Madness and Monarchs

Ludwig II (Ludwig Friedrich Wilhelm; sometimes rendered as Louis II in English) (August 25, 1845 – June 13, 1886) was king of Bavaria from 1864 until shortly before his death. He is sometimes referred to as the Swan King in English and der Märchenkönig (the Fairy tale King) in German.
Ludwig is sometimes referred to as Mad King Ludwig, though the accuracy of that label has been disputed. Because Ludwig was deposed on grounds of mental illness without any medical examination, and died a day later under mysterious circumstances, questions about the medical “diagnosis” remain controversial.[1]
Ludwig is best known as an eccentric whose legacy is intertwined with the history of art and architecture, as he commissioned the construction of several extravagant fantasy castles (the most famous being Neuschwanstein) and was a devoted patron of the composer Richard Wagner.

Ivan IV of Russia

Ivan IV Vasilyevich (Russian:
Ива́н Четвёртый, Васи́льевич (help·info), Ivan Chetvyorty, Vasilyevich), known in English as Ivan the Terrible (= inspiring fear) (Russian:
Ива́н Гро́зный (help·info), Ivan Grozny) (August 25, 1530, Moscow – 28 March [O.S. 18 March] 1584,[1] Moscow) was Grand Prince of Moscow from 1533. The epithet “Grozny” is associated with might, power and strictness, rather than poor performance, horror or cruelty. Some authors more accurately translate it into modern English as Ivan the Awesome [2][3][4]. Ivan oversaw numerous changes in the transition from a mere local medieval nation state to a small empire and emerging regional power, becoming the first Tsar of a new more powerful nation, acknowledged as “Tsar of All Russia” from 1547.
Ivan is described in contrary terms: intelligent, devout, and impulsive by some; given to rages prone to episodic outbreaks of mental illness by others. One notable outburst resulted in the death of his groomed and chosen heir Ivan Ivanovich, and resulted in the passing of the Tsardom to a less than ideal younger son: the mentally retarded[5] Feodor I of Russia. His long reign saw the conquest of the Khanates of Kazan, Astrakhan, and Siberia, transforming Russia into a multiethnic and multiconfessional state spanning almost 1 billion acres, growing during his term at a rate of approximately 50 square miles a day. [6]

The Madness of King George

In the later half of his life, George III suffered from recurrent and, eventually, permanent mental illness. Medical practitioners were baffled by this at the time, although it has since been suggested that he suffered from the blood disease porphyria. After a final relapse in 1810, a regency was established, and George III’s eldest son, George, Prince of Wales, ruled as Prince Regent. On George III’s death, the Prince Regent succeeded his father as George IV. Historical analysis of George III’s life has gone through a “kaleidoscope of changing views” which have depended heavily on the prejudices of his biographers and the sources available to them.[5]

Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus

Nero’s rule is often associated with tyranny and extravagance.[3] He is known for a number of executions, including those of his mother[4] and adoptive brother, as the emperor who “fiddled while Rome burned”,[5] and as an early persecutor of Christians. This view is based upon the main surviving sources for Nero’s reign — Tacitus, Suetonius and Cassius Dio. Few surviving sources paint Nero in a favorable light.[6] Some sources, though, including those mentioned above, portray him as an emperor who was popular with the common Roman people, especially in the East.[7]
The study of Nero is problematic as some modern historians question the reliability of ancient sources when reporting on Nero’s alleged tyrannical acts.[8]

Many kings were mad
Caligula of Rome had his father, mother and two brothers killed to become emperor. Nero had his mother and first wife killed. These two emperors were hated so much by the people that all references to them were deleted from official Roman documentation.
The first French king, Clovis II, went mad after steeling the arm of a martyr. His great-grandson, Childeric III was known as “the idiot”. The mother of Louis IX complained that he was “not sound of mind”. And his younger son, Robert of Clermont went mad after being hit on the head with a sledge hammer.
Charles VI, called Charles the mad, ruled France from 1380 to 1415. At stages, he believed that he was made of glass and inserted iron rods into his clothing to prevent him from breaking.
The Habsburg Kings of Spain descended from Queen Juana The Mad of Castile, who was mentally unstable. Her ancestors increased her inheritance by inbreeding. These incestuous marriages resulted in the mentally and physically handicapped King Carlos II of Spain, who had an enormous, misshapen head, and a chin exaggerated to almost caricature-like proportions rendering him unable to chew and barely able to speak.
Several British kings went mad as a result of a blood disorder that causes gout and mental derangement. The most famous was Mad George III, who ruled England in the 18th Century. George was afflicted with porphyria, a maddening disease which disrupted his reign as early as 1765. Several attacks strained his grip on reality and debilitated him in the last years of his reign. He died blind, deaf and mad at Windsor Castle on 29 January 29 1820. In those years, the British Princess Caroline Mathilda married, at age 15, the deranged Christian VII of Denmark.
The United States briefly enjoyed the services of a monarch, Emperor Norton I, who proclaimed himself Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico in 1859. He had all his “state proclamations” published in San Francisco’s newspapers and wrote letters that were seriously considered by Abraham Lincoln and Queen Victoria.
Sun-worshipping Aztecs celebrated the inauguration of Ahuitzol in 1486 by offering the hearts of 80,000 prisoners, presumably to show that their new king could sacrifice more than any of his predecessors.