10. The Bizarre Pick Pocket King
King Farouk I (1920 – 1965) ruled Egypt from 1936 to 1952 – a reign marked by corruption, incompetence, and weirdness. Among other things, the king was a literal kleptomaniac who could not resist stealing things and picking people’s pockets. He actually took pick pocketing lessons, and his victims included Winston Churchill, whom Farouk invited to a dinner during WWII. At the meal, Churchill discovered that his pocket watch – a family heirloom that gifted by Queen Anne to his ancestor John Churchill, First Duke of Marlborough – had gone missing. After an outcry and search, Farouk, who had been seated next to Churchill, sheepishly turned it in, claiming to have “found” it.
Early in WWII, Farouk had nightmares of getting chased by hungry lions, and somebody advised him “you will not rest until you have shot a lion“. So he went to the zoo and shot two lions in their cages. By 1952, corruption and maladministration had completely eroded his standing, and he was overthrown in a coup. Hastily fleeing Egypt, Farouk left most of his possessions behind. When the new government auctioned his belongings, it was discovered that Farouk had accumulated the world’s then largest collection of pornography. He eventually settled in Rome, where he literally ate himself to death, collapsing at a restaurant after a heavy meal in 1965.
