and fourth daughter of Count Sandor Festetics von Tolna (1805–1877) and his wife, Baroness Josephine von Boxberg (1811–1892).

Imperial Lady-in-waiting

She served as lady-in-waiting 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 wa ...

from 1870, and became one of the favorites and confidantes of the Empress. Her diaries are regarded as an important source of the Imperial Austrian court. She was also a noted diarist.

References

*Gudula Walterskirchen, Beatrix Meyer (Hrsg.): Das Tagebuch der Gräfin Marie Festetics. Kaiserin Elisabeths intimste Freundin. Residenz-Verl. St. Pölten 2014, . *Beatrix Meyer: Kaiserin Elisabeth und ihr Ungarn. Allitera. München 2019, ISBN 978-3-96233-130-6. 1839 births 1923 deaths Austrian ladies-in-waiting Women diarists {{austria-writer-stub