William's Horse Stumbled Into Molehill

In 1702, English king William III was thrown from his horse, Sorrel, after it stumbled into a mole's burrow, breaking his collarbone. The 51-year-old king later died from pneumonia at Kensington Palace. Jacobites loyal to the deposed James II celebrated by toasting the mole as "the little gentleman in the black velvet waistcoat."

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