Stéphanie was despatched to Vienna to be taught Imperial court etiquette in preparation for her marriage but a month after her arrival, the ladies-in-waiting realized that she had not yet reached puberty.
When the obvious questions were put to her, it became clear that she had no idea what was meant; she had been left completely ignorant of the facts of life.
The wedding had to be postponed, and the humiliated girl was sent back to Belgium for a time.
 
The emperor bestowed Walthere Frere-Orban the grand Cross of Saint-Stephen and the Empress bestowed multiple Ladies the honour of the Starry Cross.

On 10 May 1881, a little over a week before her seventeenth birthday, Princess Stéphanie of Belgium married the Crown Prince in the Saint Augustine's Church in Vienna.
Her parents walked her down the aisle.
Among the illustrious attendees were the future King Edward VII of the United Kingdom and his nephew, the future German Emperor Wilhelm II.
The nuptials were celebrated lavishly throughout Austria, and the Austrian astronomer Johann Palisa named asteroid 220 Stephania in her honour in 1881.
After the ceremony, the couple honeymooned at Laxenburg outside the capital.
On 18 May the couple was welcomed in Budapest.
Stéphanie was despatched to Vienna to be taught Imperial court etiquette in preparation for her marriage but a month after her arrival, the ladies-in-waiting realized that she had not yet reached puberty. When the obvious questions were put to her, it became clear that she had no idea what was meant; she had been left completely ignorant of the facts of life. The wedding had to be postponed, and the humiliated girl was sent back to Belgium for a time.  
The emperor bestowed Walthere Frere-Orban the grand Cross of Saint-Stephen and the Empress bestowed multiple Ladies the honour of the Starry Cross.
On 10 May 1881, a little over a week before her seventeenth birthday, Princess Stéphanie of Belgium married the Crown Prince in the Saint Augustine's Church in Vienna. Her parents walked her down the aisle. Among the illustrious attendees were the future King Edward VII of the United Kingdom and his nephew, the future German Emperor Wilhelm II. The nuptials were celebrated lavishly throughout Austria, and the Austrian astronomer Johann Palisa named asteroid 220 Stephania in her honour in 1881. After the ceremony, the couple honeymooned at Laxenburg outside the capital. On 18 May the couple was welcomed in Budapest.
Princess Stéphanie of Belgium