Poor king, he wanted to protect his wife and daughter from political machinations by having them confined in a cell until his power as ruler was more concrete, but it ended up as his biggest mistake and ever since that day it has weighted heavy on his consciousness.
And he fears that with his death the battle for the throne will go out of hand and his sons will start a battle that neither will get out unscathed from.
But I believe Elise will be the saving grace and end up stopping it all before it gets out of hand.