Crown Prince Friedrich was friendly and straightforward in manner, and he made a favourable impression on the Bavarians. It is, however, known beyond a doubt that he repaid the King’s jealousy with contempt. To those with whom he was on terms of confidence he called Ludwig “Le roi fainéant.” He was of a lively nature, and he did not always weigh his words. After a journey of inspection he said to some Bavarian officers who had assembled in order to bid him farewell: “In ten years’ time you will belong entirely to us.” This utterance was repeated to the King, who was exceedingly annoyed at it. His Minister at the Prussian court received instructions to request an explanation from the Crown Prince. Friedrich made answer that he had only referred to the military alliance; but Ludwig was not satisfied with this reply.
At the beginning of the seventies the German Crown Prince and his wife desired, for reasons of health, to spend the summer at Berchtesgaden. The King hastened to put hindrances in the way of the contemplated visit, giving as an excuse for not receiving them, that his villa there was to be used as a residence for his insane brother Otto. A lady of the German aristocracy who owned a house at Berchtesgaden offered the Crown Prince hers. Ludwig now suddenly changed his mind. The following characteristic letter shows that for the moment he regretted his want of friendliness:—
“My dear Friend,
“I see from your kind letter that you have already decided to make use of the house offered you by Fräulein von Waldenburg. I am really very sorry for this; the more so that Otto, according to the doctors’ orders, is to continue his cure at Nymphenburg, and my villa at Berchtesgaden would therefore, dear cousin, have been entirely at the disposal of yourself and your family.
“I cherish the hope that the stay in the strong mountain air will give the Crown Princess and your children pleasure and strength.
“I conclude with the wish that you may all like beautiful Berchtesgaden. Praying that you will kiss the hand of the Crown Princess for me, I remain in old friendship,
“Your faithful affectionate cousin,
“Ludwig.”
When Friedrich came to Munich in later years he always stayed there incognito. He visited the art and industrial museums, and received some of his old companions-in-arms; but he never visited the King, nor did the King ever seek him. The antipathy grew on both sides. Unfortunately, Ludwig was at no pains to conceal his feelings; he spoke often and unreservedly of his bitterness towards this member of the Prussian Imperial House. His entourage did not look upon it as a duty to preserve silence with regard to what they had heard. The King’s words sometimes journeyed viâ Vienna to Berlin, and the effect made itself felt in due course. It was in 1874, at the railway station at Munich, that he greeted the Emperor Wilhelm for the last time. After this date the “victorious old man” also travelled incognito through Bavaria when he visited Gastein in the summers.