The True Story Behind Beauty And The Beast

Beauty and The Beast is not just a beautiful fairy-tale. There is a real story behind it.

In 1537 in Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, a boy was born covered head to toe in thick hair. His name was Pedro Gonzalez, and he had an extremely rare genetic condition called hypertrichosis, sometimes called Werewolf Syndrome. Fewer than 50 cases have ever been documented worldwide since the Middle Ages. As a child he was kidnapped, chained, and brought to the court of King Henry II of France as a gift, displayed like an exotic animal. But when the royal doctor went down to the dungeons to examine the creature, the boy looked up and said over and over, "I am Pedro Gonzalez. I am Pedro Gonzalez."

King Henry II quickly realized there was nothing wild or feral about this child. He gave him an education fit for a nobleman. Pedro learned three languages including Latin, studied literature, mastered court etiquette, and became one of the most cultured personalities at the French court. He dressed in lavish robes and dined with dignitaries. The king raised him almost as a son.

Then the king died. His wife, Queen Catherine de Medici, took over. She had a different plan for Pedro. She arranged for him to marry a beautiful young woman named Catherine, keeping Pedro's appearance a secret from her until they met at the altar. Catherine was reportedly horrified at first. But over time she fell in love with his gentleness, his intelligence, and his character. They were married for forty years and had seven children together. Four of them were born with the same condition as their father.

And here is where the fairy tale ends and the real story turns dark. Catherine de Medici took those children and gave them away as gifts to European royalty, to be displayed as curiosities, as pets, as entertainment. Pedro and Catherine eventually fled to Italy to live out their remaining years in peace, raising the three children they were allowed to keep. Pedro later earned a doctorate in Canon Law and became a professor at the Sorbonne University in Paris. He died in 1618 at the age of 81.

That is the real Beauty and the Beast. Not magic, not a talking candlestick. A brilliant man trapped inside a world that only saw his face, and a woman who chose to see past it.

Now meet Lalit Patidar, the man in this photo, who holds the Guinness World Record for the hairiest face alive today. He has the same condition Pedro Gonzalez had five centuries ago. And just like Pedro, he says he likes how he is and does not want to change his look.

The real beast was never the man with hair on his face. It was the people who put him in a cage.