It's Good to be the King---or is It?

So said Mel Brooks repeatedly in his "History of the World, Part I."  And, in many ways, he was right.  Kings had power, money, and certainly did not live in deprivation or starvation.  Instead, kings (and queens) had other things to worry about.   Before you roll your eyes and think, "I wish I had their problems," consider that intrigue was a given, and seems to have been constant, given just the handful of examples below:

Edward the Martyr of England (c962-978) was calling on his stepmother and his half-brother at Corfe Castle in Dorset.  When he arrived, those who greeted him stabbed him to death as he dismounted from his horse.  The murder was committed at the orders of his stepmother, Elfrida.

Edmund II of England (c989-1016), was said officially to have died of natural causes, but was believed by some chroniclers to have been murdered.  There is evidence to support that an assassin hid under the king's privy, and while Edward was seated, stabbed him twice through the rectum and into the bowels.

Richard II of England (1367-c1400) made an enemy of Henry Bolingbroke, his cousin.  When Richard later found himself deserted by his supporters, he was imprisoned in the Tower of London by Henry, who later claimed the throne.  Richard was moved from the Tower of London to Pontefract Castle in Yorkshire, where several of his supporters tried to free him and murder Henry in the process.  In return, Richard was left to die at the castle, most likely of starvation.

James I of Scotland (1394-1437) and his wife were attacked by a group of assassins on February 20, 1436.  James fled into an underground vault where he was cornered and stabbed to death.  Among the conspirators were an old friend, and James' grandson, Robert.

These are just a few of the known instances of regicide, as opposed to the executions of deposed or overthrown rulers.  Many others died in battle or as the result of wounds sustained in battle, and yet more under questionable circumstances where murder was suspected or rumored but could not be proven.  Several were able to discover plots against them in time to turn the tables on their enemies.  Even Edward VII of England was the victim of an assassination attempt in April 1900, and rumors still swirl about the death of Princess Diana.

Good to be the king, perhaps, but you might want to sleep with one eye open.