The Human Marvels has a neat story about Jeffrey Hudson, an 18-inch tall dwarf that was a member of the royal English court named Lord Minimus.
Only a few months after joining the household, the Duke and Duchess entertained King Charles and Queen Henrietta in London. At the climax of the celebration, during an opulent banquet, a pie was placed before the Queen. Jeffrey arose from the crust of the pie dressed in tiny suit of armour to the shock of all in attendance. The Queen was known as a collector of rarities and simply had to add Jeffrey to her collection. Jeffrey was invited into the Queen’s royal household and, in 1626, he accepted by moving into Denmark House in London.
Later, Hudson fell from grace, was captured by a pirate and sold as a slave, returned to England and died a penniless pauper. Such was the strange yet fascinating tale of Lord Minimus: http://www.thehumanmarvels.com/archive/2007_10_16_humanmarvels_archive.html