Countess Marie Larisch von Moennich

Countess Marie Louise Larisch von Moennich was the niece and confidante of Empress Elisabeth of Austria. She was a go-between for her married cousin Crown Prince Rudolf and his mistress Baroness Mary Vetsera, a friend of hers. A scandal known as the Mayerling Incident broke in 1889 upon the discovery of the bodies of the two lovers at Rudolf's hunting lodge at Mayerling, Austria. With the revelation of her role in this the Countess was shunned in particular by the Empress and the rest of the Imperial Family. As a consequence she was also snubbed by society. Later in life she was nominally the author of a series of ghostwritten books about the Imperial household.