June 14, 1619 was the Christening date of court jester and Little Person Jeffrey Hudson. His exact date of birth is not known, but surely it was not more than a few days earlier.
Hudson was the son of a butcher and the keeper of baiting bulls for the Duke of Buckingham. At age seven he joined the Duke's retinue as an entertainer to the Duchess but his time there was short, as a few months later he was presented to Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria, the latter of whom was so entranced she kept him. The 18 inch Hudson had made his debut before the Royal couple by popping out of a pie. Hudson's small size was probably the result of a pituitary condition. Nicknamed "Lord Minimus" he was considered remarkably well-proportioned. (Technically he was probably a midget rather than a dwarf, but we try not to use either word nowadays). Hudson was made part of the Queen's household, among a group of entertainers that included several other Little People, a Welsh giant named William Evans, and a monkey. He often took part in masques organized by Inigo Jones, and worked out clown bits with Evans, such as one where the latter put him between two pieces of bread and made him into a sandwich. As an adult he acquired verbal wit, and became a valued jester in that sense as well.
Then...things grew serious. The English Civil War broke out in the 1640s, and the Queen and her retinue went into exile in France. Hudson was made an honorary Captain of the Guard, and no longer wished to be treated as a pet, a child, or a clown. Others saw things differently. In 1644, the brother of the Queen's Master of Horse William Crofts insulted him apparently and Hudson challenged him to a duel. Crofts didn't take that seriously either -- he showed up with a squirt gun. Hudson brought a real gun, and shot him through the head.
As a punishment, Hudson was exiled from the Queen's court and sent packing. Within a matter of weeks he was kidnapped and enslaved by Barbary Pirates, a condition he remained in for over 25 years, from the age of 25 to 50. This picaresque tale would be an amazing film role for Peter Dinklage! By the time of his return to England in 1668 he had grown several inches (much as Charles Stratton did in middle age two centuries later). He lived on the generosity of the Royals and nobility but seems to have had a hard go of it. He also spent two years in an English prison for "Popery" due to his close connection to the Stuarts. He disappeared after about 1682.
For related reading, please check out the book Rose's Royal Midgets and Other Little People of Vaudeville.
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