The Tudor dynasty, which ruled England for just over a century, produced five monarchs who rank among the most infamous and provocative sovereigns in history. In this era of opulence, hardship, intrigue, and war, death was a constant companion—especially at the hands of the merciless King Henry VIII. Here we spotlight the ten influential women whose lives were cut short by execution, yet whose legacies endure.

Why These 10 Influential Women Matter

Each of these women—whether saint, prophet, noble, or queen—challenged the expectations of their time, often paying the ultimate price. Their stories illuminate the perilous intersection of gender, power, and faith in Tudor England.

10 Margaret Ward

The early chapters of Margaret Ward’s life remain shrouded in mystery, with scant records about her upbringing. What historians do know is that she hailed from Congleton, Cheshire, and later entered the service of a London lady named Whitall.

Ward learned that a priest named Richard Watson was being held captive, starved, and mistreated at Bridewell Prison—a former palace turned into a facility for punishing the unruly and sheltering homeless children in London.

When Watson was transferred to a larger cell, Ward devised a daring rescue plan. She arranged a boat to ferry the priest to safety and smuggled a rope so he could lower himself from the prison walls to the ground.

The scheme was foiled, leading to Ward’s arrest and interrogation under torture. At her trial eight days later, she bravely proclaimed on record that she never regretted “delivering that innocent man from the hands of those bloody wolves.”

A devout Catholic, Ward was offered a choice: attend Anglican services and beg Queen Elizabeth I for a pardon, or face the noose. She refused to beg and was executed on August 30, 1588. Later canonized on October 25, 1970, she is remembered as Saint Margaret Ward.

9 Elizabeth Barton

Born in 1506, Elizabeth Barton suffered from epilepsy during her youth. While serving as a teenage maid in the household of Thomas Cobb, overseer of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s estate, she experienced a severe illness that triggered prolonged “trances” lasting days, during which she delivered prophetic utterances that were interpreted as divine messages.

Following her recovery, pilgrims began to flock to her, and she used her newfound fame to fabricate additional prophecies, even claiming a direct line to the Virgin Mary. The Archbishop grew suspicious and launched an investigation.

The prophecy that sealed her fate concerned King Henry VIII. Supposedly, she warned that he “should no longer be king of this realm … and should die a villain’s death” should he divorce his current wife, Catherine of Aragon.

During questioning, Barton confessed to treason and was later sentenced to death. She, along with her allies, was executed by hanging at Tyburn’s gallows on April 20, 1534.

8 Lady Jane Grey

At the tender age of ten, Jane Grey entered the household of Katherine Parr, the final wife of Henry VIII. There, she was raised with a staunch Protestant upbringing, which deepened as she grew older.

Jane’s exposure to court life truly began when her father was elevated to Duke of Suffolk in 1551. It was then that the Duke of Northumberland acted as regent for the ailing King Edward VI, who was too young to rule.

As Edward’s health declined, Northumberland sought to sideline Henry’s daughters—Catholic Mary I and the Protestant half‑sister Elizabeth—by positioning Jane as the next heir. He persuaded the king to deem his sisters illegitimate, and after Edward’s death, Jane was proclaimed queen.

Her reign, however, lasted a mere nine days before Mary rallied support, reclaimed the throne, and ordered the execution of Jane, her husband, and her father. Jane and her husband were beheaded in 1554.

7 Jane Boleyn

In 1524, the well‑groomed and affluent Jane Parker married into the infamous Boleyn family. Contemporary accounts suggest that her marriage to George Boleyn began to crumble shortly after the wedding, owing to his reputed promiscuity and alleged homosexual liaisons.

Complicating matters, Jane is believed to have been jealous of George’s sister, Anne Boleyn. She played a pivotal role in the downfall of both her husband and Anne, the future queen.

Although Jane had previously schemed against court figures, she waited eleven years before striking against her husband. She testified that George and Queen Anne had an incestuous relationship and implied George fathered a child that Anne miscarried.

Years later, Jane found herself entangled in another marital scandal involving King Henry VIII and Anne of Cleves. Their marriage was annulled, in part, thanks to Jane’s testimony that the union had never been consummated.

