We have enjoyed previous visits from Tim. This talk took us back in time to discover three monarchs who for one reason or another were unfit to rule. He made the point that unlike a family business, where the most suitable off-spring can inherit the role of CEO, with royalty, the crown passes to the first born, regardless of their capabilities. 

Tim kicked off with Edward VIII. Everyone, from the Archbishop of Canterbury to Stanley Baldwin the prime minister down, was desperate to be rid of him. In the moments before he died, his father, King George V, made an eerily accurate prophecy for his son and future king: “After I am dead, the boy will ruin himself in 12 months”.He was King for 325 days between January and December 1936 when he abdicated, passing the throne to his brother George VI. 

We time travelled with Tim to 1307 and Edward II. He described him as being extravagant, given to drinking, gambling and already under the spell of his Gascon favourite Piers Gaveston. He had inherited his father’s crown as the eldest surviving son, whether he liked it or not.  Unlike his father’s insatiable need to crush the Scots, Edward’s only foray into the north ended with a decisive battle at Bannockburn in 1314, with Robert the Bruce the victor (for more refer to the song‘Flower of Scotland!’). Tim entertained us with other fascinating facts telling us about Edward’s marriage to Isabella of France in 1308. It was Gaveston who was bedecked in the jewellery Isabella should have worn and who spent the wedding night with Edward. Tim did suggest that maybe Edward respected the fact that Isabella was only 12 years old – who knows? After a series of exiles, including Gaveston and Edward scuttling off to Scarborough with a load of treasure, Gaveston was executed in 1312 leaving Edward heart broken. Hence the Plantagenet quote ‘A wise man learns more from his enemies than a fool from his friends.’  In 1312 along came Hugh de Spenser. Tim painted him as an ambitious, manipulative man. Edward showered him with gifts and titles, eating up the resources and the patience of the other nobles. This disastrous friendship cost Edward both his crown and his life. His wife Isabella and Roger Mortimer seized the crown in the name of Edward’s son, the future Edward III. By 1326, less than 20 years after ascending to the throne, Edward II was removed from power and de Spenser was executed in a most brutal way. Poor Edward II’s nature meant he was doomed to fail.  

Tim then introduced us to Ludwig II King of Bavaria, also called the Swan King. As a child his father’s advisers had suggested that on his daily walks he might like to be accompanied by Ludwig. The King replied, "But what am I to say to him?".  Ludwig referred to his mother as "my predecessor's consort". As Tim said, ‘So not a close family’. But Ludwig was a dreamer who loved beautiful things around him, including his servants. If one was judged not attractive, they were replaced.  But his desire for beauty saw the construction of lavish palaces, Neuschwanstein Castle (used in the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), Linderhof Palace, and Herrenchiemsee. He was a devoted patron of the composer Richard Wagner and wept through ‘The Ring Cycle’. Tim emphasised that Ludwig was popular amongst the citizens of Bavaria. He loved chatting with farmers and labourers and rewarded those who were hospitable to him during his travels with lavish gifts. Ludwig had a lifelong friendship with his cousin, Duchess Elisabeth of Bavaria, and became engaged to her youngest sister Duchess Sophie Charlotte in 1867, as it was vital he produced an heir. But he repeatedly postponed the wedding date and finally cancelled the engagement. He never married. Ludwig was finally deposed in 1886, and he and his doctor were found dead on the following day. Tim revealed that the circumstances of both deaths were highly suspicious. Today the very castles that were causing the king's financial ruin have become extremely profitable tourist attractions for the Bavarian state and have paid for themselves many times over, attracting millions of tourists to Germany each year. Tim’s fascinating story telling showed how three kings were entirely unsuited to their role either through self-centredness and arrogance like Edward VIII, to serious lack of judgement in picking friends like Edward II and just being odd like Ludwig II who would leave his castle by climbing out of the window instead of walking out of the door!