Back in the days of old—before such trivial matters as health and safety regulations, child welfare, or human rights became things to worry about—a captain of one of His Majesty’s finest ships in the British Royal Navy could rule the poop deck (or any part of the ship) with an iron fist.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Royal Navy was a harsh place for a sailor—with many punishments meted out for various mistakes or crimes. The lowest punishments would start off as more of a slap on the wrist or a humiliating action, such as watering down the grog, extra watch duties, short lunch breaks, or even being “chastised” by the ship’s boys with wet swabs.

These men were all living together for long times in a cramped area. Severe punishment was generally held back so as not to affect the crew’s morale as a whole. However, as we’re about to find out, things could get much worse.

10 Starting

Many punishments were formal, as in ordered by the captain with a record kept in the ship’s log. The discipline delivered by the boatswain or bosun’s mate (a foreman of sorts) was an on-the-spot thing with no need of a written account. Thus, it could happen for any reason at any time.

The bosun’s mate always carried a small weapon to beat the unfortunate offender. This weapon was usually a knotted rope, small whip, or cane called a “rattan.” Sometimes, three canes were tied together and called the “three sisters.”

These beatings were known as “starting,” as in starting to beat. A bosun’s mate could be ordered to start a man until told to stop. If his arm became tired, another mate would be called to continue the abuse. These bashings were an everyday occurrence aboard a ship.

At any time, a mate could hit an unruly sailor. Unchecked, a sadistic bosun’s mate could and did cause serious harm on many occasions. Ultimately, this led to the beginning of their suppression in 1811.^[1]

9 Gagging

This punishment was used when a sailor became a little too lippy or committed other minor offenses. To teach him a lesson, his hands and legs were bound. An iron bolt would be put in his mouth, tied in place from behind his head, and left for whatever time the officer felt fit the crime. If you’ve ever seen the film Pulp Fiction, think of the pool-balls-in-the-mouth scene (shown above).

This was another punitive action not recorded in the logs because it could have dire repercussions. As it was frowned upon by the Admiralty, gagging was never an official punishment. Nevertheless, it was used on numerous occasions.

In 1867, George Addison, a crew member of the HMS Favorite, was gagged for drunkenness and violence. He died from asphyxiation within two hours.^[2]

8 Flogging

Although we have all heard of flogging, you may not be aware of just how brutal it could be. This was one of the most common punishments in the Royal Navy. Almost any crime could end with this torture.

The condemned would be whipped with a cat-o’-nine-tails, a whip with nine (sometimes) waxed knotted tails. When a sailor was to be flogged, he would be kept in leg irons on the upper deck for a day. This was to give him time to make the cat.

Yup, that’s right. The poor guy would have to make his own instrument of pain. If he chose not to make it or it wasn’t finished in time, the punishment could be increased. Twenty-four hours later, the fun began.

The whole crew would assemble on deck to witness the punishment. Whichever rule the offender had broken would be read aloud from the Articles of War (a list of rules for a ship to follow). The sailor would then be asked if he had anything to say against his sentence.

His shirt would be removed, and he was tied standing to a part of the ship, usually the rigging or the opening of the gangway. The bosun’s mate had the pleasure of inflicting the punishment. He would stand at an arm’s length and lash the man with the strength of a full swing.

By 1750, floggings were restricted to 12 lashes. According to a ship’s doctor, this still left a man’s back “swollen like a pillow, looking black-and-blue.” Sometimes, a captain could get round the 12-lash rule by charging a man with multiple offenses, incurring 12 lashes each. Before this, a sentence could have been issued with hundreds of strikes.

Once a dozen lashes had been carried out, a fresh mate could be called so that the hits wouldn’t lighten up. As the cat began to tear into the skin with each strike, a man’s back could end up looking like a slab of meat from a butcher’s table.^[3]

After each lash, the bosun’s mate would run his fingers through the tails to wipe off the blood. Sometimes, when changing to a fresh mate, the next one would be left-handed so as to cross the cuts on the back and tear it up even more.

The pain didn’t end there. Afterward, the man was taken to the ship’s doctor to have his back covered in vinegar-soaked paper or to have salt rubbed into his wounds. This treatment was to stop infection, but it could cause more pain than the actual flogging.

7 Flogging Around The Fleet

This was much the same as a normal flogging with the cat-o’-nine-tails, but it was more of a show for others to witness—usually when there was a collection of ships nearby in a harbor. The crew member would be tied to a small boat’s mast and lashed by the bosun’s mate.

The boat was then taken to the next ship where that vessel’s mate took his turn lashing the prisoner. This continued through all the ships, hence the term “flogging around the fleet.” For added effect, the boat was sometimes tailed by another small vessel containing a drummer boy to make the whole thing feel even more somber than it already was.^[4]

Flogging continued in the Royal Navy until 1881.

6 Cobbed And Firked

You might think that the job of a cook aboard a ship would enable a man to escape punishment for his small mistakes. Not quite. He had his own special medicine to take.

While not as serious as some of the other punishments, a cook could expect to be “cobbed and firked” for misplacing food or allowing it to spoil. This was an unofficial type of flogging done by beating the cook with sand-filled stockings or bung staves of a cask (the wooden panels that make up a barrel).

This was not so much of a pain type of punishment as a humiliation. The culinary criminal was more likely to be stuck “as a boy”—hit on the buttocks instead of anywhere else. No one wanted to hurt the cook so much that it stopped their grub from being served up on time.^[5]

5 Child Punishment

Speaking of “as a boy,” a ship’s crew did not consist only of adult men. Young boys were often employed, usually beginning at the ages of 11 or 12. Unfortunately for them, age was no barrier to corporal punishment. We can see from surviving ships’ logs that roughly one-third of all floggings were perpetrated against children.

At any point in time, all boys under age 19 could receive a caning for minor offenses. Much the same as for the adults, these minor punishments for children went unrecorded. This could lead to daily bullying. In one recorded instance, a captain was noted as having his boys caned every morning. When one boy had the audacity to whimper, “Please, sir,” his punishment was increased.

If the offense required a more serious punishment, a boy would be made to “kiss the gunner’s daughter.” He would be bent over a cannon in front of the rest of the crew, have his trousers dropped, and be struck on the bare behind. Other than it being a more childlike punishment, one reason for this is that the boys usually worked the rigging. Whipping their hands would impair them in this job.

By the mid-19th century, this was done with a “cane or birch.” But before then, a reduced cat (aka “the boys’ pussy”) would be used. This was like a cat-o’-nine-tails but with five whip ends.

