A killer duelling 18 inch dwarf who fought for the crown during a civil war sounds like a storyline from fantasy novel and series Game Of Thrones.
But unlike Tyrion Lannister from the hit TV show, "Sir" Jeffrey Hudson was a heroic and real person, who was a larger-than-life character during the 17th century.
A pair of the warrior's green trousers went to auction recently, coming in at 29cm in length.
The garment, which he wore while entertaining guests of King Charles I, sold for nearly £10,000, with a collector desperate for a small piece of history.
Hudson, born in Oakham, East Midlands, in 1619, was known as the Queen's dwarf.
He was a favourite of Charles I's wife, Queen Henrietta Maria.
Known also as Lord Minimus, he first came to the royal court's attention as a novelty act when aged just seven.
The pint-sized character was served inside a pie, dressed in a tiny suit of armour to amuse the rulers.
Jeffrey, born to a butcher and from poor stock, went on to transform himself from court jester to a fighter.
He fought with the Royalists in the English civil war, which took place from 1642 to 1651.
Charles I would end up being tried and executed after the war was won by Oliver Cromwell and the Roundhead army, which was on the side of the parliamentarians.
Some say Hudson was actually knighted and made a "Sir" for his bravery, in which he took up arms when under assault from the Roundheads during a journey from Stratford-upon-Avon to Oxford with the Queen.
However, his knighted status is disputed by historians — although he does appear to have been made a "captain of the horse", and is recorded as Captain Jeffrey Hudson in old documents.
The Queen fled to her native France early on during the civil war with her little companion in tow.
But Hudson would fall out of favour with the royal court after ruling out resuming his role as a joker or comedian.
Challenging a rival, William Crofts, to a duel in 1644 would bring about the end of his connection to England's royal family.
Crofts is said to have turned up to the duel with a large water pistol. But Hudson had taken his threat deadly seriously, shooting his opponent in the head.
Duelling was outlawed in France and the dwarf was reportedly initially sentenced to death, but the Queen pleaded for mercy, reducing his sentence only to expulsion back to England.
During his return to Britain, he was captured by Barbary pirates — Muslim pirates based out of what is now known as Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Turkey — and spent 25 years as a slave in North Africa.
Reaching the age of 30 in captivity, he claimed he had grown during his time in chains — something, according to John Lloyd and John Mitchison's The QI Book of the Dead, he put down to being regularly raped by his captors.
He was ransomed back to England sometime after the restoration, when the monarchy returned under Charles II, the son of executed Charles I.
His problems were far from over, however.
As a Roman Catholic, he was imprisoned during the period of anti-Catholic hysteria surrounding the Popish Plot in London.
Although it proved to be a false conspiracy story about the Catholics planning to assassinate the King, he was not released until 1680, spending four years behind bars.
He died two years later, aged about 63, and was buried in a pauper’s grave.
During his time in the royal court, Sir Jeffrey drew fascination from artists and was later painted by the famous Flemish artist Van Dyck.
His diminutive stature was captured for posterity standing with the Queen and her pet capuchin monkey, Pug, on his arm.
His recently-sold tiny pair of trousers, mounted in a case, carried an old inscribed card from the Marquess of Abercorn reading, "Worn by the Celebrated Sir Geoffrey Hudson Charles I’s Dwarf".
The little green silk brocaded trousers were measured at less than 30cm in length.
Previously owned by the Kensington antiques dealer Eila Grahame, they were sold in auction for £9,750 at Sworders auctioneers salesroom based at Stansted Mountfitchet, a town in Essex near the Hertfordshire border.
The buyer was a man in Belgium who has not been named, according to the Leicester Mercury.
