Ludwig II and the young actor Josef Kainz (left in the photo)
Ludwig II of Bavaria he never showed any interest in the female sex and also the chat friendship with the beautiful Sissi, cousin of him, it was nothing more than a platonic bond between two similar souls (https://www.pilloledistoria.it/10235/storia-contemporanea/sissi-ludwig-ii-furono-amanti).
The king loved men , but he always lived his own homosexuality with great suffering, both for reasons of character and for the objective difficulties that such a condition entailed at that time.
Most historians and biographers of the king believe that this repressed sexuality contributed greatly to exacerbate the natural frailties of a man who is perpetually torn between the temptation to give free rein to his erotic drives and the fear of the judgment of others, in a period in which to be gay it was tantamount to putting on a label of infamy and contempt that was difficult to bear.
However, not even Ludwig could change his disposition and so, despite his efforts to restrain himself, the bizarre monarch always ended up making a ruthless court, to the sound of expensive gifts and attentions that left no room for doubt, to the men of his entourage. , then grooms, waiters, guardians and servants.
In the vast majority of cases they were ambitious young people, who had everything to gain from a relationship with the monarch, so they hardly retreated, but then, inevitably, sooner or later, they were forced to deal with his fickleness, seeing themselves replaced overnight without much ado.
Sometimes Ludwig really fell in love though, and in this case the lucky one found himself immersed in that fairytale world, made up of enchanted castles and dreamlike atmospheres, which the king chased and tried to achieve all his life, draining the finances of the state.; one of his most famous passions was that for Joseph Kainz , Hungarian theater actor among the most popular of his time.