10 verrückte Royals in der Geschichte

Unser Verständnis und unsere Behandlung von psychischen Erkrankungen hat sich im Laufe der Jahrhunderte erheblich weiterentwickelt – und Gott sei Dank dafür. Es ist noch nicht lange her, dass Menschen, die (unter anderem) als "verrückt" galten, routinemäßig eingesperrt und im Grunde unter erbärmlichen Bedingungen verrottet wurden. Es galt als beschämend und peinlich, eine geisteskranke Person in der Familie zu haben.

Aber was wäre, wenn diese Person zufällig die mächtigste Person des Landes wäre? Der Umgang mit einem verrückten Monarchen erfordert mehr als nur ein wenig Fingerspitzengefühl. Er oder sie könnte sich dafür entscheiden, den königlichen Arzt hinzurichten, weil er oder sie andeutete, dass er oder sie möglicherweise nicht regierungsfähig sei. Inzwischen verfällt das Land in den Ruin. Und vielerorts galt der Monarch als von Gott ernannt, daher ist die Infragestellung der Autorität mit der Infragestellung des eigenen Gottes vergleichbar.

Aus diesem Grund ist die Geschichte voll von Royals, die von einem Mediziner vielleicht nicht als psychisch krank diagnostiziert wurden, deren Handlungen und Verhaltensweisen jedoch für den Laien als „verrückt“ gelten. Wir beginnen mit einem möglichen Fall einer falschen Identität, nur um die Dinge zu komplizieren.

1. Nabonidus von Babylon
2. König Georg III. von England
3. Karl VI. von Frankreich
4. Maria I. von Portugal
5. Justin II
6. Johanna von Kastilien
7. Erik XIV. von Schweden
8. Christian VII. von Dänemark
9. Farouk von Ägypten
10. Zhu Houzhao, Kaiser Zhengde

Nabonidus war der letzte König von Babylon , der von 556 bis 539 v. Chr. regierte, und obwohl er in der Bibel nicht erwähnt wird, glauben viele Experten, dass er der echte babylonische König war, der verrückt wurde und sich wie ein Tier verhielt und nicht wie Nebukadnezar .

Laut Daniel 4:25 hatte Nebukadnezar einen verstörenden Traum, von dem sein Dolmetscher Daniel ihm sagte, dass er Folgendes bedeutete: „Du wirst von den Menschen vertrieben und wirst mit den wilden Tieren leben; du wirst Gras fressen wie der Ochse und vom Tau durchnässt werden des Himmels. Sieben Zeiten werden für dich vergehen, bis du anerkennst, dass der Höchste souverän ist über alle Königreiche auf Erden.“

So gesagt, so getan. Eines Tages prahlte Nebukadnezar mit seiner Größe; im nächsten wurde er aus seiner Heimat vertrieben, lebte mit wilden Tieren und aß Gras. Sieben Jahre später erlangte er seinen Verstand zurück und pries Gott [Quelle: Easton's Bible Dictionary ].

Aber zahlreiche babylonische Schriften und andere alte Texte – einschließlich der Schriftrollen vom Toten Meer – machen deutlich, dass Nabonidus der König mit dem schwachen Verstand war. Warum also die Änderung? Einige Gelehrte glauben, dass dies auf Fehler in der Übersetzung zurückzuführen ist. Andere denken, dass es eine bewusste Entscheidung seitens der Herausgeber von Daniel war, ihre Ideale besser voranzutreiben. Nebukadnezar war ein sehr mächtiger König, der den ersten Tempel in Jerusalem zerstörte. Wenn sich die Geschichte also um ihn statt um Nabonid handelt, handelt es sich um eine Bestrafung und Erlösung [Quelle: Bledsoe ].

Als er starb, konnte König George III weder sehen noch hören und galt als völlig verrückt. Berichten zufolge war sein Urin blau und / oder rot gefärbt, und es hatten sich Geschichten über verrücktes Verhalten wie den Versuch verbreitet, einem Baum die Hand zu schütteln, weil er dachte, es sei der König von Preußen [Quelle: Johnson ].

