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(#1) Elizabeth I of England
- Dec. at 70 (1533-1603)
Royal Title: Queen of England
Relatives Killed:
Her royal arch-rival, Mary, Queen of Scots. Always a Catholic rival to Elizabeth, Mary thought of herself as the rightful queen of England. She was raised in France but came back home to Scotland in her teens. Mary married her own first cousin, had an heir, and got into a lot of political trouble (her alleged lover and third husband might have killed her second spouse). Mary wound up in battle against her own nobility, abdicated her throne, and threw herself on the mercy of her cousin Elizabeth by fleeing to England. Mary was imprisoned by her for decades until a plot to kill Elizabeth that allegedly implicated Mary was revealed. The Queen of Scots was executed in 1587.
Her second cousin, Thomas, Duke of Norfolk. One of the Queen of Scots's followers was Elizabeth's own cousin, an English duke named Thomas Howard. He became involved in multiple insurrections against Elizabeth, leading to his execution in 1572.
Elizabeth's first-cousin-twice-removed, Robert, Earl of Essex. One of the Virgin Queen's favorites was Robert Devereux, son of her first-cousin-once-removed, Lettice Knollys. He charmed the much older Elizabeth but offended her many times and may have even possibly tried to overthrow the government. Elizabeth ultimately had him beheaded at the Tower of London in 1601.
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(#10) Aurangzeb
- Dec. at 89 (1618-1707)
Royal Title: Mughal Emperor of India
Relatives Killed:
His arch-rival, his brother Dara Shikoh. Although Dara was Muslim, he was very interested in finding connections between his faith and Hinduism. In contrast to his extremely devout warrior sibling Aurangzeb, this philosopher prince was very interested in religious plurality. However, Aurangzeb beat Dara in battle, making himself their father's number one choice as successor, and ordered his heretical brother executed.
Another brother, Shah Murad. Murad allied himself with Aurangzeb at one point, but rivalries got the best of the siblings. The emperor got Murad drunk and kept him captive for three years, then executed him in 1661.
His nephew Sulaiman Shikoh, son of Dara. Three years after Dara's death, Sulaiman was imprisoned and allegedly fed opium regularly, which led to the decline of his health. He finally passed away in 1662.
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(#3) Cleopatra
- Dec. at 39 (68 BC-29 BC)
Royal Title: Pharaoh of Egypt
Relatives Killed:
Her sister Arsinoe IV. Cleopatra's little sister wanted to be pharaoh herself and even rallied an army in support of her claim, but Cleopatra and her Roman allies defeated her. Arsinoe was exiled to Turkey and later murdered on her sister's orders.
Her two brothers (also her husbands), Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV. In true royal Egyptian fashion, Cleopatra married both her brothers, but they died under suspicious circumstances. Ptolemy XIII set himself up as Cleopatra's rival in Alexandria but died in battle with her Roman allies, led by Caesar. Next up was Ptolemy XIV, who was possibly killed by Cleopatra so that her son by Caesar, Caesarion, could assume power.
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(#9) Edward IV of England
- Dec. at 41 (1442-1483)
Royal Title: King of England
Relative Killed:
His brother, George, Duke of Clarence. An ambitious younger son, George conspired against his big brother multiple times, allying with the influential Earl of Warwick to oust Edward. When that didn't work, George and Warwick ran away to France for a time. The family reconciled, but when Edward foiled George's marriage plans, the little prince began to plot again and was thrown into prison. In 1478, Edward announced the charges he was filing against his brother, then ordered his brother to be quietly killed.
Legend has it that Edward didn't demand his brother's execution, but instead had the drunkard drowned in a cask of Malmsey wine.
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(#2) Herod the Great
Royal Title: King of Judea
Relatives Killed:
His wife, Mariamne. Herod wasn't born a Judean; he was the Roman pick to rule the province of Judea. He married into the Judean royal family - in this case, by wedding a princess named Mariamne. This union was supposed to lead to peace, but it didn't really have that effect. Herod was intensely possessive of Mariamne and, after accusing her of adultery, executed her in 29 BCE, along with Mariamne's mother.
His surviving sons by Mariamne, Alexander and Aristobulus. These two boys arguably had a better claim to the throne than Herod. Herod and his eldest son by another wife, Antipater II, heard that these two princes wanted Herod dead to get vengeance for their mother. Antipater continually poured poison in Herod's ears, so much so that he had the boys strangled in 7 BCE.
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(#5) Agrippina the Younger
- Dec. at 44 (15-59)
Royal Title: Empress of Rome
Relatives Killed:
Allegedly, her uncle and husband Claudius. Agrippina was his fourth wife, and she started jockeying for power soon after their marriage. She started pushing her own son, Nero, to be Claudius's heir, rather than his own son Britannicus; Claudius adopted little Nero and betrothed him to his own daughter.
In 54 CE, Claudius died following a big feast. Rumor had it that Agrippina convinced Claudius's eunuch, who tasted all the imperial food before his master, to poison Claudius's mushroom dish. Other versions of the tale have Agrippina more directly poisoning her husband.
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About This Tool
Historical facts tell us that not all rulers in real life are the handsome, strong, and benevolent kings described in fairy tales. Most rulers in history have carried out cruel executions to consolidate their status and maintain the rule of the royal family. Many royal families Members have also been cruelly treated because of the strengthening of the imperial power, such as Peter the Great, who once cruelly executed many people, including his son Alexei for treason.
Regardless of whether these cruel rulers were born like this, or the lofty status that drove them to do some despicable things, their actions have more or less promoted the course of history. The random tool introduced 13 historical rulers who killed their own relatives.
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