British royals ate human flesh

London: They have long been famed for their love of lavish banquets and rich recipes. But what is less well known is that the British royals also had a taste for human flesh.

English kings and queens joined the well-off in Britain and Europe in swallowing body parts, including flesh, blood and bones, as medicine right up until the end of the 18th century, a new book claims.

Even as they denounced the barbaric cannibals of the New World, they applied, drank, or wore powdered Egyptian mummy, human fat, flesh, bone, blood, brains and skin.

Bruises, bleeds, epilepsy and skin conditions were believed to be treatable or curable with the help of a touch of cannibalism.

Richard Sugg, from Durham University, says Europeans were the real cannibals. In his book, Mummies, Cannibals and Vampires, Dr Sugg tells how the Elizabethans used powdered mummy remains to ease bruising.

— Daily Mail