26 Facts About The Gruesome Deaths Of Historical Rulers
“If I die a violent death, as some fear and a few are plotting, I know that the violence will be in the thought and the action of the assassins, not in my dying.”— Indira Gandhi
When a ruler dies suddenly for any reason other than old age or sickness, the world immediately begins spinning theories about the cause.
Throughout history, many rulers have died or been killed under unusual circumstances, and in many cases, the true circumstances of their deaths are never known. Here are 26 strange facts about rulers who met death under unusual circumstances.
Deaths Of Historical Rulers Facts
26. Death on the Loo
At the time of his death in 1760, King George II of Great Britain and Ireland was already blind in one eye and partially deaf. One morning, he got up as usual, had a cup of hot chocolate, and went to the bathroom alone.
While he was moving his bowels, he suffered an aortic aneurysm, which caused his aorta to rupture, killing him instantly.
25. Medieval Mystery
William II was the arrogant and irrational second son of William the Conqueror, and by all accounts, he was an extremely poor ruler. On August 2, 1100, William joined his younger brother Henry in a hunting party in New Forest.
After the group split up, William set off with a man named Walter Tirel. As Tirel was a better marksman, William gave him two of his arrows to shoot at the stag, but instead, ended up with one of them deep in his chest.
Both his brother and the French both had good reasons for wanting him dead, and theories suggest that Tirel’s “accident” was part of a conspiracy to assassinate the King.
24. Lion of the North
King Charles XII of Sweden (nicknamed the “Lion of the North” by Voltaire) had a habit of leading the country into catastrophic conflicts that wasted men and money, and lost valuable territory.
These unnecessary engagements made Charles extremely unpopular with his people, and in 1718, he was conveniently killed by a bullet to the head during a siege in Danish-held Norway.
There were several aspects of his death that raised questions. First, despite their being many troops around, there was no witness to the moment of the king’s death.
Second, his skull contained two holes—one on either side—which led to questions regarding which side the bullet entered and exited from. Knowing which was which would determine whether it was his own men or the enemy who fired the bullet.
Third, many of the King’s companions began acting bizarrely right before his death.
Prince Frederick was extremely anxious, and while suffering from a severe fever, Frederick’s secretary confessed to the murder, although he recanted after he recovered.
Finally, there was the King’s surgeon’s odd dream that suggested that the bullet came from their own men.
