You have to remember, that not all that long ago, disabilities, especcially mental disabilities were not understood nor treated as well as they are. Even here in the U.S., there are some presidential examples of that. President Franklin Delano Rosevelt spent his presidency hiding his lameness, which resulted from a bout with adult polio, for fear that it would be construed as weakness. And President John F. Kennedy's sister Rosalyn Kennedy was born with mental disabilities, then her family had her undergo a lobotomy as they thought it would 'cure' her. It didn't, of course, and actually made her worse. She was sent away, and lived in a special nursing facility (in Michigan, I think?) where she spent the rest of her life, until she died a few years ago. Even recently, I had a family friend when I was younger who's son was mentally handicapped, and the people at the school he went to assumed that he came from an unhappy and unhealthy home.
Royals who were handicapped, particularly mentally handicapped, if they were in position to inherit, were often forced to abdicate. I remember a British prince who was forced to abdicate (this was a long time ago, a very long time ago, and I don't remember who)
Several other royals, some hundreds of years ago, had gout. Henry VIII had gout, and so did many others, to the point where they often had difficulty walking, due to their bad diets.[/quote
First of all, Jack Kennedy's sister's name was Rosemary. Secondly, the lobotomy was performed, because her father, Joseph Kennedy, thought that this would keep her from becoming sexually active. He did this without his wife's or other children knowledge. They never forgave him. Crown Princess Victoria suffers from prosopagnosia, "face blindess". She can see perfectly well, but, she cannot recognize faces. This, especially, in her position is a great disability.
I find your question interesting.
