Queen Died Young from Small Pox

Ingneung is the royal tomb occupied by Queen Ingyeong. She was the first wife of King Sukjong, but she is buried alone although her husband is also buried in the same royal cemetery. What happened to this royal couple?

Born to a powerful aristocratic family, she was selected to marry the crown prince when she was only eleven years old. Two years later, she became queen when her husband was enthroned in 1674. However, she died from small pox at the age of twenty, just ten years after she was brought to the palace.

Just as in the West until the eighteenth century, small pox had often been a fatal disease for many people, and she was one of the unfortunate victims. Once she was found to have been caught by the horrible disease, she had to be isolated even from her husband until the very final moment.

While she was the king’s first wife, little is known about the love story between the royal couple. Sadly for her, King Sukjong didn’t seem to insist that he would be buried with his first wife. He is buried with the two wives he married after her.