Welcome to the 1800s, a time when powdered wigs were a fashion trend and royals were acting like they were auditioning for a viral reality show. While the monarchy was busy projecting dignity and divine right, behind the palace curtains, it was often more drama than decorum.
Period scandals weren’t just whispered over tea — they made headlines, inspired political cartoons, and occasionally led to international awkwardness.
So buckle up your corset and prepare to clutch your pearls; here are the 5 funniest royal scandals of the 1800s that prove monarchy and mischief go hand in gloved hand.
1. The Mayerling Incident: Royals’ Romeo & Juliet
Ah, young love. Except in this case, it ended not with roses and poetry but with a scandal that almost ended the entire Austrian monarchy. Welcome to the Mayerling Incident — possibly the most dramatic double-death in royal scandal history.
In 1889, authorities discovered Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria, heir to the Habsburg throne, dead alongside 17-year-old Baroness Mary Vetsera. The official story? A tragic murder-suicide pact driven by forbidden love.
Rudolf had been depressed, disillusioned with monarchical life, and under immense pressure from his overbearing father, Emperor Franz Joseph. Throw in a romantic entanglement with a teenager who allegedly wrote goodbye letters to her friends like it was a teen drama finale, and boom — Mayerling.
The Habsburgs tried to hush it up, claiming “natural causes” before settling on the more poetic version. Historians still debate what really happened that night. Was it love? Despair?
Nevertheless, this was no Shakespearean romance. Just a sad, scandalous chapter where imperial pressure, forbidden love, and one ominous hunting lodge ended a dynasty’s brightest (and most unstable) hope.
2. When the King of Bavaria Fell in Love with an Exotic Dancer
King Ludwig I of Bavaria had a soft spot for art, poetry, and… exotic dancers with a fake Spanish accent. Enter Lola Montez, an Irish performer who styled herself as a Spanish countess. Their affair rocked the Bavarian monarchy and nearly brought down the government.
Lola was no ordinary dancer; she was fire and chaos wrapped in a corset. Ludwig met her in 1846 and was instantly enchanted. He modified his will to include Lola, arranged regular payments for her, and gave her a luxurious home which he frequently visited.
The public was, of course, not amused by this unnecessary display of lavishness. Riots broke out. University students protested. And Bavaria’s politics started to melt faster than a candle at one of Lola’s shows.
Ludwig refused to give her up, though. He requested that his ministers grant her Bavarian citizenship in 1847. In a surprising twist of events, they all refused and resigned as a sign of protest.
Finally, as unrest grew among the masses and political pressure mounted from his own family, King Ludwig I signed a proclamation converting the Bavarian monarchy into a constitutional one. Refusing to lead this way, he later abdicated his throne.
Lola, on the other hand, fled to Switzerland, where she lived an opulent life thanks to the riches she got from the former king. Eventually, she ended up in the United States, where she reinvented herself several more times.
3. Prince George’s Debts and Illegal Marriage
Before he became King George IV, Prince George was basically a Regency-era version of a frat boy with a crown. He racked up enormous debts on horses, cards, and excessively embroidered jackets.
Unlike his modest father (yes, “Farmer George” from the Netflix series Queen Charlotte), Prince George embraced a lavish lifestyle. While many of his subjects lived in poverty, he indulged in extravagance.
At 21, he moved into Carlton House, funded by a £60,000 grant (equivalent to £9,124,000 today) from Parliament and a £50,000 income (equivalent to £7,603,000 today) from the King, marking the start of a wildly excessive era.
The Prince spent mindlessly, pouring a third of his wealth into his stables and living as if money were limitless. He hosted lavish parties, gambled heavily, and entertained numerous women.
His reckless behavior horrified his father, while opportunists flocked around him, eager to please him but also using him to boost their own power.
He also managed to secretly marry a twice-widowed Roman Catholic woman, Maria Fitzherbert, which was a huge no-no at the time. The 1701 Act of Settlement barred heirs from being crowned if they married a Roman Catholic, and the 1772 Royal Marriages Act required the King’s consent for any royal marriage.
But Prinny (Prince George’s nickname, an informal version of his title, the Prince of Wales) wasn’t one to let laws stop him—he ignored both without hesitation.
Legally, the marriage was void since the King’s consent was not granted (it was never requested in the first place!), but Maria believed that she was the King’s true and canonical wife.
Because of his enormous debts, Prince George later had to deny the marriage ever happened to gain the support of the parliamentary who vowed to relieve his debts.
For political reasons, he was forced to marry his cousin Caroline of Brunswick. Their marriage was chaos and scandal in itself, but that’s another story we’ll have to explore some time later.
TLDR version of this King’s misadventures: a secret wife, legal scandal, bad public marriage, and a tendency to overspend on velvet.
Not exactly the Crown’s finest financial planner.
A Final Bow from the 1800s’ Messiest Royals
It turns out that royal scandals aren’t a modern invention. Even in the 1800s, behind the grandeur of palaces and the polish of portraits, royals were royally messy. From impulsive romances to crippling debts, the monarchy has always had its fair share of oops moments.
But that’s what makes history so fascinating.
The people we place on pedestals often trip on their own robes. These stories remind us that power and perfection rarely go hand in hand.
Plus, don’t you just love it when history is served with a side of tea on a chill, rainy afternoon?
SOURCES:
https://www.historyexpose.com/people/10-historys-most-infamous-royal-scandals
https://www.madamegilflurt.com/2013/08/notable-birthdays-king-george-iv.html
