Future Russian Tsar Peter III was so mentally unstable and obsessed with military discipline during his time as a young prince that he famously organized a full court-martial for a rat he caught in his bedchamber.

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Future Russian Tsar Peter III was so mentally unstable and obsessed with military discipline during his time as a young prince that he famously organized a full court-martial for a rat he caught in his bedchamber. The rodent had apparently chewed the head off one of his favorite toy soldiers made of wax, which the deeply disturbed royal viewed as a heinous act of treason against the state, so he built a tiny gallows and formally executed the rat by hanging it in his room. It is honestly no surprise that his intelligent and ambitious wife, Catherine the Great, eventually orchestrated a coup to overthrow him just six months into his reign, since dealing with a husband who holds judicial tribunals for household pests is a glaring red flag in any marriage, let alone a royal dynasty