In her book "The secret of an Empress" (London 1914), Caroline Zanardi Landi claimed to be the daughter of Empress Elisabeth. She stated that Elisabeth gave birth to her during her stay in Sassetot and that Elisabeth’s indisposition was covered up or camouflaged by a riding accident. The author of the above-mentioned 365 page book did not even bother to find out the exact year that the Empress was in Sassetot, as she was born in 1882 while the year of Elisabeth’s one and only stay in Sassetot was 1875. There were numerous witnesses to the Empresses’ riding accident in Sassetot in 1975. (From “Elisabeth , die seltsame Frau” by Egon Caesar Conte Corti, condensed and translated by me)
Caroline Kaiser (1882-1935) was married to Richard Kühnelt, with whom she had two or three children. She later married Count Carlo Zanardi Landi (1876-1953). One of the children of the first marriage, Elisabeth (1904-1978), was an actress in Hollywood and used the stage name of Elissa Landi. Marie Countess Larisch had contact with Elissa Landi, who is mentioned in the Brigitte Sokop’s book "Jene Gräfin Larisch".
I find Caroline Kaiser-Kühnelt-Zanardi Landi’s claim difficult (indeed impossible) to believe. I am not aware of who the father is suppose to have been. However, several people have commented that the daughter, Elissa Landi, bears a striking resemblance to Empress Elisabeth. I think there are photos of her on the internet. Perhaps that is what convinced her mother (Caroline) to make such a claim.
