He was born in Munich and was the eldest son of the Crown Prince of Bavaria (later King Ludwig I) and his wife Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen.

As crown prince, in the chateau of Hohenschwangau near Füssen, which he had rebuilt, he gathered about him an intimate society of artists and men of learning and devoted his time to scientific and historical study.

Though from 1850 onwards his government tended in the direction of absolute monarchy,[1] King Maximilian steered a moderate course between the extremes of classical liberalism, Prussian-inspired Pan-Germanism, and the so-called "Ultramontanes".

In his attempts to transform Bavaria into a centre of culture, education, and the arts, he enraged conservative Catholics and Protestants by inviting a number of celebrated men of learning (such as Geibel, Liebig, Heyse and Sybel) to Munich, regardless of their religious views.

[1] In the aftermath of the failure of the Frankfurt Assembly, Prussia and Austria continued to debate which monarchy had the inherent right to rule Germany.

[1] During the cold warfare between Austria and Prussia, King Maximilian and his ministers favoured the former, which was a policy enthusiastically supported by the Catholics and the Protestants of the Bavarian Kingdom.

In government policy, the King repeatedly requested the advice of his ministers and scholarly experts before making a decision, which led to long delays.

Hans Christian Andersen visited "King Max" (as he called him) in his castle Starnberg, and wrote of him as a young, highly amiable man.

The King, having read his novels and fairy tales, let Andersen know that he was deeply impressed by The Improvisatore, En Digters Bazar, The Little Mermaid and Paradisets Have.

In 1849 King Maximilian II instructed the architect Eduard Riedel to redesign Berg Castle in neo-gothic style with several towers and a crenellate.

While king, Maximilian was hampered by constant ill health which often compelled him to travel abroad and, when at home, to live much of the time in the countryside.