König George III. regierte von 1760 bis 1820, und sein anderer Anspruch auf Berühmtheit, abgesehen von seinem Wahnsinn, bestand darin, dass die amerikanischen Kolonien unter seiner Herrschaft verloren gingen. Er war auch kultiviert und gewissenhaft und im Gegensatz zu vielen anderen Königen auf dieser Liste seiner Frau ergeben [Quelle: The Royal Household ].

Moderne Diagnosen zur Ursache des Wahnsinns des Königs umfassen Schizophrenie, bipolare Störung, sexuelle Frustration oder die erbliche Blutkrankheit Porphyrie. Porphyrie kann die Symptome von Wahnsinn nachahmen und Verwirrung sowie roten Urin verursachen. Vielleicht hat das Arsen in den ihm verabreichten Medikamenten die Krankheit ausgelöst oder verschlimmert [Quelle: Johnson ].

Gelehrte, die glauben, dass der König wirklich geisteskrank war, weisen auf die unterschiedlichen Unterschiede in seinem Schreiben und Verhalten hin. In „manischen“ Phasen zum Beispiel bekam er Krämpfe und schrieb und redete exzessiv – bis zu dem Punkt, an dem er Schaum vor dem Mund bekam. Diese Gelehrten schreiben seinen blauen Urin der Pflanze Enzian zu, die oft in Medikamenten verwendet wird [Quelle: BBC ].

Im letzten Jahrzehnt von König Georges Leben wurde Großbritannien tatsächlich von seinem Sohn, dem Prinzen von Wales, als Regent regiert [Quelle: The Royal Household ].

Karl VI. ist sowohl als „Karl der Geliebte“ als auch als „Karl der Wahnsinnige“ in die Geschichte eingegangen. Wie also hat er beide Titel bekommen?

Er erhielt die erste nach der Wiederherstellung der Ordnung in Frankreich. Er wurde 1368 im Alter von 11 Jahren König, aber seine Onkel regierten, bis er 21 Jahre alt war, ruinierten die Finanzen des Landes und verursachten zahlreiche Revolten. Charles übernahm dann, entledigte sich der Onkel und stellte die vertrauten Berater seines Vaters wieder ein [Quellen: Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, France.fr ].

Unfortunately, the happy period only lasted about four years before he began to earn his second title.

While pursuing the man who attempted to assassinate an adviser, Charles became convinced that he was being chased by enemies. Ultimately he killed several of his own knights and nearly murdered his brother. His periods of lucidity became briefer over the years, as he sometimes did not recognize his wife or family, or didn't even remember that he was the king. He went long periods without bathing, ran through the corridors of his palace at all hours, and claimed that he was Saint George [source: Rohl et al.].

But Charles VI's most famous delusion was that his body was made of glass . He refused to be touched and required that special protective clothing be made to keep him from shattering [sources: Fink and Tasman, Sommerville]. Today it's thought that he probably had bipolar disorder, but at the time his illness was considered God's will because he had supported the antipope Clement VII [source: Fink and Tasman].

Maria I also had two different titles: "Maria the Pious" and "Maria the Mad." She was the first queen in Portugal to rule in her own right (rather than as a regent for a minor or consort). Her reign began in 1777 and lasted for 39 years. Maria I was considered to be a good and competent ruler until becoming delirious in 1786. Her husband Peter III (who was also her uncle) died that year, and her son passed away in 1791 [source: Livermore].

Deeply religious to the point of mania, Maria I was also devastated by the death of her confessor in 1791. She considered herself damned, in turns ranting, raging, screaming and wailing [source: Roberts]. Treatments included bloodletting and enemas -- "purgatives" that were commonly used to treat insanity. The queen did not willingly submit to these, and who can blame her?

Dr. Francis Willis, der George III behandelt hatte, kam zum Gericht in Portugal und diagnostizierte sie als geisteskrank. Seine Behandlungen waren noch schlimmer – Zwangsjacken, Blasenbildung und Eisbäder. Willis wollte sie nach England bringen, weg vom Gericht und den Priestern, die er zu Recht als negative Einflüsse auf ihre geistige Gesundheit ansah – aber wenig überraschend widersprach das Gericht. Ihr Sohn Prinz João übernahm 1799 die Regentschaft. Leider war der Prinz für diesen Job nicht geeignet, und der Hof floh nach Brasilien, nachdem Frankreich in Portugal einmarschiert war. Königin Maria I. starb dort 1816 [Quelle: Roberts].

