They usually wind up burning down the castle [if I cant have dominion, I will unleash scorched earth], or fleeing in the midst of a severe anxiety collapse, or being deposed, e.g., dragged out by the feet, or mocked until retreating by cover of night, or going into hiding whilst still asserting at every turn how he was mistreated. Rather than how he betrayed and took the vitality of life from the citizenry, from his own family, from himself.
Caligula
Emperor of “Holy” Roman Empire, insane, sadistic and perverse sexually: killing men for pleasure, having sexual intercourse with his sister-women, demanding to be worshiped as a living god. He caused a financial crisis and starvation with his extravagant lifestyle and building projects. He soon became deeply hated. In 41 AD, Caligula was assassinated by the Praetorian Guards.
Charles VI of France (1380-1422)
His mental incapacity had a devastating effect on his kingdom. The King’s delusional claims, his inability to make political decisions provoked fierce divisions of the people, struggles for power that would lead to a civil war-like state and encourage the English to resume the Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453).
Ivan IV of Russia (also known as Ivan the Terrible)
Ivan’s outbursts of rage got worse and worse in his castle. He disenfranchised and killed people who disagreed with him. He lied and lied. He began untrue rumors. He established a special force, the so-called oprichniki that terrorized and/or exiled or killed anyone the Tsar perceived as a threat to himself. Proclaimed himself Tsar of All Russia 1533-1584. No one could speak to him of his misdirections, wrong steps, or flaws.
Ludwig II of Bavaria
He seized an extravagant lifestyle and had an apparent disregard of his royal duties. [1864 – 1886] Though formally remaining the King of Bavaria, he showed no ambitions to regain his kingdom’s independence. Instead, he dedicated himself to over-ambitious artistic and architectural projects that completely emptied the royal treasury. On June 12, 1886, Ludwig was declared insane and deposed. He died one day later under perhaps nefarious circumstances.
Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor
[1575 to 1612] A figure who was extreme in passion about arts and the occult sciences butar less so about ruling. His disastrous political decisions are attributed to his preoccupation with his passions on the one hand and lack of understanding for the realities of his time on the other. His destructive ways of governing soon provoked a widespread discontent amongst the populace, broke alliances with other nations that were needed for a symbiotic protection of one another.
The populace and foreign powers noting his insane and inane decisions was shared also by his own family – the Habsburgs. Rudolf, also suffered from fits of depression, –common amongst the Habsburgs. Due to his political failures and deteriorating mental health, the Habsburg archdukes eventually forced him out.
CODA
It’s an old story isnt it, this defective king syndrome in those mentally ill who so desperately want to remain in power even though hanging by a burning thread of his own making,
–having sown mayhem,
–distrust,
–death,
–severances of all kinds:
the seeming genetic weakness of some kings who as they age,
begin presenting with
–more and more unraveled empathy,
–destructions of the health, economies, food supplies of the populace,
–disheveled judgment,
–increasing wobbly tie rods on the steering mechanism of the intellect,
–ace poor choices,
–deep prevarications,
–rising to a hubris and increasing self-aggrandizement,
–roaring toward impulsive dead ends,
–displaying utter death of logic and common sense,
–not being able to weigh countervalent issues and estimate
which has the better outcomes for the populace and the royals
to continue in strength and decency…
–to be unable to rein in ‘out of control appetites’
for cruelties, and vices. All of them.
So it goes. And goes.
Let us pray, for the malignant to be uprooted and never be allowed to be planted ever again, to never again be allowed to afflict the innocent, to dupe the needful to be the pawns of the like-kind cruel actors, never be allowed to denigrate and punish the decent. To never again cause harm to the people as sport or via abject reckless disregard for human life, nor cause critical harms by irrational disregard and rages against the very earth Herself.