When Edward I of England was coming back from the ninth crusade in 1272, he learned that his father had died and that he had been made king of England. Instead of returning home to be crowned, Edward went on a leisurely trip in Italy and France for almost two years and only came back in 1274.
kings
The “glass delusion” is a psychiatric disorder, recorded in the late…
The “glass delusion” is a psychiatric disorder, recorded in the late Middle Ages in which the sufferers believed themselves to be made out of glass and likely to shatter into pieces. One famous early sufferer was King Charles VI of France who refused to allow others to touch him and wore protective clothing to prevent himself from “shattering”. To maintain a perfectly serene environment he required all the windows in his palace to remain shut and that anyone who approached him to do so on tip-toe.
King Otto of Bavaria – who ‘ruled’ from 1886 to 1913, and was quite mad…
King Otto of Bavaria – who ‘ruled’ from 1886 to 1913, and was quite mad – exercised his right to shoot one peasant every day. Luckily for Bavaria’s peasants, his attendants gave him pistols loaded with blanks and dressed up as peasants, playing dead whenever he ‘shot’ them.
The King George III was known as “Farmer George” for his love of nature…
The King George III was known as “Farmer George” for his love of nature and agriculture. He began ignoring the laws of nature and attempted to plant a steak, perhaps hoping to create a new species of meat-producing tree.
When the current King of Thailand was born in Cambridge…
When the current King of Thailand was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the hospital room in which he was born was declared Thai territory for the duration of the birth so that he could be born on Thai soil.
Future King Henry V was struck in the face by an arrow…
Future King Henry V was struck in the face by an arrow in his first battle leading soldiers. Rather than leave the field, he reportedly stated that “he would rather die than stain his soldierly reputation by flight.” He was sixteen at the time.
After French soldier Jean Bernadotte sho …
After French soldier Jean Bernadotte showed kindness to a few Swedish soldiers, he became so popular in Sweden that the Swedes decided to make him their king when a vacancy came up, despite him never having set foot in Sweden before. The House of Bernadotte rules Sweden to this day.
The body of Richard III, infamous king o …
The body of Richard III, infamous king of England, was lost for over 500 years before being found beneath a parking lot in 2012.
When legendary African King Shaka Zulu’ …
When legendary African King Shaka Zulu‘s mother died, He ordered no crops could be planted for the year, Pregnant women were to be killed, no milk was to be drank, and then slaughtered 7000 people who were insufficiently grief stricken. The killing was not restricted to humans: cows were slaughtered so that their calves would know what losing a mother felt like.
King George V’s physician gave the dyin …
King George V’s physician gave the dying king a lethal dosage of morphine and cocaine to hasten his death so that it could be announced in the morning edition of The Times rather than “less appropriate evening journals”.