On the rare occasions when a boy was sentenced through a court-martial, an adult cat could be used. This happened to poor Valentine Woods in 1813. The 17-year-old lad was sentenced to 60 lashes on his bare posterior for stabbing a crewmate. Come to think of it, maybe Valentine did deserve that one.^[6]

4 Running The Gauntlet

One of the worst things you could do in the navy was steal from your shipmates. The punishment shows that it was a hated crime by almost all. To run the gauntlet, an offender would be stripped to the waist and flogged as usual with the “thieves’ cat.” This was a cat-o’-nine-tails with extra knots for bonus hit points.

The offender would then be forced at sword point to walk between two rows of men who all had lengths of knotted rope. Each man had to bash the criminal as hard as possible while he slowly walked past. To stop him from walking too fast, there was also an officer in front of him with a cutlass at his chest. After that, the criminal was flogged some more for good measure.^[7]

Although mainly used for thieves, this form of punishment was also used for other crimes such as fraud and sodomy. This resulted in many casualties. After a few noted deaths, running the gauntlet was banned by 1806.

3 Falling Asleep On Watch

This was an extremely serious offense as being on watch was to guard all the lives aboard a ship. However, life at sea was boring, so falling asleep did happen a lot. If a grave punishment was meted out for the first offense, a ship would have no crew left. As a result, the consequences would escalate for sleepy sailors.

As listed in the Black Book of the Admiralty, the punishments for falling asleep were as follows. For a first offense, something as simple as a bucket of cold seawater would be poured over the offender while others laughed. Not so bad.

The next time, his hands would be tied up and cold water tipped into his shirt. Still nothing to cry about so far.

For taking a third nap on duty, a sailor would be tied to a ship’s mast and be made to hold up heavy objects with his arms stretched out wide. Most often, these objects were cannon chambers. This became quite painful after a while. In addition, the officer in charge was allowed to inflict whatever extra pain he wished.

The fourth punishment put an end to Mr. Sleepybones’s slumbering adventures—mainly because he was dead when it was over. He was put in a basket which was hung from the bowsprit (the pointy mast that sticks out at the front of a ship). He was guarded by an armed sentry who was instructed to kill the offender if he tried to escape. Then he was left to starve to death.

However, the prisoner did have a couple of options. He would be allowed a knife, so there was always the choice to cut his own wrists. Alternatively, he could slice the basket’s rope and drown in the open sea.^[8]

2 Hanging From The Yardarm

The hanging basket method was not the only means of execution. In the 18th century, such grievous crimes as striking an officer, desertion, or being guilty of “indecent practices” could result in an execution.

By the 1800s, this was more for serious things like mutiny or murder. Whatever the crime, a court-martial could end with the order of a hanging from the yardarm. Unlike the more modern usage of drop hanging in which a prisoner will die instantaneously, a yardarm death was slow and painful.

The condemned man would have his hands and feet tied, and a noose was placed around his neck. The crew stood on deck to watch. A gunshot was the signal for a group of men holding the rope to begin pulling. The prisoner would be “run up the yardarm” and left there to die from strangulation. After an hour, his body was taken down.

This type of execution was last carried out in 1860 after Royal Marine John Dalliger murdered a lieutenant and the commanding officer of the HMS Leven. He had been caught stealing brandy.^[9] US ships also used this form of punishment (as pictured above).

1 Keelhauling

This was possibly the worst punishment during the Age of Sail. Never officially sanctioned by the Royal Navy due to its barbaric cruelty to the condemned, keelhauling was still carried out on numerous occasions before being banned around the year 1720.

The victim would be stripped naked on the deck of a ship in full sight of the rest of the crew. He would have two ropes tied to him. One of them ran underneath the bottom of the ship (the “keel”).

The man would then be hung over the side of the ship, pulled underwater, and hauled along the keel by the second rope until he emerged on the other side. This could be carried out as slowly as the officers in charge wanted or repeated as many times as ordered.

A weight was tied to the man’s legs to make sure that his body was properly in line with the hull. This resulted in many drownings. But if that didn’t kill him, the man had other things to deal with.

Underwater, a ship’s hull (especially a wooden ship) was covered in barnacles. As any child who has slipped on a barnacle-covered rock at the seaside will tell you, they are sharp. Very sharp. Like being dragged along a giant, razor-sharp, cheese grater, the barnacles tore the flesh of the man. If he managed to survive this awful event, he would certainly be scarred for life.^[10]

Being a member of the British royal family isn’t as easy as it looks. You can’t be political, controversial, or show emotion. And any slipup you do make will be all over the news across the globe in very short order.

The queen mother’s motto was, “Never complain, never explain,” but when words fail, actions can speak louder, and those actions can be passive-aggressive or just plain ruthless. Here are ten examples of when a royal let their guard down.

10 Taking The Saudi Prince For A Ride

Queen Elizabeth II loves to drive. She learned during World War II as second subaltern in the Women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service as a truck driver. As queen, she is not required to hold a driver’s license.

Former Saudi ambassador Sherard Cowper-Coles recalled a visit made by Crown Prince Abdullah in 1998.^[1] After lunch at Balmoral, the queen suggested a tour of the Scottish estate and directed her guest toward the royal Land Rover. The crown prince sat down in the passenger side and was shocked to see the queen position herself in the driver’s seat. She started the engine and tore around the narrow roads, chatting away to the prince as they went over the rough terrain. Eventually, the panicky prince was forced to ask her—through his interpreter—to slow down. It may be a coincidence, but at the time, women were banned from driving in Saudi Arabia.

The prince survived his spin with the queen, and in June 2018, Saudi Arabia’s driving ban was finally lifted.

9 The Trial Of Paul Burrell

Paul Burrell (left above) was personal footman to Queen Elizabeth II and then went on to work for Princess Diana. The two formed a close bond, and Diana allegedly referred to him as “my Rock.” After her death in August 1997, Burrell quickly rose to fame. He became a regular on TV and took on a high-profile role with the charity set up in her name.

On January 18, 2001, Police raided Burrell’s home and found 342 items belonging to Diana hidden in the attic. The haul included signed CDs, clothing, personal letters, and photo albums. Burrell strongly denied any wrongdoing. He was charged with theft, and the trial began in October 2002.

The world’s press were out in force to report on the story. However, on day nine, the case was adjourned. The judge, Mrs. Justice Rafferty, sent the jurors home with no explanation. The following day, they were again told to stay home. Meanwhile, the queen, who had been unaware of the case, had seen a news report about the trial. She then recalled Burrell telling her that he had Diana’s possessions stored safely in his home.^[2] The police were informed, and Prosecutor William Boyce, QC, told the court there was no longer a realistic prospect of conviction. Burrell was free to go.