Jane’s ultimate demise came after she facilitated secret meetings between Queen Catherine Howard and her lover, Thomas Culpepper. For this, she was imprisoned, interrogated for months, suffered a mental breakdown, was declared insane, and finally beheaded at the Tower of London on February 13, 1542.

6 Anne Askew

Anne Askew was a rebel with a cause who refused to change her surname when forced into marriage at fifteen. An avid reader of the Bible—an act declared illegal by King Henry VIII for women and low‑ranking men—she persisted despite criticism and opposition.

After divorcing her husband, who protested her rebellious spirit, Anne moved to London, where she forged friendships with influential individuals while attracting the suspicion of enemies, including Lord Chancellor Thomas Wriothesley, who closely monitored her movements.

Anne began openly preaching Biblical teachings. However, her activism was cut short when she was arrested and charged with heresy in 1545. Though released due to insufficient testimony, she was rearrested the following year, imprisoned in the Tower of London, and subjected to torture.

Despite enduring torture, Anne refused to name fellow Protestants. She was sentenced to execution on July 16, 1546. Unable to walk because of her injuries, she was carried in a chair to Smithfield, tied to a stake, and burned alive after refusing to publicly renounce her beliefs.

5 Margaret Pole

Born in 1473, Margaret Pole was the daughter of George, Duke of Clarence, and the niece of Edward IV and Richard III. During the Wars of the Roses, her family was deeply entangled in the dynastic struggle, with her father positioned third in the line of succession.

Following the war’s end, Henry Tudor claimed the throne as King Henry VII. Concerned that Margaret and her brother might pose a threat, Henry ordered the execution of her younger brother and arranged Margaret’s marriage at fourteen to Sir Richard Pole.

After the deaths of both the king and her husband, Margaret secured a position in the household of Henry VIII’s daughter, Mary. Now Countess of Salisbury, she amassed land and wealth. However, when Henry VIII divorced Catherine of Aragon—Margaret’s close confidante—and married Anne Boleyn, Margaret’s supporters were purged, yet she refused to abandon her standing.

Margaret’s son, Reginald, lived in self‑exile after a violent dispute with the king. When the Pope elevated him to cardinal, Reginald returned to England, raising an army against Henry VIII in the name of the Catholic Church. Accused of complicity, Margaret was imprisoned in the Tower until she was sixty‑seven.

On the morning of her execution in 1541, the novice executioner swung his axe repeatedly, missing her neck and striking her shoulder and head before finally beheading her. She thus became the oldest woman ever executed at the Tower of London. Over three centuries later, she was canonized by the Roman Catholic Church.

4 Catherine Howard

Before his marriage to Anne of Cleves was dissolved, King Henry VIII fell for the youthful, vivacious lady‑in‑waiting Catherine Howard. Henry wed Catherine merely sixteen days after the annulment of his marriage to Anne.

Although Henry was fifty and Catherine only nineteen, he craved the distraction of a young wife to ease the painful ulcers he suffered after a jousting injury. After a year of marital bliss, rumors of Catherine’s promiscuity surfaced as she began seeking the company of other men.

Initially, Henry was reluctant to believe the accusations, but mounting evidence of his wife’s infidelity persisted.

In addition to hiring her former lover as a personal secretary, Catherine entered into an affair with Thomas Culpepper in 1541. Her indiscretions finally caught up with her, leading to charges of treason. On February 13, 1542, Catherine was beheaded at the Tower of London at the age of twenty‑one.

3 Margaret Clitherow

Margaret Clitherow was raised in a Protestant household in Yorkshire, England. After a few years of marriage, she converted to Catholicism and became fiercely devoted to her new faith, secretly hosting Mass in her home and working to bring back those who had strayed.

Under Queen Elizabeth I’s reign, laws were enacted to suppress Catholic worship in England. Although Margaret ignored these statutes, a 1555 law forbade priests from residing in England and condemned anyone who harbored a priest to death.

When authorities discovered that Margaret had sent her son to France illegally to receive a Catholic education, they searched her home, uncovering evidence of Mass being held there and priests being hidden.

Consequently, Margaret was arrested. She refused to enter a plea, thereby forfeiting a trial. English law dictated that such a refusal resulted in being “pressed to death.”

