Discover eleven of the most bizarre ways royals have died, from the Greek King killed by a monkey to the English Conqueror who buckled under his own weight.
In fairytales, princes and princesses lived charmed lives that always include a happy ending. But as this list of 11 royal deaths proves, monarchs have met plenty of bizarre ends over the centuries.
Some of the royals included here had a fatal interaction with food, like the king who ate too many lampreys, another king who ate too many pastries, and the duke who was drowned in a vat of wine. Others met shocking ends while firing cannons, recovering from an illness, or trying to become immortal.
Though many are better known for what they accomplished in life, quite a few of the royals on this list are only remembered because of the bizarre way they died.
The Unexplained Death Of Alexander The Great
Bettmann/Getty ImagesA depiction of Alexander the Great in the Battle of Issus, ca. 310 B.C.E.
In life, this conqueror established a reputation as a brilliant military mind, a powerful king, and the force that created the largest empire in the ancient world. But Alexander the Great’s death at the age of 32 has left historians scratching their heads.
By 323 B.C., the year that he died, Alexander the Great had established a far-flung empire that covered some two million square miles, according to the BBC. After inheriting the kingdom of Macedonia, he steadily conquered so much land that his kingdom stretched from Greece all the way to India.
But as he prepared to expand his empire, Alexander the Great was suddenly struck by a mysterious fever in Babylon, present-day Iraq. Over the next 12 days, the great conqueror grew sicker and sicker.
Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty ImagesA painting depicting the death of Alexander the Great.
According to the Smithsonian, Alexander the Great suffered from a pain in his back that felt like being impaled with a spear, unquenchable thirst, and creeping paralysis. Before long, the conqueror couldn’t even raise his head.
By the time he died in June 323 B.C.E, no one was sure exactly what had killed him. Adding to the mystery was the fact that Alexander the Great’s body allegedly didn’t decompose for six full days which, according to History, led some of his contemporaries to believe that he wasn’t a man at all, but rather, a god.
So how did Alexander the Great die? This royal death has confounded historians for years. Some believe that he was infected by malaria while others suspect that the conqueror was actually poisoned.
One scholar, Katherine Hall, even posited that he suffered from the neurological disorder Guillain-Barré Syndrome, which would have paralyzed him to the point that he would have seemed dead though wasn’t yet, thus explaining his slow decomposition.
King Adolf Frederick Of Sweden Who ‘Ate Himself To Death’
DeAgostini/Getty ImagesKing Adolf Frederick is best known for his rather embarrassing royal death.
King Adolf Frederick of Sweden was a middling king who would have likely left little mark on history if not for the way he died. On Feb. 12, 1771, the Swedish monarch apparently ate himself to death.
Until that point, Adolf Frederick hadn’t accomplished much. According to Ancient Origins, he was born a younger son of a Swedish noble who, thanks to maneuvering by Elizabeth of Russia, ended up as heir to the Swedish throne. Once there, he was more a figurehead than a ruler.
But though Adolf Frederick had little power, he had a royal appetite. And as the monarch prepared for Lent in 1771, he sat down for a feast fit for a king.
Getty ImagesAfter tucking into a generous feast, Adolf Frederick allegedly enjoyed more than a dozen semlas, a cream-filled Swedish pastry.
On Fettisdagen, or Fat Tuesday, Adolf Frederick tucked into a meal that included lobster, caviar, kippers, sauerkraut, boiled meats, and turnips, all washed down with generous pours of champagne. He might have survived the night if he’d stopped there, but the king also called for a dessert.
After his feast, Adolf Frederick enjoyed semlas, Swedish pastries filled with cream that were traditionally eaten on Fat Tuesday. Not only did the king feast on 14 of these pastries, but he also enjoyed them alongside a bowl of hot milk flavored with cinnamon and raisins.
Unsurprisingly, he complained of a stomachache soon afterward. The king’s stomachache got worse and worse, until Adolf Frederick died, apparently from severe digestive problems. His embarrassing royal death cemented the king in history and, indeed, he’s remembered for little else.
