The Real Couple That Inspired 'Beauty And The Beast' Led Remarkably Tragic Lives

In the Disney version of Beauty and the Beast, Belle is an intelligent, strong-willed beauty who falls for a man who has been cursed to look like a beast. In spite of the curse, the Beast has caring eyes and a soft interior, plus a fierce devotion to Belle. In between all the singing with dishes, twirling through candlelit ballrooms, and impromptu snowball fights, the couple falls deeply in love. 

Beauty and the Beast get a fairy tale ending when their love breaks the curse, and the two live happily ever after in a castle. The story is pretty much the same in the 1991 animated movie and the 2017 live-action remake. But the real-life couple that inspired the story did not get a fairy tale ending, and there was no curse to break – the "beast" had to live with his condition for his entire life.

The real Beast – though he didn't like to be called a beast – was a man named Petrus Gonsalvus. He was born in 1537 in the Canary Islands, and he had a hereditary condition that made him appear hairy. Instead of being treated like a person, Petrus was dismissed as a "wild man."

Stories of wild men had flourished for centuries. They were seen as more animal than human, barbarians that lived on the edges of civilization. And unfortunately, everyone assumed that young Petrus was somehow not fully human because of his condition. 

When he was only 10 years old, Petrus Gonsalvus was locked into an iron cage where he was given raw meat and animal feed. In 1547, young Petrus was shipped off to France as a gift to King Henry II of France for his coronation.

Once Petrus arrived in France, he was immediately locked in a dungeon for observation, as if he were a wild animal. The court’s doctors and academics poked and prodded Petrus and concluded that he was not a wild man – he was a 10-year-old boy with soft, thick hair growing on his face and limbs. Petrus even told them his name, which the French transformed from Pedro Gonzales to Petrus Gonsalvus. 

King Henry declared that Petrus should receive an education. In the King's eyes, Petrus was still a savage who was incapable of learning, so Henry did not expect Petrus to succeed. But young Petrus shocked the court by becoming fluent in Latin and learning noble etiquette. After disproving the stereotypes about “beasts,” Petrus became an important court guest. 

Once Petrus proved himself an even greater curiosity – a savage who could be educated – he became an important figure in King Henry’s court. Along with his noble education in at least three languages, Petrus was allowed to dress like a nobleman and eat cooked food. The king even reportedly took a liking to Petrus, which was considered a great honor in the 16th century. 

But in spite of the improved treatment – he was no longer locked in a cage or stashed away in a dungeon – Petrus was still seen as less than human, a freak of nature meant to dazzle visitors to the court. Just as dwarfs were kept at royal courts for entertainment, Petrus was treated like a human pet.

Artist Agostino Carracci even painted a portrait of three of the members of King Henry's court, where Petrus was shown naked, wearing only a small fur, as a symbol of his status as a wild man. The portrait was titled Hairy Harry, Mad Peter and Tiny Amon.

Petrus was the first-recorded person to suffer from hypertrichosis, a condition that caused excessive hair growth on the body. Hypertrichosis is extremely rare – there are only 50 known cases in history. Dermatologist Sarah K. Taylor reports that “Since the Middle Ages, approximately 50 individuals with congenital hypertrichosis have been described, and, according to the most recent estimates, approximately 34 cases are documented adequately and definitively in the literature.”

But the French court didn't care about Petrus’s condition; they just wanted to marvel at the “savage” who dressed like a nobleman. 

After King Henry’s death, his wife and mother to his heir Catherine de’ Medici became the queen regent of France. She had a reputation for devious actions, like when she invited her religious rivals to Paris for an arranged marriage and then ordered thousands of people slaughtered in the streets. Queen Catherine thought it would be hilarious to arrange a marriage for Petrus, but she decided not to tell his future bride about his condition.

Queen Catherine found her “Beauty” in a young maiden who was also named Catherine. She was the daughter of a royal court servant, and the Queen couldn’t wait to see what kind of children the Beauty might produce with the Beast. Would they be covered in hair like their father? Queen Catherine hoped to manufacture her own royal pets from the unconventional arranged marriage.