22. The Tragicomic Demise of the Last British King to Lead His Own Troops Into Battle
Other than a brief scare in 1745, when Jacobins staged a failed uprising to restore the Stuart Dynasty to the throne, George II’s reign was relatively stable. He was not well-liked in Britain, as he spoke with a thick German accent, had a short temper, and was widely viewed as boorish. Still, his years as monarch saw tremendous growth in British prosperity and prestige, as the British Empire grew to become a globe-straddling entity. His death, though, was less regal than his reign, and gave fodder for amusement at the time and ever since.
George II’s death on October 25th, 1760, was tragicomic and undignified. That morning began like all others, with the king following his usual routine: he woke up at 6 AM, had a cup of hot chocolate, then went to the toilet. However, while answering nature’s call, he ended up overstraining himself and suffered a fatal aortic aneurism. When his valet heard a loud crash in the restroom, he rushed in to discover that the king had fallen from his… throne. He passed away soon thereafter.