Let's head back to antiquity with a mad emperor, Justin II. He ruled from 565 to 578 and became emperor under somewhat suspect circumstances. His uncle Justinian I passed away and his chamberlain Callinicus claimed that Justinian designated Justin II as his successor on his deathbed. Callinicus wanted to be political allies with Justin, so he may have fabricated the story.

At first, Justin II seemed to have the empire's best interests in mind -- he took care of the financial end and was tolerant of a minority group of Christians (although he later persecuted them). Then he decided to stop paying other countries around the empire to keep the peace, and his decision led to the loss of part of Italy as well as war with Persia [sources: Encyclopedia Britannica, Evans].

Perhaps these failures triggered his mental illness? Regardless, by 574 his wife was acting on his behalf. She convinced him to make a general in his army, Tiberius, his adopted son and heir. Justin II remained emperor in name only until his death, with Empress Sophia and Tiberius ruling as co-regents. Those last few years of his life were terrible. He tried to throw himself out of the windows of his palace, screamed, howled, babbled and bit his chamberlains. Stories circulated that Justin had actually eaten two of them. To soothe him, servants wheeled him around on a wagon for hours while organ music played [sources: Evans, John of Ephesus].

History has given this queen the sobriquet of Juana la Loca or "Joanna the Mad." But many question today whether she was really insane. Joanna married Phillip the Handsome (he fared better with the titles, obviously) in 1496. She was deeply in love with him, but he had numerous mistresses, and Joanna was jealous [source: Encyclopedia Britannica]. Her succession to the throne was murky. She became regent (temporary ruler) of Castile after the death of her mother Isabella I in 1504, but her father, Ferdinand II of Aragon, didn't accept this and convinced the courts that she was too ill to reign. Civil war in Castile made him change his tune, and although his son-in-law Phillip initially agreed that Joanna was mad and unable to rule, Phillip reneged as soon as Ferdinand left for Aragon [source: Andrean].

The courts recognized the couple as rulers, but after Phillip died, Ferdinand II returned and became regent, although not with Joanna's consent. She traveled through Granada for eight months with her husband's coffin and was rumored to kiss and caress the corpse. Her father confined her to a convent, where she stayed through his death and the reign of her son Charles I over both Castile and Aragon -- a period of 50 years [sources: Gomez et al., Andrean]. She may have had melancholia, schizophrenia or depression. But it's also possible that she wasn't insane at all. Instead, her father and son successfully perpetuated the idea to keep her from ruling [source: Gomez et al.].

Legend has it that King Erik XIV's last meal was a bowl of poisoned pea soup [source: Öhrström]. But we're getting ahead of ourselves. He ascended to the throne in 1560 but only ruled for eight years. The king was known to be intelligent and well-read. Erik proposed marriage to several royal women over the years (including Queen Elizabeth I) before finally marrying his mistress, a peasant woman named Karin Månsdotter in 1567 [sources: Mäkelä-Alitalo, Encyclopedia Britannica ].

Erik XIV was very ambitious and sought to expand his kingdom, an unpopular view. His half-brother Duke John also wanted to expand his territory and Erik had him imprisoned for high treason in 1563 [source: Glete]. Apparently the king began showing signs of madness and violence around this time. He ordered the murders of five nobles of the Sture family, already imprisoned for conspiracy against him. He personally stabbed Nils Svantesson Sture [sources: Cronholm, Encyclopedia Britannica].

This act proved to be too much for the other nobles, and Erik was dethroned in 1568. Duke John became ruler of Sweden, as John III. John was concerned about Erik getting out of prison, and ordered that guards should kill Erik if there was any attempt at freeing him [source: Mäkelä-Alitalo]. The pea soup, laced with arsenic, took care of that.

