Once upon a time there was a handsome king. To his subjects he appeared tall and dignified, but at heart he was a shy person who preferred to hide away in the fantasy palaces of his creation. There he would read his favourite poetry and listen to his favourite music, deep into the night. Often-times he required his servants to cover their faces in his presence, and usually he liked to eat alone, occasionally sharing his meals with his favourite horse.
“The King’s House at Schachen was meant to be for Ludwig, and only Ludwig, a place he could enjoy ‘the sublime loneliness of the mountains’ ”
Storybooks do love a dotty king, and this monarch was certainly that. Storybooks also love a happily-ever-after ending, which this story doesn’t have. For one day this king, having been declared insane by his government and put under house arrest, was found floating face down in shallow waters, in a baffling – and not particularly storybook – ending.
Yes, the story of Bavaria’s King Ludwig II is an odd one, particularly as his short life – he was just 41 when he met his end in 1886 – left a legacy of spectacular castles and palaces, one of which regularly marches onto the
