Court Won't Rule on Mad King's Sex Life

Was Bavarian King Ludwig II, the "Fairy Tale King" responsible for such kitschy creations as the castle Neuschwanstein, queer? This question, which tortures some Bavarians, won't be settled by a Bavarian district court. The court was faced with a case brought by one of the descendants of Ludwig's stable master. The great grandson of the stable master had discovered while reading from a local history book an allusion to a possible hanky-panky between his great grandfather and the king, who died in 1886. The controversial lines refer to King Ludwig II having called the count by the pet name "Lolus," a reference to the mistress of his grandfather Ludwig I, Lola Montez. The plaintiff claimed that these lines had damaged the reputation of his great grandfather and demanded a retribution payment of 250,000 euros ($301,265). Rather than getting into the nitty-gritty of Ludwig's sexual orientation, the court assisted the two parties to come to a settlement. Part of the agreement stipulates that a note be added to the book which makes clear that the great grandson of the stable master does not agree with the portrayal in the book.