3. Edward IV of England ordered the execution of his brother, George, who decided to die by being drowned in a vat of wine
Edward IV enjoyed two periods as King of England, initially reigning between March 1461 and October 1470 before being briefly overthrown and subsequently restored in April 1471; thereafter, Edward ruled uninterrupted until his death in 1483. The first Yorkist King of England, Edward’s father, Richard, Duke of York, had engaged in a protracted conflict to seize the throne whilst the incumbent monarch, Henry VI, was incapacitated by mental illness. Although Richard died in battle, Edward, then only aged nineteen, was sufficiently positioned to proclaim himself king and march against the Lancastrians to victory.
Due to the nature of his ascension, Edward’s reign was marked by insurrection and political intrigue. After betraying the Yorkists, Edward’s younger brother, George, Duke of Clarence, fled to the continent with the Earl of Warwick in the hope he might be elevated in Edward’s place in the future. However, realizing he was not the favored successor among the exiles, George returned in the hope of reconciliation. Instead, in 1478 George was found guilty of treason and sentenced to death. Imprisoned in the Tower of London, it is believed, having chosen his own method of execution, George elected to die by being “drowned in a butt of Malmsey wine“.