Everyone loves the story of Beauty and the Beast.
The Disney version of the story was well-received enough to become the first animated feature
nominated for Best Picture.
But some people believe the romantic fable is based in part on a true story - and that
story is pretty dark.
Pedro Gonzales was born in Tenerife in 1537, a little more than 40 years after Spain conquered
and enslaved the native people.
Born with a rare disorder that left him completely covered in hair, Pedro was given as a gift
to Henry II, the King of France.
According to The Smithsonian, the French believed him to be a true beast, and kept him in a
cage, feeding him raw meat and animal feed.
They also changed his name to the fancy Latin version, Petrus Gonsalvus.
Known today as Ambras syndrome, the condition Petrus had is incredibly rare.
Thought to affect fewer than one in a billion people, there have only been about 50 to 100
cases recorded since the Middle Ages.
Though some became famous, such as Shwe-Maong of Burma, who married into his country's royal
family in the 19th century, many were shunned and forced to become circus sideshow performers.
And things aren't necessarily much better today.
In 2011, 12-year-old Supatra Sasuphan was named "world's hairiest girl" by the Guinness
Book of World Records, a designation which she noted was a step up from other names that
she's been called, such as "wolf girl" and "monkey face."
As an experiment, King Henry II took Petrus out of his cage, dressed him up in the finest
clothes, and began giving him all the same education the nobles of the period got.
The boy's fancy education included military training, etiquette, speech, reading, and
writing.
It turned out he was a prodigy, becoming fluent in three languages, including Latin.
Petrus became a celebrity, with royal dignitaries and ambassadors flocking to meet him.
Pleased, Henry promoted him, and Petrus eventually became a highly ranking member of the King's
attendants.
But he was never truly viewed as an equal at court, something that became clear when
the King suddenly died.
After Henri II's death, his wife, Catherine de' Medici, became regent.
She decided to conduct her own cruel experiment, marrying Petrus off to a servant's beautiful
daughter to see if they could produce more hairy children.
The bride, who was also named Catherine, reportedly didn't know who she was marrying until she
arrived at the altar.
Catherine and Petrus ended up having seven children - and four of them were indeed afflicted
with Ambras syndrome.
The Queen was delighted, as she now had four more people to show off at parties like trained
pets.
Despite the indignities, there were some perks to living at court, like a home and an income.
Those were lost when the Queen died in 1589.
Petrus and his family were forced to go on the road, visiting places like Bologna, Parma,
Ferrara, and Rome.
During their travels, the family was treated as a roving curiosity by the noble courts
they visited.
They were reportedly well-compensated to entertain their hosts, but some of the hairy children
were still given away to distant rulers, possibly to guarantee their safety and financial future.
All of this traveling made the Gonsalvus family among the most famous individuals in Europe.
They were widely studied by the leading scientific authorities of the day, who treated them with
far more respect than the general public, which still viewed the family as little more
than savages or even animals.
Yet they still became a bit of a cultural sensation, and no wealthy household was complete
without a painted portrait of Petrus or one of his famous offspring - which is why so
many images of them still exist today.
According to History vs. Hollywood, after traveling around Europe for years, the remaining
family members settled in Parma, Italy, where they were employed by Duke Ranuccio Farnese.
The last mention of Petrus is in 1617, when he attended the christening of one of his
grandchildren.
There is no record of his death, but there is evidence Catherine died in 1623.
And it's also believed that at least one of the hairy Gonsalvus daughters married and
had her own children.
While they were married an estimated 40 years and had seven children, people still wonder
if Catherine and Petrus were actually in love.
One hint that they were is in a portrait of the couple, where she has her hand on his
shoulder.
It has been noted by historians that this gesture was used by painters to show genuine
affection between husbands and wives, so it's possible their relationship truly was a worthy
basis for the love story in Beauty and the Beast.
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