British monarchs have tended to die from violence or ill health. King Richard I was shot down with a crossbow while leading his men in attacking a castle, and Queen Anne died from a series of strokes. Some, however, have died in rather more unusual, mysterious, and downright gruesome ways.
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Here we look at eight of the weirdest deaths of British monarchs from the past thousand years.
1. Coup in the Loo – Edmund: Reign 1016
Edmund Ironside reigned as King of England for just over seven months before he was murdered...apparently on the toilet.
More sober analyses of Edmund’s death concluded that he was probably killed in battle or died from disease, but 12th-century chronicler, Henry of Huntingdon, related a much different version of events.
According to Henry, King Edmund was sitting on the toilet, in the middle of doing his business, when an assassin burst in and stabbed the young royal to death. Another historian gave a similar explanation but cited the murder weapon as a crossbow.
2. Friendly Fire – William II: Reign 1087-1100
According to 13th-century chronicler Matthew Paris, William II was killed in a bout of friendly fire. Paris says that one day the king was out hunting with Walter Tyrel, a knight. Creeping through the woods, the pair suddenly saw a stag amble up to them. The king bellowed to Tyrel, ‘Shoot, damn you!’ The knight hurriedly loosed an arrow, which apparently bounced off a tree and hit the king right in the heart, killing him instantly.
More recent historical analysis however has suggested that the king might have been murdered, although nobody really knows.
3. Plenty of Fish - Henry I: Reign 1100-1135
Lampreys are weird-looking creatures – jawless, eel-like fish with toothy suckers for mouths. For some reason, 12th-century English king Henry I loved eating them.
Henry’s doctors had warned him of the effect his insatiable appetite for lampreys was having on his health, but the king ignored the physicians. One night, according to Matthew Paris, the king ‘ate voraciously of a lamprey’ and died.
Another chronicler wrote that this excessive feast led to an acute fever that the king could not withstand. It may have been a toxin from the lampreys, as the man who extracted the king’s brain after his death was reported to have become ill immediately and died a painful death a few days later.