Otto of Bavaria

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Otto I of Bavaria (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 since 1863. When King Wilhelm I of Prussia was proclaimed German Emperor on January 18, 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.

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. 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 until his death. Otto's uncle, Prince Luitpold of Bavaria, 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.

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.

Otto's remains were interred in the crypt of the Michaelskirche in Munich.

External links

• The King's photo

Ancestry

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Last updated on Thursday February 21, 2008 at 18:45:04 PST (GMT -0800)
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