Just think of being the emperor who lives in unbelievable luxury, and then spends your days believing that you are made of glass, or makes the servants kiss your bed sheets each morning to see whether they poison you… or just refuses to bathe for decades and lets the lice celebrate on your royal skin. The kings of history were everything; they possessed authority, castles, and no responsibility. Absolute power, decades of inbreeding, untreated mental illness, and the smashing of isolation often made them the most unbalanced (at times even unbalanced) personalities in the world. These are 10 royalties whose quaint peculiarities demonstrate that being a royal did not necessarily make them regal.
1. Henry VIII (England) The Poison Paranoia Kisser
Henry II was so afraid of being poisoned that each morning a servant was required to kiss his bed linens, pillows and blankets before they were placed on his bed. He also applied this ritual to the clothes and other objects of his son. He was so terrified of poisons and contamination that he would have furs around his bed to keep the vermin out.
2. Caligula (Roman Empire) The Horse who came to be Consul
Even his favorite horse, Incitatus, was treated better by the notorious Roman emperor than most senators. He provided the stallion with a marble stall, an ivory manger, a house, and servants. Caligula had even considered making Incitatus a consul and even took the horse to dinner where it ate the oats laced with gold flakes.
3. King James VI and I (England and Scotland) The Never-Bather
James I is said never to have bathed in his whole life as a man. He would not use water but wiped his hands with a wet napkin. Diplomats and courtiers lamented about the stench and lice that habitually sprung on guests out of the king.
4. Charles VI of France – The Glass King
This French king was known as Charles the Mad and he was afflicted with serious delusions. He thought that he was made out of glass and could easily be broken by a touch of a hand. In order to defend himself, he had iron rods stitched into his garments and would not allow anybody anywhere near him. Occasionally, he could run riot in the corridors of the palace as he said he was Saint George.
5. Queen Isabella I of Castile (Spain) The Twice-in-a-Lifetime Bather
The queen who had financed the expedition of Columbus was so proud of having only bathed twice in her whole life, once when she was born, and once when she was married. During her time, regular washing was considered to be unhealthy, yet Isabella went to the extreme with it.
6. Peter III of Russia: The Toy Soldier Obsessive
Peter III (husband of Catherine the Great) was virtually uninterested in ruling or romance. Rather, he spent hours of his day playing with toy soldiers and dolls and staging large-scale miniature battles and disregarding state business. His childish preoccupations rendered him most unpopular and even led to his eventual dethronement.
7. Ludwig II of Bavaria – The Moonlight Recluse
The Mad King, who constructed the fairy-tale Neuschwanstein Castle (the prototype of the Sleeping Beauty castle of Disney) lived on an entirely inverted timetable. He slept by day, and was awake by night, frequently riding in an empty sleigh, by moonlight, in the Bavarian country. He was a loner, wore historical costumes, and became infatuated with composer Richard Wagner. His unconventional ways of life later led him to be pronounced insane.
8. King Farouk of Egypt -The Juvenile Pickpocket King
The final King of Egypt prior to the collapse of the monarchy was acting as a big kid. He was also infamous with picking the pockets of guests and dignitaries at state events, including stealing the pocket watch of Winston Churchill, allegedly. He would toss food and honk ridiculous horns when driving at formal dinners, usually embarrassing international visitors.
9. Louis XIV of France -The Enema Enthusiast
His bodily functions were the preoccupation of the Sun King, who constructed Versailles. He is said to have had hundreds of enemas in his lifetime, usually smelling of rose or bergamot or angelica. These processes were transformed into lavish daily practices. He lived to the admirable age of 76, in spite of (or perhaps because of) them.
10. Mary, Queen Of Scots
Mary was imprisoned in Loch Leven Castle after being accused of adultery and murder, which led her to abdicate in favor of her son. While there, she made two attempts to escape, with the second being significantly more successful than the first. She initially attempted to escape disguised as a washerwoman but was caught when the boatman noticed her white hands beneath the rags. During this attempt, a set of keys to the castle fell into the lake and remained lost for 300 years.
