Educated at Uppsala University, Montpelier and Paris, where he was a student of Charcot, Munthe graduated as an M.D in 1880. His acquaintance with Charcot led to his interest in neurology. Following his graduation, he opened a medical practice in Paris. He travelled to Naples in 1881 to advise on a cholera epidemic there. He moved to Capri in 1887 and purchased the Villa San Michele. He spent the next three years restoring it. In 1892, he was appointed physician to the Swedish royal family. He became the constant physician to Princess Victoria, later to become Queen consort, and continued serving her until her death in 1930. During the First World War, Munthe became a British citizen and served in the ambulance corps. When his eyesight began to fail, he returned to Sweden for a umber of years. His eyesight was restored after a successful operation and he returned to San Michele for several years before returning to Sweden in 1942. For the rest of his life he was the official guest of the King of Sweden. His most famous work was The Story of San Michele, said to be semi-autobiographical. His other works include Letters From a Mourning City (1885), Vagaries (1898) and Red Cross, Iron Cross (1916). |