On March 25, 1586, Margaret was placed upon a stone slab with a heavy door atop her. Weights were piled onto the door until her back was broken, crushing her to death at the age of thirty. She was later canonized in 1970 and is now known as Saint Margaret Clitherow.

2 Mary, Queen Of Scots

Mary Stuart, daughter of King James V of Scotland and Mary of Guise, was born in 1542. Her father died six days after her birth, making her Mary, Queen of Scots, while still an infant. As she was too young to rule, her mother acted as regent.

King Henry VIII, with his eyes fixed on Scotland, arranged for his son to marry the young Mary. However, after Henry’s marriage to Anne Boleyn severed ties with the Catholic Church, Scottish Catholics dismissed the proposed union. Instead, Mary was sent to the French court, where she later married Francis, heir to the French throne.

When Elizabeth ascended the English throne, Catholic claims surfaced that she was unfit to rule and that her parents’ marriage was invalid, thereby spotlighting Mary’s claim to the English throne.

After Francis died of an ear infection in 1559, Mary returned to a now‑Protestant Scotland, where religious tensions persisted. She later married Elizabeth’s cousin, Henry Stewart, a man described as cold and ruthless.

Mary grew weary of her husband and, according to some accounts, arranged his assassination. She then married the primary suspect in Stewart’s death, a scandal that sealed her fate. Her new husband was exiled, and Mary was imprisoned.

After escaping, Mary sought refuge in England with her cousin Elizabeth, only to be imprisoned for eighteen years. When evidence emerged that Mary had participated in a plot to assassinate Elizabeth, she was charged with treason and sentenced to death. Mary Stuart was beheaded on February 8, 1587.

1 Anne Boleyn

Born around 1501, Anne Boleyn was first sent to live in France before returning to England to serve as a lady‑in‑waiting to Catherine of Aragon, the future queen.

While at court, Anne captivated King Henry VIII, who wrote in a letter: “If you … give yourself up, heart, body, and soul to me … I will take you for my only mistress, rejecting from thought and affection all others save yourself, to serve only you.”

At that time, Anne refused to become the king’s mistress. Desperate, Henry campaigned to have his marriage to Catherine annulled, arguing that their union was an abomination in God’s eyes because she was the widow of Henry’s brother, rendering her unable to bear a son.

During the six‑year conflict between Henry and the Catholic Church, Anne became pregnant. In 1533, she and Henry married without papal blessing. The public was dismayed, yet Anne was crowned queen of England the following year. She gave birth to a daughter, Elizabeth, but two subsequent deliveries resulted in stillborn children.

Now married to the woman he desired, Henry broke from the Catholic Church to form the Church of England in 1534. Shortly after, their marriage began to crumble due to Henry’s infidelity and Anne’s jealousy.

After delivering another stillborn baby, Henry decided to replace Anne with Jane Seymour, one of his mistresses. Consequently, Anne was imprisoned on false charges of adultery and incest. She was sentenced to death on May 19, 1536, and beheaded with a single blow of the sword.

Welcome to a macabre tour of history’s most unsettling courtroom dramas. In this collection of 10 curious tales, we delve into the grisly world of bestiality accusations that ended in the noose, the gallows, and often the slaughter of the animal involved. From piglets that looked eerily human to courtroom spectacles that would make modern juries wince, each story is a testament to how societies once dealt with what they deemed a heinous breach of natural order.

10 Curious Tales: Grim Executions For Bestiality Crimes

10 George Spencer

In the spring of 1642, the New Haven settlement witnessed a most peculiar case. George Spencer, a laborer employed by a local farmer, found himself under the magistrate’s gaze after a sow gave birth to a piglet that bore an uncanny resemblance to a human infant. The creature was hairless, soft, and possessed a reddish‑white head, a tiny chin, and a single eye protruding from its forehead—features that sent shivers through the community.

John Wakeman, the sow’s owner, brought his grievance before Stephen Goodyear, the town magistrate, describing the abnormal offspring in vivid detail. Spencer matched the description perfectly: he, too, had protruding eyes and a history of working for the sow’s previous owner. When summoned, Spencer denied any illicit liaison, insisting his innocence. However, Goodyear, already convinced of his guilt, invoked Proverbs 28:13, suggesting that confession would earn mercy.

