Royalty. Born Louise Marie Amélie, the eldest daughter of Leopold II of Belgium and his wife Marie Henriette of Austria. She married Philipp of Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha in 1875. During her marriage, she had several lovers until she met Géza of Mattachich-Keglevich in 1895 in Vienna and fell in love. When Emperor Franz Joseph found out about the affair, she was banned from the court. She left Vienna and her husband in 1897 and traveled with her lover all over Europe, amassing debts wherever they went. In May 1898 she was arrested in Croatia and brought to an asylum in Vienna. She was declared insane and placed under guardianship, with the intent to keep her forever in an asylum. Because neither Austria nor Belgium wanted her in their countries, she was brought to Dr. Reginald Piersons sanatorium in Coswig, Saxony. An international commission of respected psychiatrists examined her in 1904, and it was recommended that she stayed in the hospital. Later in the same year, she was able to flee to France, with the help of Mattachich and two others. A second examination there certified her mental health, and Vienna released her from the guardianship. In 1906 she was divorced from Philipp, but her parents repudiated her and forbid her to ever return to Belgium. After her father's death and after a long legal process with the state, she and her sisters inherited 12 Million Franc. During the First World War Mattachich was arrested and brought to a camp near Budapest. Louise was expelled from Austria and fled via Dresden to Hungary. In 1919 she was arrested there for espionage and sentenced to death. She had to wait six days and was pardoned minutes before her execution. In Vienna, she reunited with Mattachich, but they soon had to leave because she again had collected huge debts. They went to Paris where he died in 1923. From then on she traveled through Germany making more and more debt until she died impoverished in Wiesbaden.
Royalty. Born Louise Marie Amélie, the eldest daughter of Leopold II of Belgium and his wife Marie Henriette of Austria. She married Philipp of Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha in 1875. During her marriage, she had several lovers until she met Géza of Mattachich-Keglevich in 1895 in Vienna and fell in love. When Emperor Franz Joseph found out about the affair, she was banned from the court. She left Vienna and her husband in 1897 and traveled with her lover all over Europe, amassing debts wherever they went. In May 1898 she was arrested in Croatia and brought to an asylum in Vienna. She was declared insane and placed under guardianship, with the intent to keep her forever in an asylum. Because neither Austria nor Belgium wanted her in their countries, she was brought to Dr. Reginald Piersons sanatorium in Coswig, Saxony. An international commission of respected psychiatrists examined her in 1904, and it was recommended that she stayed in the hospital. Later in the same year, she was able to flee to France, with the help of Mattachich and two others. A second examination there certified her mental health, and Vienna released her from the guardianship. In 1906 she was divorced from Philipp, but her parents repudiated her and forbid her to ever return to Belgium. After her father's death and after a long legal process with the state, she and her sisters inherited 12 Million Franc. During the First World War Mattachich was arrested and brought to a camp near Budapest. Louise was expelled from Austria and fled via Dresden to Hungary. In 1919 she was arrested there for espionage and sentenced to death. She had to wait six days and was pardoned minutes before her execution. In Vienna, she reunited with Mattachich, but they soon had to leave because she again had collected huge debts. They went to Paris where he died in 1923. From then on she traveled through Germany making more and more debt until she died impoverished in Wiesbaden.
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