Crazy kings and queens of past centuries (6 photos)

In the history of mankind, it is very rare to find good, smart, enterprising rulers who really did a lot for their people. Most often, we see “dummy people” who had a fun life without thinking about the problems of their country. True, there were also rulers who terrified their subjects with their abnormality. To be honest, such deviations were often caused by incest, which was very popular among aristocrats and royals of those times. This post publishes several names of the most “abnormal” kings and queens.

Of course, the list is subjective, and many crazy and simply strange emperors, kings, princes and kings were not included in the review. If you would like to see any of the missed "celebrities" in one of the subsequent posts, just write about it in the comments and we will fulfill the "request" shortly. In addition, if you yourself can tell other readers something, write in the comments, many, including myself, will be grateful to you for this.

George III

King George III ruled Great Britain and Ireland for about 59 years. His reign was marred by constant riots, war with France, and unsuccessful relations with England's colonies in North America. Despite the fact that this king had the largest number of children in almost the entire history of England, his brain, unlike his body, was sick. Beginning in 1789, the king began to suffer from attacks of prophyria, during which he became completely insane.

Modern historians believe that his madness and blindness, which overtook the king in the last years of his life, were caused by nothing more than arsenic poisoning. It looks like someone was constantly poisoning the monarch by constantly mixing arsenic into the king's food and drink. Despite all his illnesses, the king died at the age of 82.

Juana I the Mad

Yes, it was not in vain that the Queen of Castile received such a nickname, although in childhood and adolescence, it would seem that nothing said anything about future problems with her “head”. Juana of Castile became such after the death of a number of relatives (natural deaths), thanks to which she became queen. Her husband, Phillip I, who was also called the Handsome, died suddenly just a year after Juana became queen.

After the death of her husband, the queen fell into a state of insanity, in fact, she went crazy. Can a normal person transport a coffin with the body of a spouse all over the country without allowing it to be buried, and periodically open the coffin to admire his beloved?

In general, after all this, her relatives hastily took the reins of power into their own hands. Philip was buried, Juana, by order of his father, was sent to Tordesillas Castle. She remained there until 1555, despite being considered queen until her death in 1555. She died at the age of 73.

Carlos II - Spain

This king was extremely ugly from childhood, one might even say ugly. The thing is that his inbreeding coefficient was about 25%, that is, he was born after a series of incestuous relationships between Spanish rulers.

The boy was not only ugly, but also weak in mind, which, in principle, is explained not only by the fact that the genetic apparatus of Carlos II was disfigured beyond recognition, but also by the fact that his parents protected him for a very long time from education and in general from mental stress, fearing for his safety. his health.

The period of his reign marked itself with a weakening of the role of Spain in Europe, which suddenly became a second-rate country from a brilliant power.

Charles VI, France

This king did not become insane immediately, but somehow gradually, the mental disorder became especially noticeable in April 1392, when the king first suffered “a fever accompanied by a prolonged fever.” After this he became very irritable and lost his temper at any harsh sound.

Within a few months, the king went on a military campaign, gathering a significant army. However, immediately after leaving the city, it seemed to him that some ragamuffin began to run after him, shouting “Stop, king! You have been betrayed.” Immediately the king rushed at his page, killing him, then chased after his brother. Not having caught up with him, he began to rush at his own knights until his horse was knocked down and the king fell into a coma.

Three days later he came to his senses and immediately appointed pensions for the widows and children of those killed. After this, the king renounces power, giving the reins to his uncles.

After this, the king had several more attacks, after which he fell into complete madness with periodic bouts of enlightenment. Either it seemed to the king that he was made of glass and might break, then he refused to wash or shave for five months, then he threw his fists at everyone who happened to be nearby.

Now there are two versions of the essence and cause of the king’s illness - one speaks of possible poisoning, the second - of manic-depressive psychosis.

Afonso VI

This king became very ill at the age of three, as a result of which the left half of his body was partially paralyzed and his mind became clouded. For example, when his older brothers died, the future king exclaimed: “Hurray! Now I will be the king of Portugal!” Already in adulthood, Afonso VI behaved in the same way as in his youth: he traveled around the city with young people and drank in taverns.

He did not want to study or rule the country. In general, the king did what he wanted until his own mother opposed such “rule.” For several years, mother and son fought until the mother won, and Afonso’s younger brother, Pedro, became king. In November 1667, Afonso was forced to abdicate.