I have always had a fascination with Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria and remember having a photo of it on my wall as a child. Marc and I have shared many past lives together living in grand castles, so we asked King Ludwig to come forward and tell us about himself and what his purpose was in that life. As well as building several wonderful castles, he was a patron of Richard Wagner and the theatre. I think this is our first interview with a historical figure and we are thrilled!

I see Ludwig walking towards me in his kingly robes and then he switches into a dark plain suit.

Marc: Diane, this is Ludwig. What shall we call you….”Sire”? (Marc says that tongue in cheek as he knows no one is better than anyone else.)

Ludwig: Ludwig will be fine. I’m quite comfortable now with being addressed informally.

Marc: Great! That will save time. Can you tell us why you’ve decided to come forward and speak to us?

Ludwig: Well I believe the request was made from your end, but I most readily agreed as I think it’s time my story was told correctly.

Diane: Are the history books wrong about you?

Ludwig: While the facts about many things are correct, I don’t feel that people really understood what was in my heart and head. I’m remembered, yes, for building spectacular castles and that came at a loss, in a way, to my kingdom, but I was not without a plan in that incarnation.

Marc: Can you share that plan with us?

Ludwig: I am a lover of beauty and a creator of illusions that become reality. I was often seen as a fanciful tyrant, but nothing could have been further from the truth.

Marc: How so?

Ludwig: All spirits come down to earth for incarnations with meaning, a purpose – but my incarnations are usually done on a grand scale. Otherwise, I don’t bother to take on physical lives. At the time, Bavaria was looking for a national identity. My predecessors were also known for eccentric behavior and lavish spending but look at what I left. Hopefully that beauty balances out what my country had to go through in order for me to create them.

Marc: Did you see yourself as a leader of your people?

Ludwig: Well, I saw myself as being given my position by God. Yes, it was divinely given to me by my birth.

Marc: Did you feel that was a big responsibility?

Ludwig: At the time, it was more than I wanted to take on. I knew it was my destiny, but I really wasn’t up for the task. I was a very shy, young boy and not fit to rule. I lived in a fantasy world, and I would have been happy to stay there. But it wasn’t a role that I could turn down. Obviously now I see that I chose that.

Marc: What was the purpose of that life?

Ludwig: To build on a monumental scale. To give something to my country that it could be proud of and look how many people still come to see my castles! I would never have allowed the public into my home during my life, but now I see it as my gift to them.

Marc: What was it like to play that part?

Ludwig: It was always a challenge between reality and what I wanted to do or achieve. The two lines often got blurred. I was born into that life, so people are often astonished when they read that I spent lavishly and had grandiose ideas. I didn’t understand anything else.

Diane: From the accounts I’ve read, you were more interested in funding Wagner’s operas and building castles than being a ruler. What would you say to that?

Ludwig: I’d say that was exactly right. Like I said, I was there to bring beauty into the world and leave my mark. Can you imagine how many operas I am responsible for funding that probably wouldn’t exist if I hadn’t had those priorities? The German government wouldn’t be getting the tourist funds for my castles now. I came there, created magic, left my mark and then left myself.

Marc: Did you struggle emotionally?

Ludwig: Yes I did. I didn’t like being told what I could do. Also, I had a struggle with my sexuality. What I felt in my heart and what was expected of me as a sovereign did not blend. I was supposed to produce an heir to carry on the family lineage, yet in my conscience, I could not perform this and be true to myself. I thought that I could try to ignore my true self, but it wasn’t possible for me. I did bring grief to many because of this. I ruled by my heart and at times, that wasn’t the best thing for my country.

Marc: Did you and Wagner have a soul contract to collaborate that time? You must have right?

Ludwig: Yes of course. It would be rare to work with someone to accomplish so much without that prior arrangement.

Marc: So you’re here with us now to tell your side of the story?

Ludwig: Yes and to say that I do not have any regrets. I truly feel that my accomplishments, though they came at a cost to more than just myself, still stand as a testament to what one can accomplish. If I had listened to my advisors, none of these things would have been created and look how much pleasure they have given millions!

Diane: So Marc and Ludwig, you have a shared life purpose here – creation that brings pleasure to those whom you left behind. You both gave of yourselves in order to do this. What do you think about the title you’re often given “Mad” King Ludwig?

Ludwig: I resent it because I was not mad, no matter what anyone may think. I like to call myself “boldly eccentric”. (I thought this was an interesting remark because resentment seems like a human emotion. But….I asked him this several times and he said the same thing.)

Diane: There is still some mystery surrounding your death.

(Ludwig was deposed by the government who got several psychiatrists to claim he was insane – even though they had never even met him – so the story goes. A few days later, he took a walk with one of the doctors and they were both found dead. There are conflicting stories about what injuries were on the body and it was ruled a “suicide” by drowning even though reports say there was no water in his lungs.)

Ludwig: Oh I don’t really think there is mystery to it anymore is there? I was murdered by those who wanted me out. Actually from my spirit side, it was a way out for me – my exit point and the means to return home. I had accomplished all I needed to by that time as there would have been no more funds for my creations. I was done.

Marc: So what you’re saying is you came to earth that time to create on a monumental scale, but it was at a cost to your personal happiness?

Ludwig: I needed to be in a position of high importance to do what I wanted and so I put myself in that role. I happened to be very sensitive and that wasn’t a necessary personality trait for a ruler. Once I got into the role, it was conflicting for me because I was deemed this figurehead. But inside, I was a lonely, shy man (boy actually when I came to rule), who felt like an actor who was miscast.

Marc: Did you ever feel like you grew into the part?

Ludwig: Not really. I just wanted to be left alone to do what I wanted. I never understood why that wasn’t possible. I didn’t take my responsibility as one who rules over others seriously. It wasn’t my priority. That was one of my life’s goals – to look outside myself and have compassion for those less fortunate.

Marc: Did you succeed with that?

Ludwig: No, not really.

Marc: Ludwig, anything you would like to say to our readers – either about your life as a king or what you are doing now?

Ludwig: On hindsight, I should have been a better ruler, but I was there to create, not to rule. I would have easily handed that over to someone else. I wanted beauty all around me and to be happy. I got the beauty, but I never found happiness.

Marc: Do you think that if you had done things differently, you would have found the happiness too?

Ludwig: Well probably not. A gay king was not done you see. I could have never been who I was openly.

Diane: Anything else you would like to say?

Ludwig: No not really. I wanted to come and explain myself to anyone who might be interested in reading about me. Sometimes you don’t get everything you want to experience in a physical lifetime accomplished, but you needn’t worry. You will always have more opportunities. I’ve lived several lives in the physical since then where I found personal happiness, love and respect. In one case (a life in Milwaukee) there is nothing left of me physically – other than a small house I built. Though some may see that existence not as grand as a king, I feel that it was equally so. I gave my heart to one who cherished it and found the happiness that as Ludwig eluded me.

© Bolan-Beaty Boogie

June 5, 2017