Outside the court, he famously said: “The queen came through for me.”

This brought an abrupt end to what many predicted would be a lengthy trial full of royal secrets. A spokesman for Buckingham Palace said, “There is no question of the Queen interfering.” Diana’s possessions were returned to her family, and Burrell continued with his media career. The royal family have never commented on the case of Diana’s missing things.

8 The Queen Puts Mrs. Thatcher In Her Place

Margaret Thatcher became the first female prime minister of the UK. Together, Queen Elizabeth II and Mrs. Thatcher were the most powerful women in the country. The queen was often irritated by Thatcher’s habit of turning up early for their meetings and had been heard referring to her as “that woman.” When Thatcher suggested that she and the queen should match their outfits for an occasion, Buckingham Palace responded: “The Queen does not notice what other people are wearing.”

The Commonwealth countries were important to Queen Elizabeth—having spent much time on tours there. Thatcher saw it as an outdated institution. Matters came to a head in the 1980s as people became uneasy about apartheid in South Africa.^[3] The queen wanted to impose trade sanctions as a way of keeping the Commonwealth united. Thatcher disagreed.

In 1986, a headline appeared in The Sunday Times : “Queen dismayed by ‘uncaring’ Thatcher.”

The article went on to detail the rift between them. The Palace issued a denial, and the queen personally telephoned Thatcher. This was puzzling for the editor of The Sunday Times, as his source for the story was Michael Shea—the queen’s press secretary. It was unthinkable that Shea would have spoken without royal approval.

Despite this, Elizabeth grew to respect Thatcher. After Thatcher’s death in 2013, the queen made a last-minute decision to attend her funeral, even though duty did not require her to.

7 Royal Nanny Out In The Cold

The first rule of working for the royal family is: Keep your mouth shut. In 1932, Marion Crawford was employed as nanny to Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret. Their privacy ended forever when their uncle, Edward VII, abdicated to marry Mrs. Simpson, making their father King. The family moved into Buckingham Palace, and “Crawfie,” as Marion was known, went with them.

Over the years, Crawfie became such a trusted servant to the royals that she stayed in service until 1948, when Princess Elizabeth became engaged to Phillip Mountbatten.

In 1949 the American Ladies’ Home Journal approached her for a piece they were writing on royal children.^[4] Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother (aka the mother of Elizabeth and Margaret) thought it would be a good way for Crawfie to earn some extra money. There was a strict understanding, however, that she would be anonymous.

The article was full of sweet anecdotes from the royal nursery and perfect for the American public. But when the magazine hit the stands, there was one glaring mistake—Marion Crawford was named as the interviewee. The queen mother was furious and instantly blamed Crawfie, saying that she had “gone off her head.”

The family severed all ties with Crawfie, who moved back to Scotland and never got over the rejection. She suffered from depression and attempted suicide twice. She kept the letters from the queen mother giving her consent to speak to the magazine locked away. Even though they could have cleared her name, she refused to release them.

Marion Crawford died in a nursing home in 1988, still hoping to hear from the royal family. In her will, she requested that all personal letters be returned to the Palace for safekeeping. The royal family have never mentioned her again or the role she played in shaping the future queen.

6 Diana’s Rage

After his divorce from Diana, Charles employed Alexandra “Tiggy” Legge-Bourke, a well-connected young woman, to help care for his sons. Tiggy’s job was to be a fun older sister rather than stern nanny, and she quickly formed a close bond with the princes. Their mother was not impressed with Tiggy’s role. Tensions grew between the two households, and soon, Diana began to suspect, wrongly, that Tiggy and Charles were having an affair. Diana seized upon a false rumor doing the rounds that Tiggy had gotten an abortion. Diana made an appearance at a staff party in December 1996, strolled up to Tiggy, and allegedly said: “So sorry about the baby.”

Tiggy instructed top libel lawyer Peter Carter-Ruck to write to Diana’s solicitors demanding an apology for the offending remark.^[5] Tiggy continued to work for Charles until 1999, when she left to get married. She has remained close to Princes William and Harry.

5 The Attempted Kidnap Of Princess Anne

Princess Anne is known to be a strong character, and this was tested to the limit when Ian Ball attempted to kidnap Queen Elizabeth II’s only daughter.^[6] On March 20, 1974, the princess, her husband Mark Phillips, a bodyguard, and Anne’s lady-in-waiting were traveling in a royal limousine. Ball, a 26-year-old unemployed man from London, drove his car into the royals’ vehicle and then jumped out, brandishing two handguns. Anne’s bodyguard approached him and was shot in the shoulder. Ball then tried to get into the car, shouting, “Open or I’ll shoot!” Anne and Phillips tried to hold the door shut.

Anne’s chauffeur approached Ball, only to be shot in the chest. Ball was now free to reach into the car, and he seized Anne’s wrist while Phillips—a captain in the British Army—clamped onto her waist.

“Please come out,” pleaded Ball.

“Not bloody likely!” was Anne’s reply.

Incredibly, Ball shot a further two people—a police officer and motorist who tried to help. Finally, a passerby punched Ball in the head. As police arrived, Anne bizarrely said to Ball, “Go on, now’s your chance.” Ball fled toward a park but was caught and arrested.

On searching Ball’s rented vehicle, police found handcuffs, Valium, and a ransom note addressed to the queen. The note demanded that £2 million be delivered in person by the queen and stated, “Anne will be shot dead.”

Ball was sentenced to life in a psychiatric unit. All those who came to Anne’s aid survived and were rewarded. Anne later described her experience with Ball as “a very irritating conversation.”

4 The Death Of A Princess

On August 31, 1997, Princess Diana was killed in a car accident in Paris. The news of her sudden death caused shock around the world. The royal family was on their summer break in Scotland. Apart from a short statement, little was heard from the royals about the tragedy.

In London, crowds flocked toward her home, Kensington Palace. People laid flowers and wept openly in the streets, and there was a growing mood of anger toward the royals. Some people began to turn their attention to Buckingham Palace, where the flag was still flying at full mast. To some, this was symbolic of how Diana had been treated in life.

In reality, the queen’s flag, called the Royal Standard, is never flown at half-mast, as it represents the monarchy itself, which is continuous.^[7] When a monarch dies, there is instantly another to take their place. There was no Royal Standard flying from Buckingham Palace at that time, as the queen wasn’t in residence. Instead, it was the Union Jack, which is only flown at half-mast when a royal styled as “HRH” dies. Diana, as ex-wife of Prince Charles, had lost her HRH status in their divorce.

