List of mentally ill monarchs
Encyclopedia
This is a list of monarchs who have been described as mentally ill in some way by historians past or present.

In many cases, it is difficult to ascertain whether a given historical monarch
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...

 did in fact possess a genuine mental illness
Mental illness
A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern generally associated with subjective distress or disability that occurs in an individual, and which is not a part of normal development or culture. Such a disorder may consist of a combination of affective, behavioural,...

 of some sort, whether he or she was merely eccentric or suffering symptoms of a physical illness, or whether he or she was just disliked by chroniclers.

Ancient world

  • Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon (reigned c. 605 BC-562 BC), became insane for a period of seven years.

Roman Emperors

  • Caligula
    Caligula
    Caligula , also known as Gaius, was Roman Emperor from 37 AD to 41 AD. Caligula was a member of the house of rulers conventionally known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Caligula's father Germanicus, the nephew and adopted son of Emperor Tiberius, was a very successful general and one of Rome's most...

     (12–41; ruled 37–41)
  • Justin II
    Justin II
    Justin II was Byzantine Emperor from 565 to 578. He was the husband of Sophia, nephew of Justinian I and the late Empress Theodora, and was therefore a member of the Justinian Dynasty. His reign is marked by war with Persia and the loss of the greater part of Italy...

     (520–578; ruled 565–578)

Islamic Caliphs

  • Ottoman
    Ottoman Empire
    The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

     Caliph Ibrahim I
    Ibrahim I
    Ibrahim I was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1640 until 1648. He was born in Istanbul the son of Ahmed I by Valide Sultan Kadinefendi Kösem Sultan, an ethnic Greek originally named Anastasia...

     (1615–1648; ruled 1640–1648), known as Deli Ibrahim (Mad Ibrahim)

European monarchs

  • King Charles VI of France
    Charles VI of France
    Charles VI , called the Beloved and the Mad , was the King of France from 1380 to 1422, as a member of the House of Valois. His bouts with madness, which seem to have begun in 1392, led to quarrels among the French royal family, which were exploited by the neighbouring powers of England and Burgundy...

     (1368–1422; ruled 1380–1422), known as Charles le Fou (Charles the Mad)
  • King Henry VI of England
    Henry VI of England
    Henry VI was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. Until 1437, his realm was governed by regents. Contemporaneous accounts described him as peaceful and pious, not suited for the violent dynastic civil wars, known as the Wars...

     (1421–1471; ruled 1422–1461 and 1470–1471)
  • Queen Joanna of Castile
    Joanna of Castile
    Joanna , nicknamed Joanna the Mad , was the first queen regnant to reign over both the Crown of Castile and the Crown of Aragon , a union which evolved into modern Spain...

     (1479–1555; ruled 1504–1555), known as Juana La Loca (Joanna the Mad)
  • Tsar Ivan IV of Russia
    Ivan IV of Russia
    Ivan IV Vasilyevich , known in English as Ivan the Terrible , was Grand Prince of Moscow from 1533 until his death. His long reign saw the conquest of the Khanates of Kazan, Astrakhan, and Siberia, transforming Russia into a multiethnic and multiconfessional state spanning almost one billion acres,...

     (1530–1584; ruled 1533–1584), known as Ivan the Terrible
  • Tsar Feodor I of Russia
    Feodor I of Russia
    Fyodor I Ivanovich 1598) was the last Rurikid Tsar of Russia , son of Ivan IV and Anastasia Romanovna. In English he is sometimes called Feodor the Bellringer in consequence of his strong faith and inclination to travel the land and ring the bells at churches. However, in Russian the name...

     (1557–1598; ruled 1584–1598), son of Ivan IV. Known as Feodor the Bellringer (he was reputedly mentally retarded)
  • Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II
    Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor
    Rudolf II was Holy Roman Emperor , King of Hungary and Croatia , King of Bohemia and Archduke of Austria...

     (1552–1612; ruled 1576–1611).
  • King Charles II of Spain
    Charles II of Spain
    Charles II was the last Habsburg King of Spain and the ruler of large parts of Italy, the Spanish territories in the Southern Low Countries, and Spain's overseas Empire, stretching from the Americas to the Spanish East Indies...

     (1661–1709; ruled 1665–1700) , known as Charles the Bewitched
  • Tsar Ivan V of Russia
    Ivan V of Russia
    Ivan V Alekseyevich Romanov was a joint Tsar of Russia who co-reigned between 1682 and 1696. He was the youngest son of Alexis I of Russia and Maria Miloslavskaya. His reign was only formal, since he had serious physical and mental disabilities...

     (1666–1696; ruled 1682–1696) 11th child of Tsar Alexei, joint ruler with Peter the Great, he had serious mental and physical disabilities.
  • Queen Maria I of Portugal
    Maria I of Portugal
    Maria I was Queen regnant of Portugal and the Algarves from 1777 until her death. Known as Maria the Pious , or Maria the Mad , she was the first undisputed Queen regnant of Portugal...

     (1734–1816; ruled 1777–1816), known as Maria a Louca (Maria the Mad)
  • King Christian VII of Denmark
    Christian VII of Denmark
    Christian VII was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Schleswig and Holstein from 1766 until his death. He was the son of Danish King Frederick V and his first consort Louisa, daughter of King George II of Great Britain....

     (1749–1808; ruled 1767–1808)
  • King George III of the United Kingdom
    George III of the United Kingdom
    George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...

     (1738–1820; ruled 1760–1820)
  • King Ludwig II of Bavaria
    Ludwig II of Bavaria
    Ludwig II was King of Bavaria from 1864 until shortly before his death. He is sometimes called the Swan King and der Märchenkönig, the Fairy tale King...

     (1845–1886; ruled 1864–1886), known as Mad King Ludwig
  • King Otto of Bavaria
    Otto of Bavaria
    Otto , was King of Bavaria from 1886 to 1913. He was the son of Maximilian II and his wife, Marie of Prussia, and younger brother of Ludwig II...

    (1848–1916; ruled 1886–1913)
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