Perhaps no other 19th century monarch has come under such intense scrutiny by all kinds of people, from psychologists to tourists. It seems as if everyone has their own opinion about the King's personality and temperament.

Many of the documents that I have read seem inconsistent to contemporary eye-witness reports about the King's behaviour and characteristics. Here I wish to put forward the facts regarding this aspect of Ludwig, and share some of my thoughts regarding these facts.

Ludwig and the common people

The majority of modern writings about Ludwig label him as an uncaring, selfish, pompous man who despised his subjects. To me this is clearly not the case. Ludwig hated the workings of government. Personally I don't blame him. Rather than spend time attending to affairs of state, Ludwig delighted in mixing with the simple country folk of the Alps.

Many times during Ludwig's moon-lit sleigh rides a sudden blizzard would appear from nowhere, and he would be forced to take shelter in a peasant's mountain cottage or inn. The owner would be woken at 3:00 am by a thump at the door, only to be amazed at the sight of the King dressed in his velvet frock-coat and wide-brimmed hat, studded with a diamond hat-pin. A furious few hours would be spent putting together a meal for the King as well as some form of entertainment until the storm passed, at which time the King would disappear into the night as suddenly as he had appeared. The household would be rewarded the next morning with an arrangement of tropical flowers from the Royal conservatory.

One charming eye-witness account of a nocturnal sleigh ride shows a side of Ludwig not many would know. This incident occurred a few months before his death. Ludwig was often accompanied on these trips by a young trooper named Thomas Osterauer (who wrote this account). The King and Osterauer were travelling through a tiny village in the Tyrol at 2:00 am when Ludwig noticed a skittle alley beside an inn. He mentioned to Osterauer that he would like to try the game, and the trooper set up the skittles for him. After about three shots (and no doubt much giggling and laughing) they were confronted by the irate inn-keeper, who thought that drunks were attacking his property in the middle of the night. Ludwig dropped his bowl and bolted for his life up the village street, while Osterauer stayed to assure the inn-keeper that all was well. Unfortunately the trooper forgot that on this occasion he was dressed in full ceremonial uniform, and the horrified inn-keeper dropped his weapon (a stick) and ran inside, locking the door. The next day a formal apology appeared on Ludwig's desk from the inn-keeper when he realised who the intruders were!

Ludwig's "Madness"

Was Ludwig II mad? This is the one aspect of the King that arouses most debate. He was certainly strange, but was he was merely eccentric? During the investigation into the King's fitness to rule, the following were investigated -

- The King suffered from hallucinations and excessive shyness.

- The hours he kept, namely sleeping by day, living by night.

- The private theatre performances.

- The manner in which he associated with army officers.

- The King's obsession with absolute monarchy.

- His insomnia.

- His refusing to attend to state affairs, or to see his ministers.

- His obsession with building.

The report ran to about six thousand words, mainly testimonies from disgruntled members of the household who saw it as way for revenge. These testimonies tell of the Kings eccentricities.

From the above list and with our late-20th century eyes we can see just how tragic Ludwig's life was. His shyness was such that large crowds were agony for him. Whenever duty demanded he return to Munich, he would pace up and down the station summoning the courage to get into the train. And most of the items on this list seem to be related to a person suffering from chronic shyness.

The idea of having private performances is very inviting. How often have we watched a wonderful movie in a packed theatre, wishing we had the place to ourselves, and not suffer from selfish people around us chatting all the way through it? As king, Ludwig was able to, and did, organise private performances so that he could fully enjoy a play or opera.

Most writers and commentators state that Ludwig's building mania stemmed from a desire to escape from the real world. One only needs to see Herrenchiemsee to realise this. Ludwig hated his century, and wanted to escape to a time when life was much simpler and monarchs held in higher esteem than in his time.

Germany in the late 19th century had undergone a massive political change. With the Unification of the German states under Prussian leadership in 1870, Ludwig became little more than a figurehead. With nothing else for him to devote his energies to, Ludwig found in his castle building, his private performances, his nocturnal sleigh rides and other nonconformist activity a reason for living.

Perhaps in the late 20th century Ludwig would not have been accused of madness.

"The love that dare not speak it's name".

For the past 100 years or so, this aspect of Ludwig's personality has been either ignored or denied. Even today, during a tour of Neuschwanstein, when a question about whether Ludwig married or not is raised, the guide diplomatically avoids this issue. But perhaps the world has matured sufficiently to discuss it, as this is a vital element in Ludwig's makeup.

For Ludwig was a homosexual, and by accepting this fact we can even better understand the tragedy of his life.

We have many accounts telling of Ludwig's infatuation with attractive young army officers. Many of these infatuations would have evolved into love affairs. Ludwig would spot a handsome young officer, usually in his early 20's, and soon after he would be made aide-de-camp or valet. But these affairs always ended with the officer returning to his barracks and another taking his place. Often while inspecting his troops, an aged commander would spy a ring with Ludwig's initials in diamonds on the finger of a handsome young officer.

There were, however, a handful of very intense, and reasonably long-lived relationships that Ludwig had. The longest was with his equerry, Richard Hornig, who remained in the King's service for 20 years.

Richard Hornig, Ludwig's "friend" of 20 years.

The tragedy is that Ludwig would not have enjoyed these affairs. His strong religious beliefs created extreme feelings of guilt and remorse afterwards. Surviving in transcript form are Ludwig's private diaries, the originals of which were destroyed during World War 2. To read excerpts from these diaries is to understand even more Ludwig's character, and to appreciate the enormity of Ludwig's torment.

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