Madness, Mystery of Bavaria’s Ludwig Revisited at Island Palace

Bavaria’s King Ludwig II, the subject of a new exhibition at one of his magnificent palaces, was in many ways the Michael Jackson of his day.

He created parallel fantasy worlds like Neuschwanstein, the inspiration for Walt Disney’s fairytale castle, today visited by more than 1 million people a year. It was just one of Ludwig’s Neverlands. Cocooned in lonely opulence, he grew ever more reclusive, as though afraid of becoming soiled by the real world. If oxygen tents had been available in the 19th century, he might well have acquired one.