On May 11th 1812, Prime Minister Specner Percival was shot dead in he lobby of the House of Commons by one John Bellingham. This is the only assassination of a Prime Minister ever to take place in the UK..

In terms of monarchs, Edward II died in mysterious circumstances at Berkely Castle in 1327. Probably murdered, though not -as is often claimed - by having a red hot poker shoved up his bum!

Richard II died around 1400 in Pontefract Castle. He was either deliberately starved todeath or shot with crossbows by his guards after he attacked them.

Henry VI was murdered in theTowr of London on 21 May 1471, probably at the instigation of Edward IV, though Shakespeare blames Richard of Gloucester (later Richard III).

George V, great-grandfather of King Charles, was adminstered a lethal dose of morphia and cocaine and died on 20th January 1936. The adminstering physician, Lor Dawson of Penn, took this step in order to ease his patients' suffering and to ensure he died before mdnight so that the news would first appear in The Times rather than the 'less appropriate' evening papers.