The media picked up on the public mood, and stories about the coldness of the royal family began to appear along with scenes of public anger. Headlines screamed, “Where is the Queen?” The Royal family stayed on holiday, and the flag stayed at full mast.

The night before the funeral, the queen made an unexpected speech on TV and paid tribute to Diana. Finally, on the morning of the funeral—without announcement—the flag was lowered to half-mast and stayed there until midnight as a last-minute mark of respect.

3 Farewell, Britannia

Some of Queen Elizabeth II’s happiest days were spent with her family on the royal yacht, Britannia. Launched in 1953, she toured the world and hosted many famous guests, including Winston Churchill and Nelson Mandela. Britannia was also used for the queen’s private family holidays and was the place she felt most at peace.

In 1997, Tony Blair was the new prime minister. In a cost-cutting exercise, he blocked a £17 million refurbishing bill for the Britannia. At the time, the royals were being criticized for the cost of works at Windsor Castle after a fire. Blair made it clear that he would prefer the money to be spent on public services. The royals are not allowed to air political views, and so in December 1997, Britiannia was decommissioned.^[8]

Queen Elizabeth and Princess Anne stood at the dock and openly wept as Britannia was sent to become a tourist attraction next to a shopping mall in Edinburgh. Even 14 years later, the loss was still felt by the royal family. In an interview, Prince Phillip commented, “She was sound as a bell and she could have gone on for another 50 years.” This may also explain why, when Prince William married Kate Middleton in 2011, the only former prime minister not to receive an invitation was one Tony Blair.

2 An Awkward Meeting

Queen Elizabeth II was very close to her cousin, Lord Mountbatten, who became a mentor to the young Prince Charles. In 1979, Mountbatten was killed when a terrorist bomb exploded on his boat in Ireland. His grandson, 14, and a local boy, aged 15, were also killed. The IRA claimed responsibility for the attack.

Martin McGuinness was a former IRA leader who later became deputy first minister of Northern Ireland.^[9] In June 2012, the queen made history when, on a visit to Belfast, she met and shook hands in public with McGuinness. On their second meeting in 2016, when he asked her how she was, she responded, “Well, I’m still alive.”

1 Sitting Pretty

Marrying into the royal family can be tricky. Even if you are accepted, your family may not quite match their requirements. Famously, many in-laws quietly fade into the background. (Thomas Markle, take note.)

When Kate Middleton married Prince William, her family were thrust into the spotlight. They appeared to be a loving and close unit, in contrast to Prince Charles, who could be awkward and distant. After the arrival of his grandchildren, Charles began to feel that he was being edged out of their life. Matters came to a head when the couple chose to spend Christmas with her parents, avoiding the traditional meet at Sandringham.

Aware of his disapproval, Charles’s staff began to freeze out the Middletons, which upset William.^[10] News of the rift reached the queen, who was reportedly very fond of Kate’s family. A few weeks later in September 2016, the Middletons were invited to stay at Balmoral as personal guests of the queen.

The press turned out to photograph the royal group as they drove to a shooting party and were treated to the sight of the queen behind the wheel with Kate Middleton next to her as guest of honor. Her security team were relegated to the back seats. Game, set, and match to her Majesty.

I am an avid reader of and thought I would try my hand at a list. I have an interest in the royal family and history, but my first attempt may be a bit clunky. I am keen to improve, so feedback is gratefully accepted.

We tend to think of history as a book that has been written. So to find out anything, all you have to do is look up the facts, and you can find what you want to learn. But to the frustration of historians, history is riddled with mysteries. Some of the things that are unknown may seem as if they will never be solved, but advances in science are revealing more and more about history all the time.

Here are ten mysteries about royalty that have been put to rest through the application of science.

Related: 10 Mysteries And Secrets Surrounding British Royalty

10 The Romanovs

The Romanov family ruled the vast domains of Russia for three centuries as autocratic monarchs. Few royal families in Europe enjoyed as much luxury and power as the Romanovs. In 1917 however, the whole facade of their authority crumbled. Losses in the First World War and a desire for change saw Tsar Nicholas II forced to abdicate. With his family, he was captured by Bolsheviks and moved to a secure location in Yekaterinburg. There they disappeared from sight in 1918.

At first, the Soviet leadership announced that Nicholas II was executed, but it remained unclear what had happened to the rest of the royal family. This led to confusion as to whether any of them had survived. Several people even came forward claiming to be the missing members of the Romanov family.

In 1991 the missing remains of several members of the royal family were uncovered. By studying the DNA, researchers were able to confirm that they were related, but they needed to examine other relations to prove they were the Romanovs. DNA samples were taken from other royals, including Britain’s Prince Philip—a grand nephew of Alexandra Romanov—that positively identified most members of the missing family. Intriguingly, however, the bodies of the heir to the throne Alexei and his sister Anastasia were not found.^[1]

9 Anastasia

Of the people claiming to be a surviving Romanov, none was more famous than Anna Anderson. In 1920 a young woman attempted to commit suicide by leaping into a canal in Berlin. Pulled to safety and taken to a hospital, the woman refused to identify herself, and so she was admitted as “Miss Unknown.”

A fellow patient at the hospital claimed that the unknown woman was Tatiana, one of the missing Russian princesses, but those who knew the royal family did not think she looked like the girl they had known. Other Russians began to believe that the unknown woman just might be the missing Princess Anastasia, however. She took the name Anna Anderson. While some continued to think she was Anastasia, others declared “categorically that she is not Anastasia Nicolaievna, but just an adventuress, a sick hysteric and a frightful playactress.”

Over the following decades, Anna Anderson pressed her rights to portions of the Romanov fortune in various lawsuits but never managed to convince everyone that she was the missing princess. The mystery was only definitively solved after her death.

With the recovery of the bodies of the Romanovs, DNA comparisons were made and proved that Anna Anderson was not related to them. In fact, she was identified as a Polish factory worker named Franziska Schanzkowska. In 2007, two more bodies were discovered that had Romanov DNA. All the missing Russian royals were, therefore, accounted for.^[2]

8 Richard III

There is no English king with a more villainous reputation than Richard III. According to his enemies, he came to the throne by murdering his nephews, the true heirs to the throne, known as the Princes in the Tower. The young Edward V disappeared when he was just 12 years old, allowing his uncle Richard to become king.

Richard III’s reign was itself a short one. He met his end at the Battle of Bosworth Field against the rival claimant to the throne, Henry Tudor. Richard was defeated and killed. The only clues to what happened to Richard were references to how his corpse was treated after the battle. “His body… (as tradition hath delivered) was borne out of the City, and contemptuously bestowed under the end of Bow-Bridge.”