Believing a confession might spare his life, Spencer reluctantly admitted paternity, only to retract his statement later when it became clear the confession would not buy him freedom. The magistrate, unmoved, sentenced him to death by hanging. On April 8, 1642, as Spencer awaited his fate, the sow was dragged to the gallows and slaughtered before his eyes. In a final, desperate twist, Spencer again confessed—this time claiming genuine impregnation—yet the confession came too late. He was hanged, marking a grim end to a case driven more by fear of the bizarre than concrete proof.

9 Thomas Hogg

Three years after Spencer’s fate, another New Haven resident, Thomas Hogg, found himself accused of a similarly strange crime. In the winter of 1645‑46, Margaret Lamberton discovered her sow had birthed two abnormal piglets: one unusually white, the other bearing a bulging right eye and a disturbingly human‑like head. The townsfolk, already primed by Spencer’s story, immediately suspected Hogg, a caretaker of the sow who shared the piglets’ pale complexion and eye anomaly.

Lamberton’s suspicions were further inflamed by Hogg’s habit of walking with his privates exposed—a result of an inguinal hernia and a steel device meant to keep his genitals from re‑entering his body, which often tore his breeches. Though Hogg suffered from Graves’ disease, giving him a pallid appearance, he denied any sexual misconduct. To prove guilt, Governor Theophilus Eaton escorted Hogg to the sty, observing the sow’s apparent “lustful” reaction upon his touch. Eaton then repeated the test with a different sow, which remained indifferent, casting doubt on Hogg’s alleged animal magnetism.

Without any witnesses, the court acquitted Hogg of bestiality, though he was still found guilty of public indecency and theft of food, resulting in whipping and hard labor. Hogg’s narrow escape illustrates how flimsy evidence could swing a verdict either way in a time when appearances and superstition often outweighed reason.

8 Thomas Granger

The year 1642 also saw the tragic downfall of Thomas Granger, a young servant in Plymouth. While attempting to consummate his illicit desire with a mare, another servant caught him in the act and reported the transgression to the colonial authorities. Granger, unflinching, confessed not only to the mare but also to a litany of other animal partners, including a cow, a turkey, two goats, two calves, and five sheep.

The magistrates, faced with a litany of bestial acts, compiled a staggering list of the species involved, each deemed a separate offense under the colony’s strict moral code. Granger was sentenced to death by hanging, a punishment meant to serve as a stark warning to the community. In a chilling finale, the accused animals—cow, turkey, goats, calves, and sheep—were marched to the gallows and slaughtered while Granger watched, his fate sealed alongside the very creatures he had violated.

7 Claudine De Culam

Crossing the Atlantic to early‑17th‑century France, the case of 16‑year‑old Claudine de Culam stands out for its bizarre courtroom theatrics. Accused of bestiality with a dog, Claudine vehemently denied any sexual relationship. Yet the magistrates devised a peculiar method to determine the truth: they escorted both Claudine and the dog to a room adjacent to the courtroom, ordered her to disrobe, and observed the animal’s behavior.

When presented with the naked Claudine, the dog immediately leapt onto her and attempted to mount, an act the prosecutors declared as proof of prior illicit relations. The court argued that had there been no previous intimacy, the dog would not have displayed such eagerness. Consequently, both Claudine and the dog were sentenced to death; their bodies were bound together, burned, and the ashes scattered—a grim conclusion to a case that hinged on animal instinct rather than concrete evidence.

6 John Taylor

Fast forward to the American colonies of the 1770s, where John Taylor—also known as John Philip Snyder—met a violent end in Burlington, New Jersey. On October 2, 1774, farmhand Orpha Emlay caught Taylor in the act with one of her cows. Startled, Taylor seized a knife and a hammer, chased Emlay, and in a brutal frenzy, bludgeoned her head with the hammer before slitting her throat.

Taylor’s crimes did not stop at bestiality; he was also convicted of murder. He was slated for execution alongside Peter Galwin, a man accused of raping—or attempting to rape—four girls. The public’s fury was palpable; the crowd, enraged by both men’s transgressions, attempted to lynch them before the official hanging could take place. Ultimately, both men were hanged, their deaths serving as a stark reminder of the severe penalties for sexual deviance in the fledgling colonies.