Officially, Danish king Christian VII ruled from 1767 until his death in 1808, but for a large part of it, he was king in name only. Christian was considered incompetent not only due to his wild night life (he caroused with prostitutes in brothels) but also because of his mood swings, paranoia, hallucinations and self-mutilation. Some modern researchers have suggested that he had schizophrenia. Others that he had porphyria [sources: Rohl, Langen, Danish Royal Collection]. Ultimately he was mostly good for rubber stamping various decrees set forth by members of his court. He married the sister of King George III (yes, Mad King George), Princess Caroline Matilda, around the time he was crowned.

Christian's physician Johann Friedrich Struensee gained the confidence of the king and a lot of power. Christian gave him the title of State Councilor in 1768, and Struensee made numerous progressive reforms to modernize the country. That goodwill went away once Struensee began an affair with Caroline Matilda, and her divorce was finalized in 1772. Later that year, Struensee was executed [source: Toyne].

Both moves were orchestrated by Christian's power-hungry stepmother, dowager Queen Juliane Marie. She essentially ruled from 1772 until 1784, when Christian's son Prince Frederick VI took over as regent. Christian is rumored to have died of a heart attack or stroke after being frightened by the arrival of Spanish ships he thought were hostile. But there's not much proof to substantiate that [source: Schioldann].

Royals in Europe don't hold a monopoly on crazy behavior. Case in point: King Farouk of Egypt, who ascended to the throne in 1936. He was said to have mysophobia, an intense fear of contamination that caused him to search for imaginary bits of dirt. He only drove red cars and banned anyone else from owning a red one. He supposedly shot out the tires of vehicles that tried to pass him on the road. Farouk was also reportedly a packrat and a kleptomaniac, and legend has it that he stole Winston Churchill's watch [sources: Crompton, Scriba].

Though celebrated by nobility in his early years, Farouk's subjects didn't care for his shopping sprees, food indulgences, wild expenditures and corrupt governing. They also were unhappy with the loss of most of Palestine after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and its occupation by British forces [source: Cavendish].

The king was overthrown during the Egyptian Revolution in 1952, and his infant son was declared ruler -- although in truth the country was governed by a nationalistic group of officers within Egypt's army. The monarchy was dissolved in 1953, and Farouk died of a heart attack in Italy in 1965 after consuming a huge dinner of a dozen oysters, lobster thermidor, a double portion of roast lamb with fried potatoes and a large helping of trifle for dessert [sources: Cavendish, Scriba].

We'll end our look at just a few of the crazy rulers in history (you can find long lists of many more, trust us) by going to China. Zhu Houzhao is the personal name of the 10th emperor of the Ming Dynasty, who took the name of Zhengde when he ascended the throne in 1505.

Zhengde had no interest in affairs of the state, preferring affairs of the heart. His vast harem wasn't enough, so he picked up women on the street and had prostitutes in the royal palace. He enjoyed drinking, learning languages, pretending to be a commoner, and traveling incognito as much as possible. He also liked hunting wild animals almost as much as hunting people (both women for his harem and enemies, real and imagined) Once Zhengde was nearly killed by a tiger he was attempting to tame [source: Theobald, Encyclopedia Britannica, Huang].

The actual governing of the country was left to high-ranking eunuchs and friends, who heavily taxed the people and essentially sold public offices to the highest bidders. Anybody questioning Zhengde's strange behavior might be exiled or even killed. Eleven officials were flogged so much they later died of their beatings [sources: Theobald, Encyclopedia Britannica].

But this recklessness couldn't last for long. He had a boating accident at age 31 and passed away a year later. Truly mad or merely eccentric? It's hard to say, but it's obvious that Zhengde wasn't cut out for the throne.

Author's Note: 10 Mad Royals in History

Ich mag Geschichte und bin besonders fasziniert von der historischen Diagnose und Behandlung von Geisteskrankheiten, aber ich wusste immer noch nicht viel über einige dieser sogenannten verrückten Royals, bis ich sie recherchierte. Es war schwierig, nur 10 auszuwählen, und ich habe jetzt mehrere königliche Biografien auf meiner Leseliste (als ob sie nicht schon lang genug wäre).

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