Mr. Bean’s Failed Assassination Attempt of The Queen

The closest Mr. Bean came to killing the Queen was when he headbutted the head of the British Royal family. The Queen was hurt but survived, and Mr. Bean managed to slip away. But a hundred years ago, another Mr. Bean attempted on Queen Victoria’s life and suffered a different fate. John William Bean was a real person, and unlike the delightful character played by Rowan Atkinson, the Victorian Mr.Bean was repulsive. Tuberculosis had devastated his spine leaving him hunched and dwarfed, no taller than four feet. His arms were atrophied and his hands were as small as those of a young child. He walked with a twisted gait, lurching his whole body in the direction of the conspicuous hump over his right shoulder. His face was marred by scars and his eyes sunk into the abyss of his head. Bean was born in 1824 in Holborn, Middlesex, the son of John William, a jeweler and metalsmith. John William encouraged his son to join him as an apprentice, but Bean was not able to keep up due to his physical disabilities. Bean sought easier occupations, but his apprenticeships with a cheesemonger and at Her Majesty's Stationery Office also resulted in failures. Bean then began working for a news vendor. The job suited him. The hours were short and his employer even allowed him to read in the afternoon the papers he was selling. One day, Bean came across a series of news article on Edward Oxford, who had tried to assassinate Queen Victoria. Edward was arrested and sent to the State Criminal Lunatic Asylum in Bethlem, where he stayed for 24 years, occupying himself with drawing, reading and learning to play the violin. He played chess and learned a variety of languages such as French, German, Italian, Greek and Latin. The more Bean read about Oxford and his apparent luxuries, the more he began to detest his own wretched existence. Slowly but surely, Bean began to form a plan.