14. King George II Strained Too Hard While On The Toilet, Causing A Massive Heart Attack (1760)
Having spent 33 years on the throne, King George II died on October 25, 1760, as the oldest monarch in history (up to that point). He had arisen from his bed and taken a sip from his hot chocolate before sitting down on his close stool - or toilet. Straining, he suffered a huge cardiac arrest and collapsed on to the floor. Writing of the death in his memoirs, Horace Walpole recollected:
"(King George) rose as usual at six, and drank his chocolate; for all his actions were invariably methodic. A quarter-after-seven he went into a little closest. "His German valet de chambre in waiting heard a noise and, running in, found the King dead on the floor."
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.
