Ludwig

In Munich in 1864 Ludwig II is crowned King of Bavaria. His first official act is to lavishly support the arts by backing Richard Wagner, a composer he adores. This reckless patronage unsettles his cabinet and foreshadows the financial strains to come.

Behind the King's back, Wagner begins an affair with Cosima von Bülow. When the affair becomes public pressure, Wagner leaves Munich to avoid a scandal. Ludwig's trust in his beloved composer is shaken, even as he continues to fund Wagner's projects.

During a social gathering in Bad Ischl, Empress Elisabeth of Austria and Ludwig grow close and share a kiss. Elisabeth's ambitions center on marrying off her sister Sophie to the king, a plan Ludwig ignores. Their moment hints at personal longing clashing with political and family expectations.

Disappointed by Wagner and Elisabeth, Ludwig withdraws from public life and retreats into dream worlds. His growing detachment alarms his cabinet, his brother Otto, and Count Dürckheim. The combination of debts and fantasies marks a turning point in his reign.

Bavaria faces the Austro-Prussian War in 1866; Ludwig wants neutrality, but his cabinet commits the state to the Austrian side. Ludwig ignores the fighting and stays secluded in his castle, while his brother Otto and Count Dürckheim worry about the future. The political rift deepens as the king pursues his own path.

January 1867 Ludwig announces an engagement to Sophie. His mother and cabinet respond by sending an actress into his apartments to provide sexual experience; he reacts by throwing the actress into the bathtub. The incident underscores his inner turmoil about sexuality and duty.

Ludwig doubts he can be a good husband to Sophie, who loves him, and postpones the marriage. He instead pursues relationships with his servants, despite Catholic guilt about his sexuality. The secrecy of his sexual life intensifies his estrangement from public life.

Bavaria supports the Prussian army in the Franco-Prussian War of 1871. In the wake of unification, Ludwig loses much sovereignty to Wilhelm I and Bismarck. The shift marks a major erosion of Bavarian independence within a new German empire.

Ludwig turns away from politics and spends his wealth on building Neuschwanstein, Linderhof, and Herrenchiemsee. The cabinet grows increasingly frustrated by the eccentric, debt-laden king. His opulent palatial projects define the late years of his reign.

1881 marks a short but intense friendship with actor Josef Kainz. Kainz admires the king's Romeo performances as much as the king's money, a dynamic that reveals both admiration and exploitation. The visit highlights the king's vulnerability to flattery and financial extraction.

That period also sees Ludwig hosting orgies with his servants. When Elisabeth's visit is proposed later, he refuses to see her, signaling a further withdrawal from even close kin. These private excesses illustrate a ruler increasingly isolated from public duties.

In 1886, the psychiatrist Bernhard von Gudden declares Ludwig insane, a ruling supported by the cabinet. With his loyal servants, Ludwig briefly confronts but fails to mount a defense, and he loses control.

Ludwig is brought to Berg Castle near Lake Starnberg under guard. Two days later, he and von Gudden leave for a walk and are found dead in the lake under mysterious circumstances.

Uncle Luitpold is declared Prince Regent of Bavaria as Ludwig's health and will decline. The regency marks the end of Ludwig's direct rule and the beginning of a somber chapter in Bavarian history.