Otto of Bavaria

Otto
King of Bavaria
Reign	13 June 1886 - 5 November 1913
Predecessor	Ludwig II
Successor	Ludwig III
House	House of Wittelsbach
Father	Maximilian II of Bavaria
Mother	Marie of Prussia
Born	27 April 1848(1848-04-27) The Residenz, Munich
Died	11 October 1916(1916-10-11) (aged 68) Schloss Fürstenried

Otto (German: Otto Wilhelm Luitpold Adalbert Waldemar von Wittelsbach; 27 April 1848 – 11 October 1916), 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. Otto of Bavaria is not to be confused with Otto of Greece, who was his uncle and godfather.

Biography

Prince Otto served in the Bavarian army from 1863. When King Wilhelm I of Prussia was proclaimed German Emperor on 18 January 1871 at the Palace of Versailles, Prince Otto represented his brother who refused to participate. Otto then criticized the celebration as ostentatious and heartless in a letter to Ludwig.

It is claimed Otto suffered from severe mental illness. He was declared insane in 1875. The cause of his illness has not been revealed. He was kept confined in Fürstenried Palace under medical supervision from 1875 until his death.

Otto became King of Bavaria upon his older brother's deposition and unexplained death in 1886. However, Otto never truly ruled as King and was by some accounts not even aware that he had become King. Otto's uncle, Prince Luitpold, served as Prince Regent for Otto until Luitpold's death. Luitpold's son Ludwig then became the next Prince Regent.

The constitution of Bavaria was amended on 4 November 1913, to include a clause specifying that if a regency for reasons of incapacity lasted for ten years with no expectation that the King would ever be able to reign, the Regent could proclaim the end of the regency and assume the crown himself.

Postcard photograph from 1916 of King Otto's body in repose.

The following day, Otto was deposed by his cousin, Prince Regent Ludwig, who then assumed the title Ludwig III. The parliament assented on 6 November, and Ludwig III took the constitutional oath on 8 November. Otto was permitted to retain his title and honours until his death in 1916. In this time Bavaria had "two kings".

Otto's remains were interred in the crypt of the Michaelskirche in Munich. Bavarian tradition called for the heart of the king to be placed in a silver urn and sent to the Gnadenkapelle (Chapel of the Miraculous Image) in Altötting, beside those of his brother, father and grandfather.

External links

• The King's photo

Ancestry

Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria

Ludwig I of Bavaria

Augusta Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt

Maximilian II of Bavaria

Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg

Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen

Duchess Charlotte Georgine of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

Otto of Bavaria

Frederick William II of Prussia

Wilhelm of Prussia

Frederika Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt

Marie of Prussia

Frederick V, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg

Landgravine Marie Anna of Hesse-Homburg

Caroline of Hesse-Darmstadt

Otto of Bavaria House of Wittelsbach Born: 27 April 1848 Died: 11 October 1916
Regnal titles
Preceded by Ludwig II	King of Bavaria 13 June 1886 – 5 November 1913	Succeeded by Ludwig III

Persondata
Name	Otto Of Bavaria
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	27 April 1848
Place of birth	The Residenz, Munich
Date of death	11 October 1916
Place of death	Schloss Fürstenried