There were quite a few usual ways that most members of the Scottish and English royal families have died. Their deaths could be due to diseases easily curable or preventable now, like smallpox or measles. It could also be while in battle, or childbirth, or not even surviving infancy. It was usually one of those reasons, but there were times when a dash of peculiarity came along the way, and some members of the royal families died in odd and unexpected ways.

Ate Too Much Fish

Henry I of England was the youngest among the three sons of King William the Conqueror. When the king died, his brother Robert inherited the title of Duke of Normandy, while his other brother William became the King of England. As for Henry did not get much significant land or political power since he was the youngest. When his brother William died, he fought Robert and imprisoned him to take Normandy for himself.

Henry was considered pretty wise and far-sighted for a king, although he was stubborn— a characteristic that would cost him his life. As it turned out, Henry’s favorite dish seemed to be fish. He previously got ill after eating too many horrible-looking, eel-resembling suckers with teeth called lampreys. Per his doctor’s advice, he should stop eating them, but what did Henry do after a good day’s hunting in Normandy? He feasted on lampreys for dinner.

Lamprey mouth. (EPA, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

According to his chronicler, Henry of Huntingdon, he became ill with food poisoning after the feast and suffered “an acute fever while attempting to throw off the oppressive load.” A week later, Henry died. But, of course, there were speculations and possibilities that the fish was poisoned, given the number of enemies he accumulated throughout his 35-year reign. These enemies include his daughter, Empress Matilda, who was unhappy that he did not confer with Normandy’s castles to strengthen her position as his heir.