this video is sponsored by magellan tv check out their documentary streaming service to learn even more about history from all over the globe we highly recommend that you watch royal britain and aerial history of the monarchy to witness the land where royal history was made in visually stunning 4k allow this unique documentary to recount tales of monarchs past while overlooking the real landscapes these stories took place upon there's no cg here just the pure lush land of the british isles magellan tv has the most varied content on history available from ancient civilizations to modern times and from in-depth biographies to sweeping war stories you can also dive into their other extensive genres such as science true crime travel and more with over 3 000 documentaries movies and series with some available at 4k high def they have the largest collection out there and their weekly content drops ensure you'll never run out of things to watch simple history viewers can get a 30 off annual membership and a two-week free trial to be sure you love it first this is also available to returning members so if you've let your membership lapse you can still claim this offer click on the link in the description to try magellan tv now you'll be glad you did the rotten royals of old england [Applause] the british monarchs of the modern era are cultured educated and well-mannered they exude sophistication class and elegance acting as a moral figurehead to their subjects however the english kings and queens of the medieval and early modern period were a far cry from their more refined and polished descendants of today the english monarchs of the past were disgusting crude and brash many of their habits customs and actions are considered impolite rude or gross by today's standards and they often overindulged in their respective vices william the conqueror william the conqueror england's first norman king was a short-tempered and merciless ruler who grew obese later in life due to his fondness for excessive food and drink william duke of normandy defeated harold godwinson the anglo-saxon king of england at the decisive battle of hastings in october 1066 he was crowned king on christmas day of the same year william had a well-documented short temper and had extraordinary fits of rage in one instance of bad sportsmanship he smashed a chessboard over the head of a french prince after losing to him in a game of chess as william grew older his anger was matched only by his gluttony both of which may have contributed to his early death and disastrous funeral williams stomach grew so large in his later years that even portly philip the first of france commented on william's extraordinary potbelly stating that william looked pregnant in 1087 william made a claim on the french county of vexon demanding the territory from philip the french king rejected william's claim the corpulent william then led a raid on the french town of mount where he fell over the front side of his saddle possibly due to his protruding stomach william fatally damaged his internal organs and died about five to six weeks later from an infection caused by his injuries at william's funeral the servants attempted to stuff his long bloated corpse into an undersized tomb with catastrophic results his decaying body burst open and his putrid innards filled the room with a horrific stench a nasty end to nasty habits edward iii edward iii was a famously foul medieval monarch who pushed england into the hundred years war with france after his mother isabella of france deposed her husband king edward ii with the help of her lover lord mortimer edward ascended to the throne of england in 1327 at the age of 14. the young king edward iii was essentially a puppet of his mother and mortimer until he stripped her of political influence and had mortimer executed in 1330 although edward rose to power as a young teenager led england into a devastating war with its cross-channel rival and ruled during the great plague outbreak he will always be remembered for the disgusting habits of his childhood as a child edward had filthy fingernails and had dirty habits when being taught his lessons such as reading according to his teacher edward would eat cheese and fleek while he read spilling the crumbs and juice all over his books edward also let his nose run onto the pages of his reading material henry vii and henry viii groom of the stool the tudor monarchs appeared to display an air of pomp and grandeur but they may in fact be england's messiest royal dynasty the first tudor monarch henry vii was crowned king of england in 1485 after he defeated and killed the yorkist king richard iii at the battle of bosworth field by 1495 henry vii created the privy chamber a team assembled to manage the king's private quarters one member of the privy chamber held a unique position that was prominent highly sought after and frankly quite disgusting that position was the groom of the stool a truly messy job the groom of the stool's responsibility was to handle all matters relating to the king's bodily excrement he tended to the king's portable toilet known as a stool and made sure water towels and a washbowl were available for the king upon the completion of his business the groom was also responsible for cleaning out the king's stool upon the monarch's death the groom was given the king's chamber pot and stool as a keepsake of his grossly intimate royal duties this role may seem foul and undesirable but by the end of henry vii's reign in 1509 the groom of the stool had become a highly coveted and incredibly influential position the groom wielded immense power due to his intimate relationship with the king he was assigned a variety of important administrative tasks completely unrelated to royal waste henry viii's first groom of the stool sir william compton was a close adviser to the king and was tasked with running the privy chamber handling the king's finances distributing alms on behalf of the crown and organizing the king's massive collection of goods needed when he and his entourage were traveling around the country visiting courtiers and clergy just to emphasize the sheer scale of this exercise the king's entourage could number 750 courtiers and staff in the summer and as many as 1500 in the winter compton benefited greatly from his position and became one of the wealthiest men in tudor england indeed the chamber pot wielded great power however compton's replacement henry norris did not share the good fortunes of his predecessor norris was accused of conspiring against henry viii and committing adultery with the king's second wife and belin he was beheaded along with the disgraced queen in 1536 ultimately the power of the pot only went so far elizabeth the first the groom of the stool's importance waned in the 17th and 18th centuries and the role was eventually done away with in 1837 by queen victoria but that didn't eliminate the nasty habits of the royal rulers during the reign of elizabeth the first which lasted from 1558 to 1603 the groom of the stool was temporarily replaced by the lady of the bedchamber although the queen didn't have a groom of the stool she was nevertheless a very messy monarch in the middle ages and early modern period bathing was an infrequently performed and uncommon practice elizabeth rarely bathed rumored to have bathed only four times a year whether she needed it or not as europeans began to explore and exploit the new world in the 16th century sugar from the americas flooded into europe with royal access to this new temptation which was perceived as a status symbol queen elizabeth fell victim to a nagging sweet tooth she ate so much sugar that her teeth ultimately began to rot and turned black it was said that she placed a perfumed handkerchief in her mouth before receiving guests to disguise her bad breath it is ironic that the tudors used a polish on their teeth that was actually made of sugar and so exasperated the problem if the sugar habit wasn't enough the queen also fell victim to smallpox during her reign leaving her face etched with ugly scars and pock marks elizabeth also used a heavy white makeup known as venetian ceruse to mask her facial scarring venetian saroos contained white lead pigment a material that could potentially cause lead poisoning and madness along with questionable hygiene elizabeth had quite a temper on one occasion she swore at a court here and spat on him because his coat displeased her one can only imagine the foul experience of being covered in saliva and shouted at by this bad tempered royal james the first elizabeth's younger cousin and successor james the first england's first king of the stuart dynasty was another unhygienic monarch who rarely bathed james hated water and never completely washed his hands he merely brushed the ends of his fingers with a slightly wet napkin james's poor hygiene caused him to itch constantly and he produced a vile body odor because he refused to change his clothes james only actually changed outfits when his clothes became completely worn out this king also frequently slobbered and picked his nose as one can see from the generations of english monarchs nasty habits horrific hygiene and royal rudeness took a seat on the throne alongside the reigning ruler [Music] oh