End of life
Lock of hair said to be from King George III (1760-1820)
This piece of hair is a rare example of royal biological
material in a public collection. Henry Wellcome bought the hair at
auction in 1927 but very little is known about it. Recent tests on
the hair may have discovered the reason for the King's episodes of
so-called madness. The hair was found to have an unexpectedly high
concentration of arsenic. Heavy metals such as arsenic are known to
exacerbate a hereditary condition called porphyria, which can lead
to mental disturbances.