Winston Churchill, famous World War II figure of England, had a tattoo of an anchor on his arm.
Thomas Alva Edison, genius inventor, was tattooed with five dots on his left forearm that were arranged in the fashion of a ?5? dice.
King Edward VII of England bore a tattoo of the Jerusalem Cross.
King George V was decorated with a dragon design.
King Harold II of England was the first documented royal to wear a tattoo. He lived from 1022 to 1066.
King Henry IV was also among the ranks of royalty boasting body art.
The English Royal Court must have been fascinated with the Tahitian chief's tattoos because King George V himself got inked with the 'Cross of Jerusalem' when he travelled to the Middle East in 1862. On a trip to Japan he also received a dragon on the forearm, from the needles of an acclaimed Japanese tattoo master. George's sons, The Duke of Clarence and The Duke of York were also tattooed in Japan while serving in the British Admiralty, solidifying what would become a family tradition. Taking their sartorial lead from the British Court, where King Edward VII followed King George V's lead in getting tattooed; King Frederik IX of Denmark, the King of Romania, King Alexandar of Yugoslavia and even Czar Nicholas of Russia, all sported tattoos, many of them elaborate and ornate renditions of the Royal Coat of Arms or the Royal Family Crest! King Alfonso of modern Spain also has a tattoo.
The tattooing craze spread to the upper classes all over Europe, but particularly in England. There, it was not uncommon for members of the social elite to gather in the drawing rooms and libraries of the great country estate homes after dinner and partially disrobe in order to show off their tattoos. Aside from Prince Albert's Prince Albert, there are persistent rumours that Queen Victoria had a small tattoo in an undisclosed 'intimate' location. Winston Churchill's mother, Lady Randolph, not only had a tattoo of a snake around her wrist, which she covered when the need arose with a specially crafted diamond bracelet, but, believe it or not, had her nipples pierced as well! Carrying on the family tradition, Winston was tattooed himself.
It isn't just the upper class though that get tattoo's in the UK lots of people nowheredays get tattoo's it has spread across all class of society