5 Jacques Ferron

Returning to France in the mid‑18th century, Jacques Ferron found himself on the wrong side of the law in 1750. Charged with bestiality involving a jenny—a female donkey—Ferron’s case was notable for the community’s defense of the animal. Citizens of Vanvres petitioned the magistrate, arguing that the jenny was a gentle, well‑behaved creature and an unwitting victim of Ferron’s depravity. Their plea was signed by the local parish priest, emphasizing the animal’s innocence.

Despite the public’s sympathy for the donkey, the court deemed Ferron’s actions unforgivable. He was sentenced to death by hanging, while the jenny escaped the gallows. Ferron’s execution underscores how, even when the animal was spared, the human perpetrator could still face the ultimate punishment for violating societal norms.

4 Benjamin Goad

In 1674, 17‑year‑old Benjamin Goad—also recorded as Benjamin Gourd—met his fate in Massachusetts. Caught in the act with a mare, Goad confessed that he had been engaging in sexual relations with the horse for a full year. Unlike many earlier cases, there was no record of the mare’s behavior; nevertheless, the animal was slaughtered in front of Goad as part of his punishment.

The execution itself held a unique distinction: it marked the first occasion in the colony where a sermon was delivered at the gallows. Reverend Samuel Danforth, who had known Goad since infancy, preached a fiery sermon linking Goad’s crime to the biblical sins that led to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah—masturbation, prostitution, adultery, fornication, and bestiality. After the sermon, Goad was hanged, his death serving both as retribution and moral instruction for the community.

3 Walter Robinson

In 1654, fifteen‑year‑old Walter Robinson, a shepherd in New Haven, Connecticut, faced the gallows after a fisherman—some accounts say a sailor—spotted him in a compromising position with a dog. The fisherman shouted, alerting authorities, and Robinson fled, only to be captured later.

Initially, Robinson denied any wrongdoing, but eventually confessed to having sexual contact with the dog, albeit claiming he had not fully penetrated the animal. The court, unmoved by the nuance, sentenced him to death by hanging. In a grim twist, Robinson was forced to watch the dog being stabbed to death before his own execution. Both he and the dog were interred together in the same grave, a macabre reminder of the era’s harsh moral code.

2 William Potter

New Haven’s dark legacy continued in 1662 with William Potter, one of the colony’s original founders. Ironically, his respectable reputation—anchored by his involvement in John Davenport’s stringent church—could not shield him from scandal. Potter’s own son discovered him in the act with a sow, prompting a swift investigation.

Initially denying the accusation, Potter eventually confessed, admitting not only to the recent act but also to a lifelong pattern of bestiality dating back to age eleven. He recounted attempts to suppress his urges, even describing an incident where he nearly engaged with a dog and, in desperation, strangled the animal. Over fifty years, his compulsion persisted, culminating in his public confession.

The church, outraged, convened a “Solemn Day of Humiliation” to purge Potter’s sins from its ranks. As he was led to the gallows, Potter wept, and the authorities slaughtered several cows, sheep, and sows he was suspected of consorting with—all before his eyes. His execution cemented the colony’s unforgiving stance on sexual transgressions.

1 John Farrell And Gideon Washburn

The final chapter of our grim anthology arrives at the turn of the 19th century. In 1796, John Farrell, a Massachusetts farmer, was sentenced to death after being caught in a compromising act with an unnamed wild animal. Three years later, Gideon Washburn faced a similar fate in Connecticut for bestiality involving two mares and a cow.

Both men were octogenarians—a stark contrast to the youthful victims of earlier centuries. Their sentences astonished historians for two reasons: the advanced age of the defendants and the fact that, since the Revolutionary War, no American jurisdiction had carried out a capital punishment for bestiality in over a hundred years. Scholars Doron Ben‑Atar and Richard Brown explain that the post‑war uncertainty, coupled with lingering Puritanical influence, drove authorities to reassert moral authority through these extreme verdicts.

