I don’t think that anyone will be surprised when I say that the only ghosts that I am really interested in are royal ghosts. (I mean, I don’t want to see or meet any, but if I have, queens and princesses all the way…) If you have ever visited Hampton Court Palace or the Tower of London, you have definitely heard about some of these. So for Halloween-week, I’ve got you covered with some of my top 10 royal ghost stories from across time and geography!
Queen Katherine Howard- Hampton Court Palace
I’ve got a whole History Bite on Katherine Howard’s ghost, but this list wouldn’t be complete without her. Legend has it, she bolted past the guards out of her apartments at Hampton Court Palace (after being locked up for treason and adultery) to try and find Henry to plead her case. Unfortunately, the guards caught her and dragged her back. Her ghost apparently haunts the gallery at Hampton where she made her escape attempt. (And her fellow Henrician queen, Jane Seymour, also might haunt Hampton- she died from childbirth complications there.)
Tsar Paul I- Saint Michael’s Castle
You might not know Tsar Paul I, but he was the (supposed) son of Catherine the Great and her husband, Tsar Peter III. (He was most likely the son of Sergei Saltykov.) As one might imagine in a family like that, Paul lived in his mother’s shadow for his entire life. And that included after her death. He ascended the throne in 1796 upon his mother’s death, and had a fairly rough reign.
Most of Paul’s actions were to reverse or change his mother’s policies. While in theory, some of them may not have been terrible, you don’t endear yourself to the army and aristocracy whose support you need. He was assassinated in 1804 at Saint Michael’s Castle, by several military members, and his son and successor had essentially okayed the overthrow. Paul’s ghost apparently walks the corridors at Saint Michael’s in St. Petersburg at night, and his portrait there will move on its own.
Queen Anne Boleyn- The Tower of London
I make no secret of the fact that I don’t love Anne Boleyn- I think she steals attention from a lot of other important figures from the Tudor period when there isn’t that much available in terms of new sources. However, you can’t have a list of royal ghost stories without including Anne.
After being found guilty of witchcraft and incest, she was imprisoned at the Tower of London, and then executed. (And given the “privilege” of seeing her brother and friends executed before her.) Anne’s ghost is said to frequent the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula at the Tower, where her body and head were buried in a short chest under the altar.
Queen Marie Antoinette- Petit Trianon
This is an interesting ghost story that generated a lot of interest at the time. Known as the Moberly- Jourdain Incident, in the early twentieth century, two English women were visiting Versailles and became lost. They found themselves at the Petit Trianon (Marie Antoinette’s quasi-pastoral escape), and saw a woman dressed oddly, sketching the palace. They believed that she was the ghost of the doomed French queen. (The pair also believed that they met a few other ghosts on the grounds.)
Many people were skeptical of their story, and to this day, historians question them. (I personally think that even in the early 1900s, it would have been very possible to see historical re-enactors…)
King Henry VIII- Windsor Castle
Another mainstay of really any royal lists, Henry VIII. Windsor Castle is close to a thousand years old, so it really isn’t surprising that you would find a few ghosts there. Henry’s ghost has been seen wandering the hallways of Windsor Castle, and also dragging his feet and moaning as he goes. Interestingly, I feel like his ghost perhaps doesn’t understand that that was most people’s reaction to him, but I suppose he wasn’t going to gain self-awareness as a ghost…
King Ludwig II
You will notice that there isn’t a place associated with Ludwig’s ghost- more on that in a bit. King Ludwig II of Bavaria was also known as the Swan King. Responsible for building Neuschwanstein, aka “the Cinderella castle”, he was obsessed with Wagner, opera, and designing and building elaborate palaces. Like his cousin, Empress Elisabeth of Austria- aka Sisi- he suffered from serious mental health issues, and died under very suspicious circumstances in a lake. (The official report cited suicide, but there is a lot of evidence to show otherwise.)
According to one of the women of the Austrian court, Sisi had said that Ludwig’s ghost had visited her several times. The cousins were close, and Ludwig’s ghost apparently warned Sisi of misfortunes. Unfortuately, Sisi’s life ended pretty terribly also- her son committed suicide (the Mayerling tragedy) and she was assassinated by an anarchist.
Queen Victoria- Windsor Castle Grounds
Unsurprisingly, there is also a Queen Victoria appearance on this list. (Someone that stubborn in life is surely going to be fairly stubborn in death, no?) During Edward VIII’s brief reign, Wallis Simpson attempted to make some changes at Windsor. And those changes included ordering trees to be cut down, trees planted under Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s tenure at Windsor. The story goes that Queen Victoria’s ghost wailed and flailed at the workers attempting to cut the tree down, and they gave up on the task.
King Frederik II- Svaneholm Castle
Svaneholm Castle is a fortified castle in Southern Sweden. And although it is in Sweden, it is reportedly haunted by a Danish royal. King Frederick II of Denmark, a sixteenth century king, walks the corridors of the castle looking for his long lost love. Unfortunately, her ghost is not at the castle, so he continues to walk and look for her.
Lord Darnley- Palace of Holyroodhouse
Lord Darnley, an eternally hated and mysterious figure. The second husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, he was hated and used by both Catholic and Protestant nobles in Scotland, most definitely had syphilis but probably also other STIs, and was murdered in Kirk o’Field in 1567. The mystery of who was behind his murder has not been solved (and probably won’t be).
Although Darnley was not murdered at Holyrood, his ghost has been seen haunting his apartments at the official Scottish residence of the monarch. Most people were annoyed by him in his life, so I’d imagine his ghost is much the same.
King George II- Kensington Palace
The early Georgians aren’t really “popular” monarchs these days; though they are fascinating, you don’t often hear people discussing them. Nevertheless, George II has stuck around for several centuries to make his mark.
Kensington Palace was the hub of the late Stuart and early Georgian Court, and that included George II. By the end of George’s life, Britain was still in the middle of the Seven Years War and he was still waiting for news from his troops. His ghost is said to be seen in Apartment 1A of Kensington Palace- home to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge- continually asking “why won’t they come”.
What are your favourite royal ghost stories?
Cheers,
The Historian
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I find British history so fascinating , especially the Tudor and the Stuart periods.