Elisabeth of Bavaria (Elisabeth Gabriele Valérie Marie; 25 July 1876 – 23 November 1965) was Queen of the Belgians from 23 December 1909 to 17 February 1934 as the wife of King Albert I, and a duchess in Bavaria by birth. She was the mother of King Leopold III of Belgium and of Queen Marie-José of Italy, and grandmother of kings Baudouin and Albert II of Belgium, and Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte of Luxembourg. She was born in Possenhofen Castle, her father was Duke Karl Theodor in Bavaria, head of a cadet branch of the Bavarian royal family, and an ophthalmologist. She was named after her paternal aunt, Empress Elisabeth of Austria, better known as Sisi. Her mother was Infanta Maria José of Portugal, daughter of exiled Miguel I of Portugal. Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, Empress Zita, the last Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary, and Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma, husband of Grand Duchess Charlotte and brother of Empress Zita, were among Elisabeth's first cousins. An artist himself, Duke Karl-Theodor cultivated the artistic tastes of his family and Elisabeth was raised with a deep love for painting, music and sculpture. At her father's clinic, where her mother assisted him as a nurse, Elisabeth obtained exposure to productive labor and to human suffering, unusual for a princess of that time.