In a twist of fate, Governor Samuel Adams granted Farrell a pardon, sparing him from the gallows. Washburn, meanwhile, died of natural causes just days before his scheduled execution, avoiding the rope altogether. Their stories illustrate how the law, even in a fledgling nation, could still wield the death penalty to enforce prevailing moral standards.

These ten accounts, spanning continents and centuries, reveal a dark undercurrent of fear, superstition, and the relentless pursuit of moral order. While modern sensibilities may balk at such punishments, they serve as stark reminders of how societies have historically grappled with acts they deemed abominable.

Rulers taking lives is nothing new, but when those victims are their own children, the story takes a darker turn. In this roundup we explore 10 monarchs who executed their own sons, proving that absolute power often comes with a deadly family drama.

10 monarchs who turned family ties into fatal betrayals

10 Ivan IV Of Russia And Ivan Ivanovich

Ivan IV, better known as Ivan the Terrible, fathered a son named Ivan Ivanovich with his first wife, Anastasia Romanovna. While the young Ivan delighted in literature and music, he also displayed a cruel streak, tormenting small animals during his childhood.

As an adult, he conquered the Khanates of Kazan and Astrakhan, weaving them into the fabric of a burgeoning Russian empire. His marital history was equally turbulent—eight wives met mysterious ends, ranging from untimely deaths to exile in convents—while he steered Russia from a medieval principality into an imperial powerhouse.

When his pregnant daughter‑in‑law arrived improperly attired, Ivan the Terrible beat her, causing a miscarriage. The affront sparked a confrontation with his son, and in a fit of fury Ivan struck Ivan Ivanovich on the head with a sharp staff, ending his life. The gruesome scene was later immortalized by Ilya Repin in one of Russian art’s most haunting canvases.

Among all the atrocities committed by Ivan the Terrible, the murder of his only capable heir stands out as a stark reminder that no line was too sacred for him to cross.

9 Herod The Great And His Sons, Alexander And Aristobulus

The New Testament paints Herod the Great as the villain behind the “slaughter of the innocents,” a claim that has haunted his legacy for centuries. As king of Judea, he allegedly ordered the massacre of all male infants under two years old in Bethlehem.

Born to the Roman officer Antipater the Idumaean, Herod was a prolific builder who reconstructed Jerusalem and its temple, championing Hellenistic culture throughout his realm.

Beyond the biblical narrative, Herod’s own children fell victim to his paranoia. His son Antipater II stirred rumors of disloyalty among his brothers, prompting a paranoid Herod to act decisively: he ordered the strangulation of his sons Alexander and Aristobulus in 7 BC (some accounts suggest 8 BC) on accusations of treason.

8 Empress Irene And Constantine VI

On January 14, 771, Irene gave birth to Constantine VI, later becoming the first woman to rule the Byzantine Empire in her own right. Hailing from an aristocratic Athenian family, she initially served as regent for her son.

Constantine’s reign was marred by military setbacks, and his mother soon turned against him. Unpopular with the army and the court, he found himself betrayed by the very person who had once wielded power on his behalf.

In 797, Irene had Constantine blinded and imprisoned, later orchestrating his death to solidify her sole authority as empress. Despite her ruthless actions, she was later canonized as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox tradition.

7 Constantine The Great And Crispus

Emperor Constantine reshaped the Roman world by legalizing Christianity, ending centuries of persecution, and issuing the Edict of Milan, which guaranteed religious freedom throughout the empire.

His son Crispus, educated by the Christian writer Lactantius, distinguished himself as a brilliant military commander, scoring victories against the Franks and Alamanni. Crispus married a young woman named Helena, with whom he fathered a son.

Constantine took great pride in Crispus’s achievements, seeing in him a promising heir who would continue his legacy of conquest and governance.

However, Constantine’s second wife, Empress Fausta, accused Crispus of attempting to seduce her. Enraged, Constantine ordered Crispus’s execution. He later discovered the accusation was false and, in a grim reversal, had Fausta suffocated in her own bath.

6 Abbas I Of Persia And Mohammad Baqer Mirza

Shah Abbas I is celebrated as the greatest ruler of the Safavid dynasty, rescuing Iran from collapse, founding thriving cities, and welcoming Christian merchants and missionaries into his realm.

