Justin II
[ranking: 9]
Royal Title: Emperor of Byzantium
Crazy Quirk: Behavior so strange, those around him believed he was possessed by the devil.
Justin II was ruler of the Byzantine Empire from 565-578 AD, and over that time, Justin was prone to bouts of madness. He would often try to bite others in the court and demanded that organ music be constantly played to settle his nerves.
Members of his court tried desperately to divert his attention, pulling him around the castle in a wagon with a throne on it. They had to hold him down during fits of violent rage, and installed bars on windows to prevent him from jumping out. He would laugh, cry, make animal noises, and hit people without provocation. People began to believe he was possessed by the devil. Through it all, Empress Sophia took care of him and even made political decisions on his behalf.
Peter III Of Russia
[ranking: 5]
Royal Title: Tsar of Russia
Crazy Quirk: A child in a man??s body, Peter may have never consummated his marriage because he was too busy playing toy soldiers in bed.
Catherine the Great??s husband, Peter III, had a much less successful royal career than his wife. Poor treatment by a sadistic tutor left Peter in a state of arrested development, making him unfit to rule. In 1742, when he was 14, his aunt, the Empress of Russia, brought him from Germany to Russia with the intention of making him her heir. Peter hated Russia, and the Russian people hated him just as much.
When Peter married Catherine at 17, it was clear from the start they were a bad match. Catherine was intelligent and driven, while Peter was a stunted man-child. Peter and Catherine??s sex life was not much better. It is unclear whether they ever consummated their relationship, as Peter was more content to play toy soldiers in bed and make his wife dress up in military gear to run drills. He was also a mean-spirited drunk who called Catherine a "stupid whore" in the middle of a banquet. One story about Peter contends that when a rat bit the head off one of his beloved toy soldiers, he gave the rat a proper court martial and trial before he had the vermin hung from tiny gallows he constructed.
Vlad The Impaler
[ranking: 17]
Royal Title: Prince of Wallachia
Crazy Quirk: The real life namesake of Dracula, Vlad loved to impale his enemies.
Vlad III was born in 1431 in what is modern-day Transylvania. That same year, Vlad??s father, Vlad II, became a member of the Order of the Dragon, a group devoted to the defeat of the Ottoman Empire. This Order bestowed upon Vlad II the surname ??Dracul,?? meaning dragon. Vlad III, as the son of Dracul, went by ??Draculea."
Turks captured Vlad III and his brother, keeping them captive throughout childhood. When Vlad III finally returned home, a usurper sat on his father??s throne. He reclaimed the throne and set out to consolidate his power. He invited hundreds of noblemen to his palace for dinner, but had his guests stabbed and impaled on stakes. Among his other atrocities: when Ottoman envoys refused to remove their turbans, Vlad III nailed them to their heads... and, of course, he lived up to his historic nickname by impaling dozens of merchants and masses of Ottoman prisoners of war.
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Nebuchadnezzar/Nabonidus
[ranking: 19]
Royal Title: King of Babylon
Crazy Quirk: He spent seven years living like an animal in the forest.
According to the Book of Daniel in the Christian Bible, ?Nebuchadnezzar?, the king of Babylon, came down with a seven year spell of madness. In his insanity-induced state, he retreated from society, lived like an animal, and ate grass like a farm animal.
This story of madness has long been associated with Nebuchadnezzar, who ruled from 605 to 562 BC, but recent scholars are unclear whether the writer meant Nebuchadnezzar or another king of Babylon, Nabonidus. It??s possible that the translation got mangled because both Nebuchadnezzar and Nabonidus had sons named Belshazzar, and Nabonidus a reputation as an eccentric. Regardless of which man lived out the story described in the Book of Daniel, the story deserves a spot in the annals of mad royalty.
Ludwig II Of Bavaria
[ranking: 21]
Royal Title: King of Bavaria
Crazy Quirk: He spent most of his time and money during his reign building elaborate and fantastical castles.
King Ludwig II??s most lasting contribution to world history might be the construction of Neuschwanstein, the German castle that inspired Walt Disney's design for both Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty's signature castles. This is also evidence of one of his most famous quirks, but definitely not his only one.
Ludwig was born in 1845, and spent his childhood dressing up, play acting, and isolating himself from the rest of the world. He became king at 18, without any training or experience, and shied away from the job for the rest of his life. Ludwig retreated to his lavish castles and fully invested himself in his fantasy world, hiring set designers instead of architects to create his castles. He imagined himself as Parzival, a medieval figure associated with the Holy Grail.
When banks threatened to seize Ludwig's property, the government declared him insane and deposed him. The day after he was imprisoned, he was found dead under mysterious circumstances, along with the psychiatrist who declared him mad.
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Maria Eleonora Of Brandenburg
[ranking: 1]
Royal Title: Queen of Sweden
Crazy Quirk: She tried to kill her daughter when she couldn??t give the king a male heir.
Maria Eleonora??s goal as queen was the same as many other women of her era: give her husband a male heir. When she didn??t achieve her goal, she went crazy. Maria Eleonora bore her husband, King Gustavus Adolphus, a girl named Christina in 1626, and she immediately rejected her daughter, calling her a monster. More than once, she allegedly tried to kill Christina by pushing her down stairs and dropping her.
When the king died, Maria Eleonora's insanity went next level. She refused to bury Gustavus's body for more than a year and slept below a hanging casket that contained his heart.
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