World’s Mad Monarchs In History

Even though the majority of people are aware that Queen Elizabeth II is the country’s ruler, they might be shocked to hear that 43 of the world’s 195 countries have monarchs. Given that there are 43 monarchs, there are also multiple scandals involving the royal family around the globe. Here are some of the most remarkable mad monarchs in history:   

Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon (604-562 B.C.)

King Nebuchadnezzar II is regarded as the first historically significant example of a mad king. One of the most fascinating passages in the Old Testament book of Daniel is about a Babylonian king whose first-person account of a seven-year descent into animal-like insanity. According to that story, the haughty king was killed for his rejection of the Hebrews’ God, forcing him to flee his throne and live in the wilderness.

Henry VI of England (1421-1471)

Henry VI, the subject of a three-part Shakespearean drama cycle, was crowned king before his first birthday but struggled with mental illness in his latter years as his country lost territory to France and descended into the chaos of the War of the Roses. Henry VI, who was never a great leader, experienced his first complete mental breakdown in 1453, which left him unable to communicate for more than a year. After a brief remission, his illness deteriorated into lethargy in 1456. He was overthrown by Yorkist forces in 1461, forced into exile in Scotland, briefly reinstated to the kingdom in 1470, and afterwards put back in prison and killed the following year.

Joanna of Castile (1479-1555)

Joanna, who was fourth in line to the throne after her parents Ferdinand and Isabella, was wed off at the age of 16 to Philip of Burgundy. Her husband imprisoned Joanna after her mother passed away in an effort to advance his claim over Ferdinand’s for the Castilian throne. Eventually, her husband died in 1506 and her father died in 1516. Joanna and her son Charles were appointed joint monarchs. Charles began to lock his mother away from that point on, inventing a make-believe universe to keep her apart. He even planned a fake funeral for her mother. Joanna was set free by a group of insurrectionists in 1520, but later changed their minds when she refused to back them over her son.

Carlota of Mexico (1840-1927)

The first and only Habsburg empress of Mexico was Carlota. She was the first cousin of Queen Victoria and the daughter of King Leopold I. She was married to Maximilian at a young age. After president Benito Juaraz was overthrown as emperor of Mexico by a group of Mexican archconservatives who colluded with France’s Napoleon III, Carlota and Maximilian tried their best for three years to win over the Mexican people, but they lost their conservative supporters in the process and the French retreated. In order to win back the allegiance of the French and pope, Carlota was sent to Europe but still failed to regain anything. As a result, she eventually had a mental breakdown, and Benito Juarez was reinstated as the emperor.