Австрия императрицасы Элизабеттің қыз немересі және күйеуінің қызметшісі

Niece and lady in waiting of Empress Elisabeth of Austria

Countess Marie Louise Larisch von Moennich (also known as Countess Marie Louise Larisch Wallersee and Countess Marie Larisch) (24 February 1858 – 4 July 1940) was
a niece and lady in waiting of Empress Elisabeth of Austria. She was implicated in the Mayerling Incident which resulted in the death of her married cousin Crown Prince Rudolf and his mistress Baroness Mary Vetsera, who was also her friend. She published several books with a ghostwriter about the Imperial household.

The Countess was born Marie Louise Elizabeth Mendel on 24 February 1858 in Augsburg, Bavaria, the illegitimate daughter of Duke Ludwig Wilhelm in Bavaria (1831–1920) and actress Henriette Mendel (1833–1891). Her father, Ludwig Wilhelm, was the eldest son of Duke Maximilian Joseph in Bavaria and Princess Ludovika of Bavaria and had the title of Duke in Bavaria (German: Herzog in Bayern). He was properly addressed as "His Royal Highness," as a member of the cadet branch of the House of Wittelsbach the royal house in Bavaria. Ludwig Wilhelm was the first cousin of King Maximilian II of Bavaria and also of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, whose mother, Princess Sophie of Bavaria, was a daughter of King Maximilian I of Bavaria. One of Ludwig Wilhelm's younger sisters, Elisabeth, married Emperor Franz Joseph and another, Maria Sophie, married Francis II of the Two Sicilies just before he became king. Henriette (or Henrietta) Mendel was created Baroness of Wallersee (Freifrau von Wallersee) on 19 May 1859 in preparation for her morganatic marriage with Ludwig Wilhelm on 28 May 1859 in Augsburg. Marie was thus a Baroness of Wallersee (Freiin von Wallersee) at birth. Marie became a lady in waiting and confidante of her aunt, Empress Elisabeth of Austria. She also used the situation to extort money from Rudolf through Mary. After the incident, she became distanced from Empress Elisabeth and the nobility, and moved to Bavaria.

From 1898, Marie began to write about her experiences with the Empress and other Imperial and Royal relatives. The Imperial house paid her "hush money" not to publish her memoirs. However, in 1913, she published her memoirs, My Past, despite her contract with the Imperial house. She later published a series of other ghost written works.

During World War I she worked at the front as a nurse. In 1921, she portrayed herself in a silent film, Kaiserin Elisabeth von Österreich, about Empress Elisabeth that she co authored.