Saw this picture of the two Hohenzollern sisters in the
thread about Grand Duke Ludwig IV's parents. (note: Queen of Bavaria is the younger sister)
Princess Elisabeth was able to visit her sister in Bavaria with her Hessian children more often since she wasn't the Grand Duchess of Hesse herself. The Grand Duchess of Hesse at that time was born
Princess Mathilde of Bavaria and the eldest sister of Kings Ludwig II and Otto's father. Here is a picture taken of her in Munich
Haven't read anything about Grand Ludwig IV's relationship with his Bavarian cousins beyond his once attended the last performance of one of Richard Wagner's operas with just five other people including himself and King Ludwig II. Would be interested in any anecdotes. His younger brother Wilhelm and King Ludwig II were quite friendly and they were born in 1845. Here is a picture of Ludwig II and Prince Otto of Bavaria (standing) with Prince Wilhelm of Hesse (sitting on the leftside). Taken 1863 in Munich.
Also much is made is made of intensely close friendship between King Ludwig II of Bavaria aka the Mad King and Empress Elisabeth of Austrian aka Sisi. Sisi was the granddaughter of King Maximilian I of Bavaria by his second marriage and King Ludwig II was his great-grandson by his first marriage. Of couse being European Royals, they had many more ancestors in common. But actually his relationship with Sisi only developed in his adulthood and as a child and young man, Ludwig II was very, very close with his first cousin,
Princess Anna of Hesse. They corresponded quite frequently and he was very open in those letters. Anna married the widowed Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin before dying in 1865 which was right about the time that Luwig II started up with his more famous friendship with Sisi. Her stepdaughter was
Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna, matriarch of the
Vladimirovitchi branch.
QUOTE from Christopher McIntosh's "The Swan King"
"As for his relationships with women, these were of the confiding rather than the amorous kind, as they tended to be throughout his life. Apart from his old governess, his main confidante during his adolescence was his cousin, Anna von Hessen-Darmstadt, daughter of his maternal aunt and sister-in-law to Queen Victoria's daughter, Alice, who was married to Prince Louis of Hessen-Darmstadt. In his letters to Anna, two years his senior, Ludwig revealed much about his inner life, his joys, his worries and his friendships."Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin's picture