Historians thought they had identified a potential burial site in the city of Leicester but excavating the whole area was beyond their resources. They decided to dig up just 1% of the site in search of Richard III’s grave. Incredibly, on the first day, bones were discovered, and DNA later confirmed them to be the lost king.

By examining the bones, it was found that Richard III was not a hunchback as some enemies portrayed him, though he did have scoliosis. While they could not tell which wound killed him, his body was badly mutilated around the time of his death.^[3]

7 Delphine Boël

Not all royal mysteries are ancient. Some involve people who are very much alive. For example, in 1999, a Belgian teenager published an unauthorized biography of Queen Paola of Belgium that hinted that King Albert II of Belgium had fathered an illegitimate daughter several decades earlier. Soon the press identified Delphine Boël as this potential daughter.

In a message to the Belgians, the king made what seemed to be an oblique reference to these claims. “The Queen and I remember very happy times, but also the crisis that we experienced more than 30 years ago. Together we could, over a long time, overcome those difficulties and recover a deep understanding and love for each other. This period was recalled to us recently. We don’t wish to dwell on that subject which belongs to our private lives.” Yet, he refused to confirm the rumors.

When Delphine decided to confirm her paternity, it took a court order to convince Albert II to provide a DNA sample. For every day that he refused to give one, he would be fined €5,000. This sample proved that Delphine was his daughter and gave her the right to call herself a Princess of Belgium. Today she is known as Her Royal Highness Princess Delphine Michèle Anne Marie Ghislaine de Saxe-Cobourg.^[4]

6 Albert I’s Death

Albert II of Belgium was not the only Belgian king to have a mystery associated with him. Albert I of Belgium was a keen climber, and in 1934 he set out alone to scale a rock-face in the Ardennes region. His body was later found dangling from a rope. While this seemed like an obvious accident, rumors began to swirl that the king had been murdered or committed suicide somewhere else, and the body moved to make it look like a simple fall while climbing. Some even claimed that the king’s body was never even where it was said to have been discovered.

Part of the problem with confirming what had happened was that people descended on the site in great numbers—some of them taking away souvenirs that might have helped an investigation. Many took away blood-soaked leaves. But these have been used to confirm that Albert I was found where officials claimed.

These grisly souvenirs were DNA tested, and the blood on them was confirmed to be that of the king. Despite being severely far-sighted, the king was an expert climber. It seems that Albert I simply slipped and hit his head, depositing the blood that was snatched up by locals.^[5]

5 Hatshepsut

Hatshepsut was only the second female pharaoh to sit on the throne of Egypt. After the death of her husband in 1479 BC, she ruled as regent for his son, but because of her royal blood, she effectively became the ruling pharaoh. In statues and inscriptions, she is shown with all the regalia of a pharaoh, including the ceremonial beard.

After ruling Egypt for 20 years, Hatshepsut died, and her successor, Thutmose III, the son of Hatshepsut’s dead husband, took steps to destroy Hatshepsut’s legacy. Inscriptions that mentioned her were chiseled out and statues with her image toppled. While Hatshepsut’s tomb had been discovered, her mummy was missing. Was this another part of the attempts to erase her from history?

Howard Carter discovered a small tomb with two female mummies in it in 1903. One of the bodies belonged to Sitre-In, the woman who had been Hatshepsut’s wet nurse. The other had no identifying marks. But a tooth had earlier been discovered in a box containing organs from Hatshepsut. By comparing this tooth to the unidentified mummy’s jaw, it was possible to positively identify the mummy as that of one of ancient Egypt’s most fascinating rulers. Why her body was removed from her own sarcophagus, however, remains a mystery.^[6]

4 Philip of Macedon’s Tombs

Philip II of Macedon was one of the greatest military leaders of ancient Greece. Today, he would be a household name if he had not fathered an even greater conqueror—Alexander the Great. In 1977, some of the royal tombs of Macedon were excavated, and one of them was thought to be the tomb of Philip II.

All of the tombs were filled with splendid artifacts of incredible value, but it was uncertain which, if any, belonged to Philip II. However, a recent examination of the bodies found has suggested that the bones of Philip have finally been identified.

Despite being an excellent general, Philip was injured several times during his career. At one siege, he lost his right eye. In another, his lower right leg was badly wounded. When the bones of the man found in one tomb were looked at, they showed massive damage to the right knee that caused the leg bones to fuse. The age of the bones also suggests these are the bones of King Philip. The tomb of Alexander the Great remains one of the most tantalizing archaeological discoveries waiting to be found.^[7]

3 Eadgyth

The oldest confirmed remains of a British royal belong to Eadgyth, daughter of King Edward the Elder and granddaughter to King Alfred the Great, who died in 946 AD. Eadgyth was sent to Germany and married the Holy Roman Emperor Otto I. Eadgyth died in her thirties and was mourned by her husband. Yet what happened to her body was something of an open question.

In 2008, a sarcophagus was dug up in Magdeburg Cathedral. Inside were the partial remains of a woman and an inscription that these were the bones of Eadgyth, having been reburied in 1510. DNA testing was impossible, so researchers had to look at other indicators to confirm these were Eadgyth’s bones.

The bones were found to be from a woman in her thirties, and wear on them showed she was a horse rider—placing her among the upper classes. By analyzing the isotopes in the enamel on the teeth in the coffin, they found that this lady had grown up in Wessex, as Eadgyth had. Further work showed that Eadgyth had eaten a diet rich in fish and meat, something only a wealthy person could do. Having almost certainly identified Eadgyth, she was reburied in a titanium coffin, hopefully, to rest in peace.^[8]

2 Tutankhamun’s Death

No pharaoh of Egypt has more name recognition than Tutankhamun. This is not because of any famous deeds attributed to his life but rather the spectacular nature of the tomb he was found in. When Howard Carter opened Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922, he peered inside and saw “wonderful things.” Vast numbers of golden objects were discovered that revealed the magnificence of an undisturbed royal tomb.

Yet, the body of Tutankhamun revealed a number of mysteries. The king had died young, and bone fragments seen on an x-ray suggested to some that he had died of a head wound. This gave rise to the theory that Tutankhamun had been attacked and murdered. Recent scans have suggested another theory.

