Lola Montez (pictured) was the mistress of which European monarch?

Lola Montez (born Eliza Rosanna Gilbert, 1821-1861) was a dancer and courtesan who was the mistress of King Ludwig I of Bavaria, then an independent country, now part of Germany.

She came from a well-off Anglo-Irish family, and her grandfather was a Member of Parliament. She was born in Ireland (it was originally thought to be in Limerick, but later research proved it to be in Connacht), but was baptised in Liverpool, in North West England. Soon afterwards, the family departed for India, where her mother was widowed, and rapidly remarried. The young Eliza gained a reputation for being headstrong and something of an exhibitionist, and a brief spell at a boarding school in Bath apparently did little to change her.

She eloped with an army officer when she was only 16, and after their separation she re-invented herself as Lola Montez, an exotic dancer, and moved to Europe. She attracted the attentions of King Ludwig 1 (1786-1868) and became his mistress. Although he had hitherto been a popular monarch, this led to his abdication. This, in turn, led to the reign of his grandson, Ludwig II, known variously as the mad king and the fairy tale king, who was responsible for building the castles of Neuschwanstein, Linderhof, and Herrenchiemsee, and the patron of Richard Wagner.