It’s true that throughout
history there have been many royals that people say were insane. Unfortunately,
there are instances where we can’t be certain of these claims because of a lack
of evidence or political agendas. Still, history remembers them as such and it
is strange indeed. In this article, we will focus on some female members of the
royal class, who will, for one reason or another, be remembered for their
troubled mental states.
Juana of Castile
Juana of Castile was the
daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabelle of Spain. She was the Countess of
Flanders, the Duchess of Burgundy, the Archduchess of Austria and, eventually,
the Queen of Spain. She was often referred to as Juana la loca, or Juana the
Mad.
Juana of Castile is considered
insane because of an unhealthy obsession she had with her husband Phillip the
Handsome, who could have just as accurately been known as Philip the Promiscuous.
The couple met in 1496. Philip was not long in marrying her, bedding her and
moving on to other women. This did not stop Juana from loving him. She became
known for fits of jealousy, which eventually developed into mental illness.
The couple obviously remained
sexually intimate with each another, seeing that Juana gave birth to ten of
Philip’s children. Nonetheless, he also slept with other women until his death
from fever or poisoning in 1506. Juana, who was by then Queen and again pregnant,
had her husband’s body dug up so that she could travel with it to Granada. The
trip to Granada turned into a seemingly endless display of mourning practices.
Juana also spent much time opening her husband’s casket in anticipation of a
resurrection that she hoped would occur.
Juana’s father put a stop to the
public display and had his daughter taken to the St. Clara’s monastery. Her
husband was interred there, where she could see his grave from her window. She spent
the rest of her life at the monastery, fluctuating between periods of madness
and melancholy. She didn’t seem to care at all that she was the Queen.
Anna of Saxony
Anna of Saxony was a child when
her parents died. She was left with a fortune and displayed signs of erratic moods and
irritability from a young age. This would be the hallmark of her adult life.
Anna of Saxony married William
of Orange in 1561. Her mood swings are said to have worsened when she became
pregnant with her first child. The child died, but she had two more that
survived infancy. She showed no signs of love or caring for them or her
stepchildren. She showed nothing but public disdain for her husband and began
indulging in drunken binges, which were likely very embarrassing for her royal
family.
Anna of Saxony eventually left
her husband, spent all of her money and became pregnant with another man’s
child. Her punishment should have been execution according to the laws of the
time, but William of Orange simply had the marriage annulled. She was kept at
Castle Bastille, starting in 1572. By then, she was uncontrollable. She was
profane, violent, hallucinating and entertaining delusions that she had killed
her children. She was taken to Dresden in 1575, where her condition got no
better. She died there in 1577.
Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg
Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg
was the daughter of Elector Johann Sigismund and Anna of Prussia. She married
King Gustav II Adolf of Sweden in 1620 and was crowned Queen. Not long after
the wedding, Maria began showing signs of strange personality traits. She
became pregnant within four months. She miscarried by the end of the first
year. Following the miscarriage, she had severe mood swings and spoke of what
witnesses described as inconceivable acts of violence.
Maria Eleonora lost another
child, her mother and her brother within a few months of each other. She became
pregnant again soon after and her child was born dead. A few years later, she
became pregnant once more. This time the child survived. It was a girl,
however, and Maria had wanted a boy. She loathed the child and there were
rumors that she even tried to hurt her.
The King was killed in battle in
1632. Maria went entirely insane after this. She slept with the man’s casket in
her room for nearly a year. She kept his heart in a box hanging over the bed in
which she and her now beloved daughter slept. Maria lived in a near constant
state of agitation and inconsolable sadness until her death, 23 years later.
