Random Signature Afflictions Suffered By The Most Famous Royals (16 items)

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  (#2) Baldwin IV of Jerusalem

  • Dec. at 24 (1161-1185)

  Leprosy - an affliction that targets flesh and tissues - was one of the most misunderstood diseases of the medieval world - and it didn’t discriminate between prince or pauper.

  King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem was a leper. Though it’s unclear when or how he contracted the disease, he showed symptoms of it by the age of 9. Even so, his affliction didn’t hinder his ability to rule Jerusalem in any way. Contemporaries indicated Baldwin’s subjects “took no notice whatsoever of his leprosy.” Baldwin’s status ultimately helped destigmatize the disease.
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  (#6) Empress Elisabeth of Austria

  • Dec. at 61 (1837-1898)

  Elisabeth of Austria was a celebrated beauty with a famously slender waistline - but it came at a cost. To stay slim, she often refused food - or lived on a diet of broth - and exercised constantly.

  Elisabeth’s lack of consistent nutrition and calories caught up with her: she developed edema (or painful swelling) in her feet. When she was still in her 20s in the 1860s, Elisabeth’s edema in her feet got so bad that she sometimes required assistance while walking.
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  (#11) Wilhelm II

  • Dec. at 82 (1859-1941)

  In the process of helping the future Kaiser Wilhelm II survive his breech birth in 1859, the attending physician damaged nerves in the newborn’s arm. Wilhelm’s erb palsy - or nerve damage to the upper arm - resulted in a withered arm.

  Wilhelm consequently had a difficult time using his arm and didn’t have the ability to perform basic functions, like slicing some foods. He was also subjected to severe treatments, such as electrotherapy. Though there is not a direct correlation between his rule of Germany and his condition, he went to great lengths to disguise his withered arm so as to appear a physically strong figure.
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  (#5) Richard III of England

  • Dec. at 33 (1452-1485)

  After studying Richard III’s bones, scientists determined he had scoliosis - a curvature of the spine - that probably developed soon after he turned 10. By adulthood, the curve in Richard’s back was so obvious it prompted one chronicler in the late 15th century to describe the king as “small of stature, with a short face and unequal shoulders, the right higher and the left lower.”

  Though the disease didn’t debilitate Richard - he was slain in combat - it did inspire critics to malign him by using his curved back as evidence of his supposedly crooked character.
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  (#3) Piero di Cosimo de' Medici

  • Dec. at 53 (1416-1469)

  Known as the “disease of kings,” gout - or the painful swelling of joints - has indeed afflicted the rich and famous throughout history. It’s usually brought on by a rich diet, something peasants generally couldn’t afford. Piero il Gottoso (AKA Piero the Gouty) suffered from gout since childhood. It got so bad that it eventually paralyzed him. Accounts from the Medici court suggest the only body part he could move was his tongue.
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  (#7) Emperor Taishō

  • Dec. at 47 (1879-1926)

  Three weeks after his birth on August 31, 1879, Taishō fell ill with cerebral meningitis, a pathogen-induced swelling of the brain and spinal cord. However, he pulled through and became Emperor of Japan in 1912.

  Taishō’s fight with meningitis may have had an effect on his neurological development. At least, that’s what the Japanese government claimed when it issued a proclamation in 1921 that named his son as regent. The document claimed Taishō’s “physical and mental development has been somewhat delayed” due to periods of ill health since childhood.

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