54. Her Husband Faced A Firing Squad
On June 19, 1867, just over three years after Maximilian took on the job of Emperor of Mexico, the guards brought the monarch to the Cerro de las Campanas at the crack of dawn. Maximilian knew he had no more options left except to bravely face down the barrel of a gun. But just before he did that, he performed a final, heartbreaking act.
55. Her Emperor Had One Last Wish
When Maximilian met the men who were about to shoot him, he gave each of the soldiers a gold coin. This wasn’t just idle bribery; it had a much more gut-wrenching meaning. It was payment in advance for not shooting him in the face. Why? Because he wanted his mother Sophie to be able to recognize him when his body went back home.
And while this was somewhat of a snub to his wife Charlotte, there is one tear-jerking indication that he was thinking of her too.
56. Her Husband’s Last Thoughts Were Of Her
Some of Maximilian’s last words were, "I forgive everyone, and I ask everyone to forgive me”. But his very last words were even more tragic. Some witnesses say that after this public speech, Maximilian had a more personal lament. Just before the bullets rained down on him, he reportedly mumbled “Poor Charlotte”. And back in Europe, Charlotte did need all the thoughts and prayers she could get.
57. Her Family Told Her An Enormous Lie
After her beloved husband’s violent death, Charlotte’s doctors made a chilling decision: They didn’t tell her about it. They believed that her fragile mental health simply couldn’t withstand the tragedy, so she never knew that she was officially no longer an Empress. Sadly, though, Charlotte’s troubles were just beginning.
58. She Was A Princess In A Tower
At Miramare, Charlotte was in the care of her Austrian in-laws, but her blood relatives in Belgium had been desperate to get her back for weeks. In July of 1867, her brother’s wife, Queen Marie Henriette, arrived at the castle to finally take custody of the former Empress of Mexico. But when Charlotte emerged, she couldn’t believe her eyes.
59. Her Guards Treated Her Horribly
Charlotte had been under the “care” of her doctors and the Austrian armed guard for nearly a year, but this was the day that Queen Marie Henriette discovered the men had been horribly mistreating her. They had acted as if she was their prisoner for nine months, and Charlotte’s mental and physical state had taken another enormous nosedive in the meantime.
Now certain that Charlotte needed to get the heck out of Miramare, Queen Marie Henriette had to think fast—and play dirty.
60. Her Sister-In-Law Played A Trick On Her
While Charlotte’s minders simply avoided telling her about her dead husband, Marie Henriette now actively pretended he was alive. In order to get her back to Brussels without doling out the ugly truth, she sent Charlotte a fake telegram from “Maximilian”, telling her she should go back to live with her brother, now King Leopold II of Belgium.
Charlotte dutifully followed, but the damage was done.
Maximilian of Mexico(2014), Interspot Film
61. She Became A Ghost
For the long years that followed, Charlotte lived a kind of death in life. She actually described herself in letters as “dead”, and although she likely never found out about Maximilian’s fate, she did obsessively keep all of his surviving possessions, making a kind of shrine for him. During this time, she saw almost no one except her two sisters-in-law, Marie Henriette and the Countess of Flanders. It gets more tragic than this, too.
62. She Was Utterly Ignorant
Charlotte lived her days trapped in amber, consumed with small daily tasks and barely registering what was going on outside of the walls she lived in. In fact, no one even informed her of the death of her brother King Leopold II or the Countess of Flanders—partly because she never commented on their absences. Yet just when you thought Charlotte could fall no further, she did.
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63. She Experienced Bizarre Hallucinations
As time passed, Charlotte didn’t seem to get better; she only seemed to get worse. When the younger generation of her family would visit their aging aunt, they were struck by her rambling, vague soliloquies. On particularly bad days, she would speak in a host of languages to imaginary listeners. But she could also turn terrifying in the blink of an eye.
64. She Could Be Scarily Violent
As lucidity started to elude her permanently, Charlotte would often have violent outbursts and tantrums during her confused states. At these times, she would throw around her plates and tear up the books in her library. She even once tried to get her hounds to attack an unsatisfactory maid. Then, when these fits passed, she would calmly take back up whatever she was doing.
65. Her Presence Stopped Armies
Even in her later years, people still respected Charlotte for what she represented, if not for the tragic shell of herself that she had become. When fighting erupted during WWI near her home at Bouchout Castle, the German forces deliberately avoided entering the property because she was the widowed sister of the Austrian Emperor.
66. She May Have Had A Secret Love Child
There is a persistent rumor that although Charlotte had no children with Maximilian, she did have a secret love child with a Belgian officer. Apparently, she gave birth to a boy, Maxime Weygand, in 1867. Interestingly, Weygand’s parentage was always mysterious, and he also suspiciously refused to ever confirm or deny the rumors about his royal inheritance.
67. She Had A Twisted Family Tree
Nobles of the time loved intermarrying each other to strengthen their family lines, and Charlotte’s lineage was no different. Our girl was first cousins not only to Queen Victoria, but also to Victoria’s husband Prince Albert. Some of the maddest monarchs in history were the result of inbreeding, so maybe this had something to do with Charlotte’s sad fate.
68. Her Relationship With Her Father Was Creepy
Spoiled little Charlotte was her father’s absolute favorite child, but Leopold’s affections came with a side of creepy. He had actually named her “Charlotte” in memory of his first wife who had died in childbirth. Leopold still carried a flame for the elder Charlotte even into his second marriage, and his doting attentions on her probably had a lot to do with his lingering feelings.
69. Her Mental Illness Might Not Have Been An Accident
Charlotte’s terrifying and infamous mental breakdown has long puzzled historians. Though many attribute it to the emotional stress she was under, some experts have a more sinister explanation. According to them, her “madness” didn’t come on suddenly. Instead, it was carefully orchestrated and started long before she went back to Europe. This gets weirder.
70. Her Enemies Got A Vicious Revenge
According to this theory, the rebels of Mexico so hated Charlotte and Maximilian that they began poisoning Charlotte slowly over a period of months. Historian Joan Haslip claims that one of the royal doctors kept slipping bromide into her coffee. Meanwhile, other rumors from the time claimed incognito enemies put psychotropic substances in her food, causing her breakdown.
Maximilian of Mexico(2014), Interspot Film
71. She Stole From The House of God
Remember when Charlotte camped out at the Vatican? Well, before she left the Pope’s residence the next day, she performed one final bizarre act. She actually took a goblet from the Pope’s apartments. She then wandered around Rome with the cup, using it to capture water from fountains so she could drink without fear of spies poisoning her supply.
Please, I beg you: Just sit with that image for a second.
72. Her Last Word Was Chilling
In 1927, the end came for Charlotte at last. At 86 years old, she contracted pnemonia and influenza, and passed in her sleep. But the end was far from peaceful. There are several accounts of her last words, but many of them indicate that the former Empress's past still haunted her. According to one, she said “All that ended without being successful”.
Perhaps most chillingly, one attendant claimed her very last word was: “Mexico”.
