he was the son of a greedy marquees, who only wanted him to marry the queen for power. against his mothers rules, he had fallen in love with someone else of lower status. this, didn't end very well. the story is a blur, and all of his past friends, now murders and madmen, have told the story.
in the end, the person he loved had been martyred, and so he compromised with his mother as a way to gain power and kill the man who murdered them. this vengeance spree would take a toll on him, and make him immune to thoughts of pity.
overtime, he had become infamous for his actions. locking up everyone and everything that protested against him and his court.