Tutankhamun’s remains are in a bad state of preservation because when the body was first found, it was glued in place by the resins used to embalm it. Carter and others had broken many of Tutankhamun’s bones to free the gold mask over its head. But CT scans have revealed that one of the bone breaks, that on his leg, were made just before Tutankhamun died. It seems likely that the young king suffered an accident that shattered his leg and caused an infection that killed him.^[9]

1 Louis XVII

The French Revolution saw the destruction of the royal family of France. King Louis XVI and his queen Marie-Antoinette were both executed by guillotine, but they were not the only royals. Their young son Louis was heir to the throne, and this left the revolutionaries in a quandary. If they left him alive, he could claim the throne as King Louis XVII. On the other hand, if they killed a young child, they would be seen as barbarous. So instead, they locked Louis up alone in a prison cell and left him to die in horrible conditions.

After two years in prison, the handsome young boy was a mass of sores and had a distended stomach from malnutrition. A doctor was called but far too late, and the prince died. A quick autopsy was carried out, but the body was hurried into a mass grave, and the revolutionaries hoped that would be the end of the story. Unfortunately, without a clearly identified body, over 100 pretenders popped up across the world, all claiming the French throne.

Fortunately, the doctor who performed the autopsy stole the heart from the prince’s body. This shriveled relic was stolen and passed down through the years until it was returned to surviving members of the Bourbon family and placed in the royal crypt in Paris. A small piece of this heart was sawn off and used to confirm that it belonged to Prince Louis. This confirmation was possible because a strand of his mother Marie-Antoinette’s hair had been preserved in a necklace.^[10]

Alexander the Great… Charles the Wise… Philip the Good… 

When you die, that’s how you want to be remembered, but not everyone is so lucky. We’ve all had a nickname at one point or another that we hated and we all know the feeling – it seems like they followed us around forever. 

Unfortunately, for the next ten people, that is, indeed, the case. They’ve been gone for hundreds, even thousands of years, and yet, the world still remembers them by their mortifying monikers.

10. The Slobberer

Alfonso IX was King of León and Galicia for over 40 years during the 12th and 13th centuries. In 1212, he founded the University of Salamanca, one of the oldest universities in the world still in operation. He also promoted democracy by establishing the earliest known parliamentary system in Europe – the Decreta of León. However, none of his efforts saved him from being remembered as Alfonso Baboso, aka Alfonso the Slobberer.

Apparently, the king was prone to fits of rage where he would foam at the mouth, hence the nickname. However, it should be noted that this particular trait of his was mainly pointed out by Muslim historians after his death. During his reign, King Alfonso took part in the Reconquista, the conflict between Christian kingdoms and Muslim caliphates intended to drive the latter away from the Iberian Peninsula. So maybe this was a way for the Muslim world to get the last laugh on the Slobberer.

9. The Do-Nothing

History is full of lazy, self-entitled royals who ignored their duties and used their positions mainly to lounge about in luxury. This means that you have to work extra hard at doing nothing if you are going to be immortalized for your indolence. Introducing Louis V of France which, technically, was still West Francia during his time in the 10th century. In France, the king is remembered as Louis le Fainéant, meaning Louis the Lazy or Louis the Loafer. In English, he became known as Louis the Do-Nothing.

Louis was named co-ruler as a teenager, while his father Lothair was still king. Then, when Lothair died in 986, the 20-year-old Louis became undisputed King of the Franks. His solo reign lasted a whopping one year before dying in a hunting accident. Because he had spent his time “indulging in all sorts of frivolities” instead of siring an heir, Louis died childless and ended his dynasty, thus triggering the start of France’s lost-lasting Capetian Dynasty.

8. Sea Onion-Head

Not even great rulers are immune to hurtful nicknames. Pericles was one of the most prominent and influential rulers of Ancient Greece. His actions earned him the auspicious moniker of “first citizen of Athens.” However, political enemies and ribald Athenian poets also had a less-flattering designation for him: Schinocephalos, translated as “sea onion-head” or “squill-head.”

This was due to the shape of Pericles’s head, which was said to resemble the bulb of the sea onion. But we will let Plutarch explain it:

“His physical features were almost perfect, the only exception being his head, which was rather long and out of proportion. For this reason almost all his portraits show him wearing a helmet, since the artists apparently did not wish to taunt him with this deformity.”

7. The Fratricide

If you think royal names can get a little confusing, wait ‘till you hear about the Berenguers from the House of Barcelona. During the early 11th century, Berenguer Ramon I was the Count of Barcelona. He had a son whom he named Ramon Berenguer I who, in turn, had twin boys in 1053, and he decided to name them Berenguer Ramon II and Ramon Berenguer II.

To make it easier, we could try to refer to them by their nicknames. Ramon Berenguer II was known as “Cap d’Estopes” or “the Towhead” due to his thick, light blond hair. Meanwhile, his brother had the more unpleasant moniker of “el Fratricida” – the Fratricide.

“Fratricide” refers to a person who murders their own brother or sister, so you might guess how Berenguer Ramon II gained his appellation. In 1075, the brothers succeeded their father as the new rulers of Catalonia, but neither one was the sharing kind. In 1082, Ramon Berenguer the Towhead was killed in the Spanish forests, on his way to Girona. His brother became sole ruler and, although his involvement in his sibling’s death was never proven, everyone thought he did it, so his new sobriquet of Berenguer Ramon the Fratricide followed him around for the rest of his life.

6. The Poorest Man in France

John II, Duke of Alençon, was a 15th-century French nobleman and one of the strongest supporters of Joan of Arc, fighting side by side with her against the English in the Loire Valley. For this, she bestowed upon him the praiseful moniker of “le Beau Duc” – the “Fair Duke.” 

That sounds pretty good as far as nicknames go, but things weren’t always so rosy for the nobleman. His first military engagement proved disastrous for him. When he was only 15 years old, John fought at the Battle of Verneuil as part of the Hundred Years’ War. The conflict was a triumphant victory for the English, who took many French noblemen as captives, with John II among them.

The young duke was held prisoner for five years, until he was finally able to gather the exorbitant ransom that the English wanted for his release. But in order to scrape the money together, John had to sell pretty much everything he owned so, although he was now a free man, he was also a penniless man. And just to kick him while he was down, he then became mockingly known as “the poorest man in France.”

5. The Slit-Nosed

How would you feel if everyone called you by a nickname that reminded you of the most painful and most humiliating thing that ever happened to you? Well, that was the fate of Justinian II, Emperor of the Byzantine Empire during the late 7th century. In 695, after a 10-year reign, Emperor Justinian was deposed by one of his generals named Leontios. 

Strangely enough, Leontios decided not to assassinate his former master. Instead, Justinian was exiled and, as a reminder of his ordeal, he had his nose cut off. Before you start feeling any sympathy for him, know that Justinian II was a cruel tyrant hated by the public, so as he was paraded through the streets, the people started jeering him with cries of “Cut-Nose! Cut-Nose!” 

