10 British Kings Buried In Unusual Places

5. Only One Of King William I's Thigh Bones Remain Buried In Normandy... After His Body Was Dug Up And His Remains Scattered During The French Wars Of Religion

Famed for leading the Norman Conquest of 1066, William the Conqueror reigned as King of England between December 25, 1066 and September 9, 1087. However, it was back in France where he died - supposedly injured after falling from his horse, with his saddle smashing into his face, mortally wounding him, as he rode out against the French Vexin in the middle of 1087. Taken to the priory of Saint Gervase at Rouen, King William I died on September 9 and his body was sent to the Abbaye-au-Hommes in Caen, Normandy, where he had requested to be buried. Bizarrely, when the corpse was lowered into the tomb it was found to be too large for the space though, and the body burst open, spraying disgusting and decomposed internal organs everywhere. Marked with a marble slab, the tomb has been disturbed on numerous occasions since - first in 1522 on orders from the Pope, then in 1562 when it was reopened and the bones distributed across the country during the French Wars of Religion. Just one thigh bone remains, and that was reburied in 1642 with a new marker - that once again had to be replaced when it was destroyed during the French Revolution. King William I hasn't exactly been able to rest in peace, has he?