HENRY I of ENGLAND.

A tragic king, who ate a surfeit of lampreys and never smiled again. This was a bad thing as he was essentially a good king. Henry was the fourth son of William I (also known as William the Conqueror). He was an expert matchmaker, especially for himself. He married Mathilda, daughter of the King of Scots and thus allied the church and the English for no apparent reason. He showed great diplomatic skills with further marriage matches averting troubles in Normandy and with the Pope and generally increasing England's influence abroad. This may seem a strange thing as Henry was born of French stock.

Henry was a popular king with the masses but was despised by the barons. Even his son and his supporters were often conspiring against Him. This filial problem was shortlived however, as his son was tragically drowned in the 'White Ship' incident of 1120 (A White Ship with the young Prince on board sank just out of harbour from Barfleur on the North West coast of France).
Henry was respected for his parliamentary skills and for not being a tyranneous ruler. He died on December 1st 1135 from overindulging in his favourite food, Lamprey. This was sad and therefore a bad thing as it meant he could not enjoy his favourite dish on Christmas Day. A few words on lamprey in case you're wondering. Lamprey is a mean looking fish with a parasitic temperament. It has a round sucker for a mouth with teeth like projections. They attach themselves to other fish and rasp away the flesh with their teeth. Satiated, they then release their grasp leaving a sucking hole in the side of the poor fish who will no doubt die later from the effects of infection if not eaten by an even larger fish. Lamprey are highly esteemed as food having a meaty taste and texture but sadly (for Henry at least), because their flesh is very fatty it is not easily digested.
(See Querky Recipes for how to cook lamprey).

But let's not forget.... Lupe Velez