And thus, he became known as Justinian Rhinotmetus, or Justinian the Slit-Nosed. He had the last laugh, though. While in exile, Justinian had a golden nose fitted to hide his disfigurement. He then raised an army and, ten years after losing the throne, he retook Constantinople and had those who plotted against him beheaded in public.

4. Ship-Breast

The Vikings were not only imaginative but also direct when it came to nicknames. Most of them had something to do with a physical attribute of the person being named. Erik Thorvaldsson, for example, one of the most prominent Norse explorers in history, had a red beard and red hair, so he was known as Erik the Red. Ok, maybe not the most creative appellation in the world, but we’re not here to talk about Erik the Red, we’re here to talk about his mother-in-law.

Her name was Thorbjörg Gilsdóttir. She was married to Jorund Atlason and had a daughter together named Thjodhild, who went on to marry Erik the Red. Thorbjörg was also known as “knarrarbringa,” which literally means Ship-Breast. Unfortunately, she appears sparsely in the Old Norse sagas, mainly in passing relation to Erik the Red, so we can only speculate as to how she earned this malapert moniker.

3. The Impotent

Nobody in history wants to be remembered as “the Impotent,” do they? But that was the unfortunate fate of Henry IV, King of Castile. 

Back then, royal marriages were almost always political, and consummation was a key part of the arrangement since offspring served as tools to unite different royal families. Therefore, not being able to “rise to the occasion” could lead to serious consequences, even war. It certainly constituted grounds for annulling a marriage.

Henry’s first marriage was to Blanche of Navarre in 1440. The two were together for 13 years, but during all that time, they were incapable of producing an heir. Eventually, the marriage was annulled on grounds of impotence. Allegedly, the king tried to blame the whole thing on a spell, and even brought prostitutes to testify that his “downstairs plumbing” was in order, but the annulment still went through.

Even so, Henry married a second time to Joan of Portugal, and she gave birth to a daughter named Joanna in 1462. You would think this would put an end to the rude moniker, but it only made things worse. Rumors spread that Henry had his wife impregnated by one of his court favorites, Beltrán de la Cueva. Joanna received her own ignominious moniker, “la Beltraneja,” mocking her supposed illegitimacy, while her father was immortalized in history as Henry the Impotent.

2. The Unready

Now we know what you’re thinking. Compared to some of the other nicknames in this list, being called “the Unready” doesn’t sound so bad. However, this one earns extra points for infamy. While most of the other rulers mentioned here were simply historical footnotes, the king known as Ethelred the Unready played a pivotal role in English history. 

He ruled as King of the English for 37 years, despite being remembered as an ineffectual ruler who proved unable to prevent the invading Danes from taking over the kingdom. His nickname wasn’t intended to mean “unready” in the modern sense. It was actually a pun on his name, Ethelred, which meant “noble counsel,” since “unræd” meant “no counsel” or “bad counsel.” So it was kinda like calling him “Brainy the brainless.”

Ethelred showed his lack of a “noble counsel” on two particular occasions. First, in 991, when he began paying a large tribute known as Danegeld in order to get the Scandinavian forces to leave his kingdom alone. Then, in 1002, when he enacted the St. Brice’s Day Massacre and ordered the mass killing of all Danes in his kingdom. 

Although there wasn’t an immediate effect, ultimately, this resulted in the fall of Ethelred’s royal line, the House of Wessex, which was then followed by the end of Anglo-Saxon rule in England altogether once the Normans invaded a few decades later.

1. The Dung-Named

It is often said that “history is written by the victors” but, sometimes, it is simply written by those who live longer.

Constantine V was Emperor of the Byzantine Empire during the mid-8th century. Like his father, Leo III, he was a fanatical iconoclast, meaning that he opposed the veneration of religious images, as he considered them heretical. But to simply say that he “opposed” them would be a generous understatement. Throughout his reign, Constantine enacted raids on monasteries to have all their crosses, icons, and other religious knick-knacks destroyed. Those who were caught trying to hide or worship such images were tortured, mutilated, and even executed.

Unsurprisingly, Constantine didn’t have too many fans in the Orthodox Church. So they got back at him after his death by starting a rumor that, when he was a baby, during his baptism, Constantine had defecated in the baptismal font. As word spread, Constantine V became known as Kopronymos – the “dung-named.”

Death is rarely the sort of thing that inspires wonder or delight. Typically, it’s an event that brings about sorrow and introspection. But every so often, a death occurs that’s just perplexing and weird. And when it comes to royalty, they seem to be subject to these unusual and inauspicious deaths more than the general population. 

10. Charles VIII Hit His Head on the Door Frame

If ever there was proof that royals are just like us, it’s in the tale of King Charles VIII and his most unfortunate demise. Charles VIII was the king of France in the late 1400s. At 28 years of age, he was still young and powerful and seemed likely to reign for years to come. 

On April 7, 1498, Charles and his wife were on their way to watch a tennis match. On the way through the chateau at which they were staying, Charles stumbled on a rotten floorboard. According to the court chronicler, they were rushing through what was described as a “nasty” corner of the house where everyone apparently peed on the floor, which is what caused the wood to rot. The king tripped and hit his head on the lintel over the door.

The King was fine for a time and even watched his tennis match, but then collapsed later on and died about nine hours after the initial injury.

9. King Alexander of Greece Was Bit by a Monkey

By now, everyone should know that having a pet monkey is a one way ticket to pain. They’re just not meant to be pets. But back in 1920, no one was around to tell that to King Alexander of Greece. He had to find out the hard way. 

Alexander had been king of Greece for three years. The First World War had only recently ended and there was some serious turmoil in the world at large, so it’s no surprise that the King liked to go for walks with his dogs sometimes.  That’s what he did on October 2.

Someone on the royal staff had a pet monkey, specifically a Barbary macaque. They’re known to be aggressive sometimes, especially if they’ve grown accustomed to humans feeding them. The monkey attacked the King’s dog, so the King did what any dog owner would do when their dog was in danger. He tried to save it. 

A second monkey attacked when the King got involved, biting the man several times. Two of the bites became severely infected. Doctors even considered amputating his leg, but word is the doctors were afraid to do anything that would make it worse. So they effectively did nothing. Twenty-three days after the attack, the King died from the massive infection that had spread through his body.

8. King Henry Ate Too Many Eels

Outside of Japan, eel has never really caught on as a popular food item. Not that no one eats it, it’s just nowhere near as popular as salmon, for instance. That said, it has enjoyed a long culinary history that dates back hundreds of years. For instance, King Henry I of England was a huge fan of eels. So much so that he was warned by doctors he needed to scale back his love of them. 

