In his place, the empress had begun to devote all her attention to her grandson Alexander, even hinting that she would pass her son Paul over for succession.
Throughout the series, she transforms from an innocent, sheltered girl into a shrewd and determined empress dowager, navigating the dangerous intrigues of the palace.
She was now the talk of European cinema and another contract soon ensued in march of 1933 when she got the lead role in a stage production about empress Sissy, an iconic figure of Austrian culture.