Jeffrey Hudson

Various theories existed for his size, including that his mother choked on a gherkin while pregnant, but he probably had a growth hormone deficiency caused by a pituitary gland disorder.

When the pie was placed in front of the Queen, Hudson arose from the crust, 18 inches (46 centimetres) tall and dressed in a miniature suit of armour.

[1] Hudson moved into Denmark House in London in late 1626, where the Queen maintained her royal household, with its many French attendants and Catholic priests.

He was one of several natural curiosities and pets, among whom were a giant Welsh porter named William Evans, two disproportionate dwarves, and a monkey called Pug.

The Queen's tailor, George Gillin, made clothes for the female dwarf Sarah, or "little Sara", including an Italian gown of scarlet baize.

Hudson's second trip across the channel occurred in 1637, at age 18, when a group of courtiers travelled to the Netherlands to observe the siege of Breda, as the Dutch were attempting to expel the Spanish army.

As Charles led the Royalist army, the Queen took a small number of her retinue, including Hudson, to the Netherlands to raise money and support for him.

By selling articles from her palace, she raised enough to buy some supplies for the Royalist army but was unsuccessful in obtaining official support from the Protestant Dutch government.

As it became apparent that the war was broadening rather than concluding, the Queen fled to France in 1643 with a small group of courtiers and household staff, again including Hudson.

Although they were warmly received in France and provided with space in the Louvre Palace, the Queen was ailing after a difficult delivery, and she soon moved her court in exile to the spa at Nevers.

Royalist courtiers collected around the Queen, but Hudson had no interest in resuming his role of pet or clown and let it be known he would suffer no more jokes or insults.

Crofts arrived at the duel brandishing a large water squirt,[6][nb 1] but his flippancy would lead to his death, as Hudson fatally shot him in the forehead.

Duelling had been outlawed in France, and this could be considered a transgression against hospitality, in addition to the fact that William Crofts was a powerful figure as the Queen's Master of Horse and head of her lifeguard.

No details of his captivity were recorded except one fact: he claimed to have grown to 45 inches (110 centimetres) during this time, doubling his height after 30 years of age,[9] which he attributed to the hardships he had suffered.