For whatever reason, Henry’s love of eels was more of a love hate thing. He loved them, but they made him sick. Still, he kept eating. It was said that eating the eels, lamprey to be specific, produced a “deadly chill” in his body and a “sudden and extreme convulsion.”

The final time the sickness overtook him, he suffered a fever and soon passed away. To this day, lamprey, which don’t have bones and apparently are a bit like beef when cooked, can be deadly. They have a bad habit of absorbing mercury in their bodies. 

7. King Bela of Hungary’s Throne Collapsed

In modern parlance, if someone were to say a certain monarch’s throne fell or collapsed, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was a metaphor. It sounds like what someone might say when a monarchy fails. But as Freud once said, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar and sometimes a fallen throne is really a fallen throne. 

King Bela I of Hungary ruled the nation from 1060 until 1063. The man’s reign had been tumultuous, and he’d even fought a victorious war against the Holy Roman Emperor. He was in the midst of preparing for a new war against those who were supporting another’s claim to the throne when the completely inexplicable occurred. 

Bela had been seated on his throne, as in the literal chair which was made of wood, when it collapsed. He was injured so badly when the chair crumbled around him; he died as a result.

6. Prince Sado Was Locked in a Box for 8 Days

Prince Sado of Korea was born in 1735. He was heir to the throne of King Yeongjo, but the King was a violent and angry man. The Prince’s upbringing was one of fear and intimidation and also sickness. He suffered some unnamed maladies during childhood, and as he grew older, his behavior became unusual. After a bout with the measles in his teens, it’s said that he began to suffer hallucinations.

Sado became obsessed with the weather and even believed his clothing affected it. His father became more and more enraged by him and his behavior.  He, in turn, would vent his frustrations on the servants by beating or killing them. There were multiple bodies being removed from the palace every day.When he turned on his younger sister, the king had had enough.

Sado was forced into a rice box, a heavy wooden chest. It was early July, and he was left in the box for eight days, where he died. Some have speculated the prince had syphilis, which led to dementia, but we’ll likely never know for sure. 

5. Duke Jing of Jin Drowned in the Toilet

John Donne once wrote “death, be not proud” and he was referring to the promise of something beyond death. The poem contends that death should not be proud of its accomplishments because, when we wake eternally, death itself will die. That’s a lovely sentiment, of course, but if you believe death capable of taking pride in its work, then you have to believe it got some pride out of the inglorious death of Duke Jing of Jin. The man drowned in a toilet by accident. 

The Duke, sometimes referred to as a Marquis, is said to have had a terrible dream one day. He called for a witch to interpret the dream and she said that he would die before tasting the wheat of the new year. 

When the new wheat came, the duke summoned the witch and had her killed for being wrong. So the story goes, he was about to eat it when his stomach started giving him troubles, so he headed out to what was essentially an outhouse privy. His servants waited a long time for him to come back, but he did not. When they finally went to find him, they found that he had fallen into the cesspool and died. 

4. King John of Bohemia Inexplicably Died in Battle

If a king dies on the field of battle, does that qualify as unusual? In almost every single circumstance, you’d likely have to say no. Leading soldiers to battle seems like a very kingly thing to do. And it was the sort of thing that King John of Bohemia wanted to do as well. 

Crowned king in 1311, he fought in many wars over the years. This included battles against Russian, Italy, Hungary, Lithuania and Austria. He also fought with the French against England. It was at the Battle of Crécy when King John died, felled by a volley of English arrows. A fitting end for a king in most stories, but there was one detail which sets King John’s fate apart.

The Battle of Crécy took place in 1346. King John lost his sight in 1336. The king was blind when he went to battle. His horse had to be tied to two other horses because the man had no idea where he was going. He and the two knights leading him were all killed charging the English.

3. The Prince of Wu Was Killed by a Chess Board

Gaming is serious business for a lot of people. This shouldn’t come as a surprise since it’s been this way for thousands of years. In fact, sometime around 175 BC, a game of chess became life and death for a Chinese crown prince and a future emperor. 

The son of the King of Wu and the son of Emperor Wen were spending some time together in the Han capital. They were both young men and, word has it, drinking was one of the past times in which they engaged when they were together. 

As drinking buddies, the two young men were known to have fun together, playing a variety of games. The two men took up a game of chess, though some sources dispute the exact nature of the game. Regardless of what it was, the men didn’t agree on the rules and got into an argument. The argument got heated and the future emperor took things too far. He grabbed the game board and bashed the crown prince over the head. 

The heavy wooden board must have been formidable as the assault crushed the crown prince’s skull with enough force to end his life. 

2. The Earl of Orkney Was Killed By a Tooth 

Ironic deaths are hard to come by sometimes, but few have achieved the level of dramatic irony that befell Sigurd Eysteinsson, known as Sigurd the Mighty, the first Earl of Orkney. As part of his reign, Sigurd had been conquering various parts of Scotland when he ran into trouble in Moray sometime around the year 1200. 

A man known as Maelbrigte Tusk, on account of his unusually large teeth, was proving to be trouble for Sigurd. In order to settle their differences, the men agreed to hash it out with violence. Each man would bring 40 men and whoever lived was the winner. Sigurd showed up with 80 men.

As expected, Sigurd won. He took Maelbrigte’s head as a prize and rode off with it. Some time during the journey, the gnarly tooth of Maelbrigte pierced Sigurd’s flesh. The resulting infection ended up costing him his life. 

1. King Charles of Navarre Died a Brandy-Soaked Fiery Death

Most people seem to want to die at home in bed if they were to have a choice. Not that most of us do. But the idea makes sense. If given the option, few people would ever choose a painful death. And it’s likely no one would ever choose what happened to King Charles of Navarre.

During his reign in the mid-1300s, Charles was a treacherous and cruel king. He was known to make duplicitous deals and doublecross allies when it suited him. He also was not above slaughtering peasants to quell uprisings and maintain his control. 

In 1387, Charles fell ill with a mystery ailment. Medicine being what it was at the time, doctors didn’t have a very practical solution to his problems. So they prescribed that he be wrapped in brandy-soaked sheets from head to toe. Moreover, he was sewn into the cloth so that he could absorb all the curative properties of the brandy. 

After he was all sewn up, there was a length of excess thread hanging off the fabric. The maid who sewed him in couldn’t find any scissors so she decided to use a candle to burn the thread off. It set the alcohol-soaked sheets ablaze, torching the king trapped within. 

Some say it was an errant coal from the fire that sparked the sheet and not the maid. A Bishop who attended the King even said his death was just a peaceful one. But the burning story has been the one that stuck throughout history.