I am beginning to wonder that maybe the term “filthy rich/stinking rich” was inspired by Medieval European Royals who hated having a bath. We all obviously know that the word filthy means ‘disgustingly dirty’, so is it not safe to assume that they actually had a literal meaning once upon a time?!
Those royals were stinking rich or what, with their bathing being a rare ritual, from once in a month, to once in six months, a yearly ritual to maybe even once in a lifetime! And to think our moms (used to) make such a fuss if we went without a shower for even one day in a month. Nobody obviously told them about how the Queen Isabella of Castile had once declared with immense pride that she had only bathed twice in her life. One of it would be probably the day before her wedding, the only day the King probably enjoyed marital bliss without scrunching his nose. Not like he was the poster boy of cleanliness, he was almost equally if not not more (is that even possible? he would have had to have a bath only once in his life for that merit) dirtier than his wife. Just that he never mentioned the number of times he did it. Maybe five times in his life? I am still talking about bathing.
Let’s talk about a more famous queen – Queen Elizabeth I, one of the greatest monarchs of England.
You will perhaps remember her being played by Cate Blanchett, if nothing else. So even though Ms Queen Elizabeth I was one heck of a lady (one of my favorite books is based on her), she was no different from many of the royals who preceded her. She also took to cleaning herself only once in a month. Her father King Henry the VII was even filthier and not to mention stinkier. Well, like father like daughter. They make us feel like squeaky clean fish, fresh out of soap water.
There is a whole bunch of hilarious stories about royals and their horror for having a bath. All I am saying is that maybe that is where the term “filthy rich” comes from! Because they were sure disgustingly dirty back in the days, for whatever social, religious, climatic or pure whimsical reasons.
((Disclaimer: This is not meant to be taken seriously, I have nothing against people not bathing, I skip some too, just spray some nice perfume on and maintain distance if you are smelly))