#friedrich i of prussia
Nearly poison yourself by swallowing obscure powders and potions in an attempt to fend off your family’s imaginary attempts at poisoning you
After his younger brother died unexpectedly, the future Frederick I of Prussia became convinced his stepmother was trying to poison him in an attempt to make her eldest son the heir to the throne. This suspicion might also have been reinforced by the less than enthusiastic attitude of Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg, to his son and heir, including comments made to foreign envoys that he was “good for nothing”. Trying to protect himself from said supposed ploy, Frederick I promptly proceeded to flee to his wife’s family in Hanover, where he spent the next six months, and regularly ingested a number of dodgy remedies which left him suffering from severe stomach pains. In the end the intervention of the Emperor and various Brandenburg-Prussian officials was required to motivate Frederick to return to Berlin.
