Book excerpt: Which king's guards massacred a group of his supporters by mistake? Who had an oversized tongue and had to slobber when they ate food? Who was so large when they died that they had to be buried in a square coffin? Who survived seven assassination attempts? As you can tell from the bizarre questions above, it wasn't all thrones and sceptres for British kings and queens. Some of them were completely batty, and others were downright vicious. On the other hand, some monarchs were an icon to the people and represented the power and importance of Britain and England. 'Kings & Queens, A Very Peculiar History' explores some of the most marvellous monarchs to have ruled Britain and ekes out their bizarre habits and idiosyncracies, featuring quirky stories and fascinating facts and lists.