Estranged--and disinherited--from her father Leopold II, divorced from her husband, and separated from her children, Louise's extravagant expenses brought her deeper and deeper into debt. Despite being the daughter of arguably the wealthiest king of the age, she was forced to claim bankruptcy after it became known that Mattachich had forged the signature of Louise's sister, Princess Stéphanie, on promissory notes for jewelry worth about $2,500,000. As a result of this episode, in May 1898 she was interned in an asylum for six years on the orders of Austrian monarchy, which was embarrassed and scandalized by her and her husband. Mattachich was sentenced to four years in prison for forgery. Once his sentence was over, he helped Louise escape from the asylum in 1904; spied upon by emperor Franz Josef's secret service, they began life as fugitives. This predicament ended as the result of World War I and the disintegration of Austrian empire.