20 Historical Figures Who Died of Grief

Just when you thought a Romeo and Juliet-style story couldn’t happen in real life, don’t forget about Mark Antony, the Roman general and member of the Triumvirate. He died in Alexandria in 30 B.C. after his troops and those of Cleopatra were defeated by Octavian. According to ancient sources, Antony actually stabbed himself after learning—wrongly—that Cleopatra had died. 

It was not only Antony who lost his life in 30 B.C.; Cleopatra also died in Alexandria shortly after his death. After Octavian’s conquest of Egypt, Cleopatra faced the prospect of humiliation during a Roman triumph, all while mourning the man with whom she had shared both a romantic relationship and a political alliance. Her suicide—traditionally attributed to poisoning—has thus been remembered as her final act.

Katherine Carver, a passenger on the Mayflower and the wife of John Carver, governor of the Plymouth Colony, died in 1621, during the colony’s first year in New England. John had in fact died in the spring of that year after collapsing while working in the fields, and Katherine passed away just a few weeks later. William Bradford, the colony’s principal chronicler, attributed her death to a “broken heart.”

Sarah Curran, born in 1782, became famous for her secret engagement to the Irish nationalist Robert Emmet. This love story was short-lived, however, as Emmet was executed for treason in 1803 following the failure of his uprising against British rule. Curran later married Captain Henry Sturgeon before dying of tuberculosis in 1808, and the writer Washington Irving helped perpetuate the belief that the grief caused by Emmet’s execution had been the ultimate cause of her death.

Gruffydd ap Rhys, Prince of Deheubarth in southern Wales, died in 1137, just one year after the death of his wife, Gwenllian ferch Gruffudd. Gwenllian had led the Welsh forces against the Normans at Kidwelly in 1136, while Gruffydd was away seeking reinforcements, and she was killed after the battle. Their tragic story subsequently inspired Welsh folklore, and Gruffydd’s death became a rallying symbol of Welsh resistance.

Saint Margaret of Scotland, queen consort of Malcolm III, died in 1093 at Edinburgh Castle. At first glance, this did not seem to come as a great shock, given that she was already seriously ill; but upon learning that Malcolm and their eldest son, Edward, had been killed in Northumbria, tradition holds that this news only deepened her grief.

Henry II of England died in 1189 in Chinon after years of conflict with his sons, particularly Richard and John. Toward the end, Henry reportedly learned that John, whom he had favored, had joined the rebellion against him, and accounts from the time suggest that his sons’ betrayal broke his spirit even before his body gave out.

Mary I of England died in 1558 after a reign marked by numerous trials: religious conflicts, an unpopular marriage to Philip II of Spain, and humiliation on the battlefield. Since she had no heir, England lost Calais to France in 1558, thus ending more than two centuries of English rule over that port. 

Princess Kaʻiulani of Hawaii, born in 1875, died in 1899 following the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy. She had been designated heir apparent by Queen Liliʻuokalani and had spent part of her youth abroad, where she made a public appeal for the restoration of her country’s sovereignty. Although her biography mentions health problems, her contemporaries nevertheless suggested that the loss of her nation’s independence had contributed to her death.

Princess Sophie of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach took her own life in Heidelberg in 1913. News articles at the time attributed this act to her family’s opposition to her relationship with Hans von Bleichröder, although the specific details remain unclear. In any case, her death was widely regarded as a royal tragedy.

Eugène Delamare was a country doctor in Normandy who shared his life with his wife, Delphine Delamare. Everything seemed to be going well until she died in 1848, following financial difficulties, an affair, and a scandal—a betrayal so cruel that it actually inspired parts of Gustave Flaubert’s novel, Madame Bovary, published in 1857. It is said that Eugène himself died of a broken heart after being cheated on and ruined by his own fiancée.

Ella Merritt Post led a relatively eventful life before her death in 1912. The first wife of cereal magnate C. W. Post and mother of Marjorie Merriweather Post, her death came after years of marital strife and declining health. Perhaps the most painful blow was that C. W. separated from her in 1904 and married his secretary later that year. Marjorie later stated that her mother had died of a broken heart.

Ciro Terranova, also known as “The Artichoke King,” was a New York gangster of Sicilian descent with ties to the Morello family. He died in 1938 from strokes and heart failure, but his final years were marked by much more than just a life of crime. He was overwhelmed by poverty and humiliation; even his fellow gangsters described the cause of his death as a disgrace, rather than an act of violence.

Edward II of England was forced to abdicate in 1327 after years of military setbacks and in the face of opposition from his wife, Isabella of France (as well as his ally, Roger Mortimer). He was imprisoned at Berkeley Castle, where he died later that year under circumstances that remain controversial. Some accounts suggest he was assassinated, while others believe he died of illness.

Shah Jahan became a completely different man after the death of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, in 1631. Mumtaz died after giving birth to their fourteenth child, and Shah Jahan responded by commissioning the construction of the Taj Mahal as her mausoleum. He lived until 1666, but his final years have long been interpreted as those of a man in decline, overwhelmed by immense grief.

Juana of Castile may have become queen of Castile after her mother’s death, but that does not mean her political life was spared grief and confinement. When her husband, Philip the Handsome, died suddenly in 1506, Juana’s mourning became the subject of dramatic accounts describing her as unable to part from his body. She lived until 1555 and earned a reputation as “Joan the Mad,” mainly because people believed that Philip’s death had devastated her—even as her male relatives used this claim to stifle her power.

Queen Victoria reigned over Great Britain from 1837 to 1901; she was widowed in 1861 upon the death of Prince Albert. His death plunged her into deep mourning, and she withdrew from many official duties for years, remaining in mourning until the end of her life. 

Debbie Reynolds died on December 28, 2016, one day after the death of her daughter, Carrie Fisher. She suffered a stroke while making arrangements for Carrie Fisher’s funeral. As if that weren’t heartbreaking enough, her son, Todd, said she had expressed a wish to be with Carrie.

Johnny Cash died in Nashville on September 12, 2003, just four months after the death of his wife, June Carter Cash. The official cause of death was complications from diabetes, and his health had already been deteriorating long before June’s death. However, his fans did not view this timing as a mere coincidence.

Romy Schneider, an actress of Austrian origin, became one of Europe’s biggest movie stars before dying in Paris in 1982. The previous year, her 14-year-old son, David, had lost his life in a terrible accident, a loss that naturally left her devastated. The official cause of her death was cardiac arrest, but subsequent accounts linked her health to the emotional turmoil she had endured.