10 British Kings Buried In Unusual Places

2. Oliver Cromwell Was Buried At Westminster Abbey... Then Dug Up And Hanged, Before Being Decapitated And His Head Reinterred At Cambridge University But His Body Dumped In A London Pit

Granted he technically wasn't a king, but Oliver Cromwell was Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland (December 25, 1653-September 3, 1658) following the removal of the monarchy and the subsequent failure of the Council of State. One of the most controversial figures in British political history, Cromwell played a key role in the "Roundheads'" (Parliamentarians') victory over the "Cavalier" (royalist) forces during the English Civil War, before being one of the signatories of King Charles I's death warrant in 1649. After dying from suspected malaria or septicaemia in September 1658, Cromwell was originally interred at Westminster Abbey. However, when his son Richard failed as Lord Protector, eventually the monarchy was restored, with Charles II becoming King of Britain. As a form of revenge for the original removal of the monarchy, King Charles II had Oliver Cromwell's body exhumed - and then hanged in chains on scaffolding at Tyburn in London. His severed head was also displayed on a pole outside Westminster Hall until 1685. The rest of Cromwell's exhumed body was thrown into a pit near Tyburn after the posthumous "hanging", while his head was sold to several people before it eventually came into the hands of Josiah Henry Wilkinson in 1814. Finally, in 1960 Cromwell's head was buried beneath the floor of the antechapel at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, although its exact location is not known - but a plaque does show mark the approximate position.