Sir Jeffrey Hudson, A.K.A. Lord Minimus, Britain’s Smallest Jester
Wikimedia CommonsLord Minimus reportedly stood just 18 inches tall.
Born in 1619, Sir Jeffrey Hudson was known as both the “Queen’s dwarf” and “Lord Minimus.” He was largely considered to be one of the “wonders of the age” due to his extremely small yet well-proportioned stature. But although the man himself was tiny, his life story was anything but.
Hudson was the only dwarf in his family. Both of his parents, his three brothers, and his sister were all of average height. His size can likely be attributed to a growth hormone deficiency, although there were other theories at the time, such as that his mother had choked on a gherkin while she was pregnant.
Regardless of the cause, news of Hudson’s size spread to the Duchess of Buckingham, who then invited him to join her household. According to the biography Lord Minimus: The Extraordinary Life of Britain’s Smallest Man, the duchess introduced Hudson to Queen Henrietta Maria, the wife of England’s King Charles I, just a few months later — by having him pop out of the queen’s pie wearing a tiny suit of armor.
The queen was so delighted by Hudson’s appearance that the Duke and Duchess of Buckingham handed the small boy off to the queen as a gift.
Hudson lived in a royal residence in London alongside a man named William Evans, who was over seven feet tall, two other dwarfs, and a pet monkey named Pug. He quickly learned to charm and entertain guests with his wit. Hudson and Evans even developed a comedy routine in which the giant would pull the 18-inch-tall dwarf from his pocket.
However, Hudson’s time in the royal court was cut short in October 1644 when he challenged a man to a duel. The man arrived at the meeting spot with a large squirt gun; Hudson brought a real firearm. Hudson then shot the man in the head, killing him.
Unfortunately, the man was brother to the powerful and influential William Crofts, who demanded that Hudson be executed. The queen intervened and prevented Hudson’s death, banishing him from court instead. From then on, Hudson’s bad luck continued. Barbary pirates raided a ship he was on, kidnapping him and selling him into slavery in Africa for the next 25 years.
Hudson eventually made it back to England around 1669 — but he was then imprisoned for his Catholic faith, released just two years before his death, and buried in a pauper’s grave.
