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Ivan Vasilievich the Terrible. The ruler of the 16th century went down in history as one of the most cruel kings. The tortures and executions of the boyars, for which Ivan IV became famous, he committed in fits of the strongest paranoia. A chemical analysis of the remains of Ivan the Terrible showed a mercury content many times higher than the norm, so a version of the tsar’s deliberate poisoning immediately appeared. However, in the Middle Ages, mercury treatment was common, “silver water” was used as a drug to combat a whole list of ailments (for example, syphilis). The prolonged and disastrous treatment not only resulted in death, but could also explain the king’s emotional instability.

Elizabeth I. The last of the Tudor line, Elizabeth never married or had children. The vow of celibacy may have been the result of a severe psychological shock due to the execution of Elizabeth’s mother, Anne Boleyn, and several stepmothers. However, Stefan Zweig, like some other researchers, suggests that the cause was a physiological disorder. Throughout her life, the queen abused sweets, which could not affect the condition of her teeth: in recent years, many of them have rotted, others have fallen out. Shortly before her death, the ruler fell into severe melancholy (probably clinical depression), which hastened her departure.

Peter the Great. Peter I opened a window to Europe, and also introduced the tradition of regular treatment with mineral waters. A famous legend says that the emperor caught a cold while rescuing sailors on a sinking boat near Lakhta. However, everything was more prosaic. The first Russian emperor died of urolithiasis. There is an assumption that the general health of the ruler was also complicated by poorly healed syphilis.

Napoleon Bonaparte. One of the most ambitious rulers in history was not content with France alone, but dreamed of ruling the world. The chain of brilliant campaigns and victories was finally interrupted at Waterloo. The French emperor spent the last days of his life on the island of Saint Helena, where he contracted blood dysentery (amebiasis). Amoebic abscess of the left lobe of the liver, together with progressive stomach cancer, caused the death of the commander.

Paul Deschanel. French President from February to September 1920, Deschanel is known for several incidents. During his reign, his mental illness progressed. The first embarrassment happened in May, when the politician was traveling by train and heading towards the south of France. He went to the window, leaned on it and lost his balance. The president who fell out of the train came to the nearest railway station and introduced himself, his shabby appearance and stories left no doubt – the locals mistook him for a drunkard. In September, the President bathed in clothes in one of the reservoirs of the Rambouillet Park. After the second precedent, the politician was asked to resign. Deschanel was not put off. A year later, he recovered from his illness and was elected chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee. True, he soon died.

Woodrow Wilson. The 28th President of the United States suffered a series of strokes before taking office in 1913. Few people know that the initiator of the creation of the League of Nations suffered another stroke in 1919. He was skillfully hidden from the press and the public, and his wife, Edith Wilson, became the de facto ruler of the country during his restoration.

Franklin Roosevelt. Franklin Roosevelt ruled the United States during the Great Depression and World War II. Since 1921, the effects of polio have permanently chained him to a wheelchair. This did not affect his political career: in 1944 he was elected for a 4th term. It would seem that the public guessed that the president was in poor health, but only those closest to him understood the scale of these problems. Heart failure, respiratory diseases, jumps in blood pressure – Roosevelt’s supporters were silent about this. On the contrary, his doctor officially declared the politician’s excellent health. A few months after this statement, Franklin Roosevelt died. The official cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage.

Margaret Thatcher. Leader of the Conservative Party, Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1979 to 1990. and one of the most influential women of the 20th century. In 2002, the “Iron Lady” suffered a series of microstrokes, after which she very rarely appeared in public. In official statements, Margaret Thatcher increasingly referred to the flu and feeling unwell. For example, her health prevented her from attending the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. In December 2012, Thatcher underwent surgery to remove a bladder tumor, and she died four months later.

Robert Mugabe. President of Zimbabwe from 1987 to 2017 in addition to political decisions, he also became famous for mystification around his own health. Since 2007, Mugabe has been receiving regular treatment in Singapore for cancer. Chemotherapy, according to the most popular assumptions, was directed at prostate cancer or cancer of the larynx. For 12 years he spoke of excellent health and continued to make regular public appearances. In 2015, the president, descending from the podium, fell on the steps. But there is no evidence of this fact – Mugabe’s supporters forced the journalists to delete all the photographs. In September 2019, the 95-year-old ruler died in a private Singapore clinic. The official cause of death was never given.

Shinzo Abe. The Prime Minister of Japan in 2006-2007, as well as in 2012-2020, chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party, Abe unexpectedly resigned due to deteriorating health. The reason was a sharp exacerbation of ulcerative colitis – inflammation of the mucous membrane of the colon. A chronic disease provoked by a genetic predisposition and environmental factors caused severe pain in the politician. In July 2022, Shinzo Abe died as a result of an assassination attempt.