Last letter of King Ludwig II

On 9 June 1886, a delegation of eleven politicians, doctors and nurses travelled to Hohenschwangau to inform Ludwig II that he had been deposed. He was to be taken into custody there and brought to Linderhof Palace. The train could only go from Munich to Biessenhofen, from where the delegation continued in carriages. A railway line from Biessenhofen to Füssen was not completed until 1889.

The amateurishly executed action failed though, because of the local authorities who detained the delegation in the gatehouse at Neuschwanstein on Ludwig’s instructions. It was not until the next morning that the members were released, following instructions by telegraph from Munich, and initially withdrew without having achieved anything.

The letter by King Ludwig II (1845-1886), which he sent from Neuschwanstein Castle (Schloss Neuschwanstein) to his cousin Ludwig Ferdinand of Bavaria (1859-1949) on 10 June, is probably the last document that the king wrote. In it, Ludwig II expresses his dismay and anger at the "shameful conspiracy" which he suspects Prince Luitpold is behind. Ludwig misunderstands the purpose of the delegation, he is aware that they wanted to take him to Linderhof "obviously and to keep me prisoner there, and to do God knows what to obtain abdication" but he seems not to have been aware that they wanted to depose him.

The letter proves that Ludwig was in his right mind at this time. He does not really seem to have grasped his situation though, as in previous months.

Friedrich Röhrer-Ertl