Outside Germany, he is at times called "the Mad King" or Mad King Ludwig. [3] Ludwig ascended to the throne in 1864 at the age of 18 but increasingly withdrew from day-to-day affairs of state in favour of extravagant artistic and architectural projects.

Feb 11, 2025 · Ludwig’s attachment to her was so strong that he continued corresponding with Sibylle even after her marriage. As a young prince, Ludwig spent his summers at Villa Royal in Berchtesgaden, where he befriended Paul von Thurn und Taxis, the son of Prince Maximilian Karl von Thurn und Taxis.

In 1863, Ludwig was assigned an orderly officer name Prince Paul—and the resulting intimacy changed his life forever. That autumn, the two adolescents spent three unforgettable weeks in each other's company: they went riding together, recited poetry for one another, and above all, shared a deep love for Richard Wagner.

Jul 5, 2019 · The wedding was planned for Ludwig’s 22nd birthday on August 25, 1867. Ludwig’s anxieties over the public festivities that would accompany the wedding and the simple fact that Duchess Sophie was not a replacement for Empress Elizabeth pushed him to postpone the wedding to October 12 and, once again, to November 28.

Feb 6, 2014 · Bavaria’s “Mad King Ludwig”, famed for the construction of the fairy-tale castle at Neuschwanstein, may not have been insane after all, a review of his case has concluded.

While still engaged to Sophie, King Ludwig set out on a romantic journey with Richard Hornig, traveling to France—and the secret trip wasn't without intrigue. The king disguised himself under another name, presenting himself as Count von Berg.

Feb 2, 2025 · “Mad” King Ludwig led a forbidden double life. He entertained a succession of gay lovers and spent millions on fairytale castles and lavish works of art. Living in his own enchanted dream...

The Bavarian royal line is best known for Mad King Ludwig who built his fairy-tale castle in the Bavarian mountains during the 19th Century. Oddly enough, the romantic, whimsical castles built by King Ludwig II are today the country's most recognizable attraction.

As king of a Catholic country, he was guilt-ridden over his homosexual desires. He was engaged at one time to marry his cousin, Princess Sophie, but he called off the engagement before the wedding took place. He was known to have brief periods of infatuation for different young men, but they never lived up to his romantic ideals.

His ""fragile sexual identity"" also failed him; after the wedding to a teenage cousin was canceled, he hid away in castles far from the state capital of Munich to carry on what he thought were...