His designated heir, Mohammad Baqer Mirza, was born to a Circassian concubine. Court intrigue ensnared the young prince, who was accused of conspiring with Circassian factions. To eliminate the threat, Abbas ordered the execution of his own crown prince, passing the throne instead to his grandson.

5 Pharasmanes I Of Iberia And Rhadamistus

Pharasmanes I ruled the ancient kingdom of Iberia in the first century, fathering a son named Rhadamistus who possessed striking strength, towering stature, and striking good looks—yet his ambition outpaced his patience.

Rhadamistus seized the Armenian throne, but his rule was deemed illegitimate by the Romans, who demanded Pharasmanes withdraw and remove his son from power.

Facing inevitable defeat, Rhadamistus fled, and his pregnant wife, fearing capture, persuaded him to kill her and their unborn child. He slit her throat and cast her corpse into the Aras River before attempting to return home.

To demonstrate loyalty to Emperor Nero, Pharasmanes executed his own son, branding him a traitor. The king died shortly thereafter, succeeded by his own son Mihrdat.

4 Vitellius And Petronianus

Vitellius, the son of the distinguished consul Lucius Vitellius and noblewoman Sextilia, briefly held the imperial throne for eight tumultuous months, earning favor from Caligula, Claudius, and Nero for his eclectic talents.

His reputation stemmed from a flair for chariot racing under Caligula, dice‑playing prowess that impressed Claudius, and a charismatic presence that attracted Nero’s attention.

Known for his prodigious appetite, Vitellius would indulge in three to four lavish meals daily, followed by boisterous drinking bouts. He harbored a deep mistrust of astrologers, banning them from Rome and executing any he encountered.

His son Petronianus, blind in one eye, was named heir by his mother, effectively freeing him from his father’s control. In a twist of fate, Vitellius poisoned his own son to claim the inheritance.

When Vespasian’s forces captured Rome, Vitellius attempted to flee disguised in ragged clothes. He was seized, dragged through the streets half‑naked, brutally tortured, and ultimately thrown into the Tiber, sealing his downfall.

3 Philip II Of Spain And Don Carlos

Philip II’s wife, Maria Manuela of Portugal, died after delivering their son Don Carlos, who was born with a shorter leg and uneven shoulders, alongside a range of mental impairments.

Don Carlos displayed alarming behavior: he rode horses to the point of self‑destruction, assaulted young girls, and even claimed that diamonds were poisonous—traits that rendered him unsuitable for the throne.

In 1568, Don Carlos was declared dead under suspicious circumstances, with many historians believing that Philip poisoned his own heir to prevent a disastrous succession.

2 King Yeongjo And Prince Sado

Prince Sado, the crown prince of Joseon Korea, met a gruesome end when his father, King Yeongjo, sealed him inside a wooden rice chest, condemning him to a slow, agonizing death.

Yeongjo was a demanding ruler; after each encounter with his son, he would meticulously rinse his mouth, clean his ears, and change into fresh robes, underscoring his relentless disapproval of Sado’s behavior.

Accusations mounted that Sado possessed the severed head of a eunuch he had murdered and had assaulted numerous palace ladies, painting a portrait of a deeply troubled heir.

Ultimately, the strained relationship culminated in tragedy: stripped of his royal title, Sado was forced into the cramped chest where he languished for eight days, pleading for mercy until his death at the age of twenty‑seven.

1 Peter I And Alexei

Peter the Great, named after the apostle Peter, embarked on an ambitious mission to transform Russia into a modern superpower, championing secular education and establishing numerous schools across his realm.

His marriage to Tsarina Eudoxia, a conservative and uneducated woman who despised foreign influence, further complicated his domestic life. Their son Alexei was raised under Eudoxia’s strict, Bible‑focused education, limiting his exposure to his father’s reforms.

Alexei grew resentful of Peter’s policies, eventually defecting to Austria—a move that scandalized the Russian government and branded him a traitor.

Under Peter’s orders, Alexei was subjected to brutal torture and ultimately executed, sealing the grim legacy of a ruler who would not tolerate dissent, even from his own blood.

Summer Gallardo was named after Summer Sanders. She enjoys comic books, history, math, and making lists.