Medieval mystery murder worksheet - Free Printable

Problem: Medieval Murder Mystery

We need to solve the mystery of who murdered the king and determine the roles (queen, princess, servant) and characteristics (where they were, whom they loved, what they studied) of Bernice, Charlotte, and Rachel. Let's break it down step by step using the clues provided.

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Clues Summary:

1. Basic Information:
- Three women: Bernice, Charlotte, and Rachel.
- One is the queen, one is the princess, and one is the servant.
- When the king died:
- One was in the bedroom.
- One was in the dining room.
- One was in the kitchen.
- The women loved three different men:
- One loved the king's bodyguard.
- One loved Prince Harold.
- One loved Lord Hayes.
- The women studied three different things:
- One studied science.
- One studied magic.
- One studied poisons.

2. Additional Clues:
- Bernice wasn’t in the dining room and didn’t study poisons.
- Charlotte studied magic. She wasn’t the queen.
- Rachel didn’t love Prince Harold and wasn’t in the dining room.
- Bernice wasn’t in the bedroom. She didn’t love Prince Harold. Bernice was the Princess and she loved Lord Hayes.

3. Key Hint:
- The queen murdered the king.

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Step-by-Step Solution:

#### Step 1: Identify Bernice’s Role and Characteristics
- From the clues, Bernice is explicitly stated to be the Princess.
- Bernice loves Lord Hayes.
- Bernice wasn’t in the dining room and didn’t study poisons.
- Bernice wasn’t in the bedroom, so she must have been in the kitchen.
- Since Bernice didn’t study poisons, and she isn’t the queen (who we will identify later), she must have studied science.

So, for Bernice:
- Role: Princess
- Location: Kitchen
- Loved: Lord Hayes
- Studied: Science

#### Step 2: Identify Charlotte’s Role and Characteristics
- Charlotte studied magic.
- Charlotte wasn’t the queen.
- Since Bernice is the princess, Charlotte must be the servant.
- Charlotte wasn’t in the dining room (Bernice wasn’t either, and the queen must have been in the dining room to commit the murder). Therefore, Charlotte must have been in the bedroom.
- Charlotte didn’t love Lord Hayes (Bernice does) or the king’s bodyguard (we’ll identify this later), so she must have loved Prince Harold.

So, for Charlotte:
- Role: Servant
- Location: Bedroom
- Loved: Prince Harold
- Studied: Magic

#### Step 3: Identify Rachel’s Role and Characteristics
- Rachel didn’t love Prince Harold (Charlotte does) or Lord Hayes (Bernice does), so she must have loved the king’s bodyguard.
- Rachel wasn’t in the dining room (Bernice wasn’t either, and the queen must have been there), and she wasn’t in the bedroom (Charlotte was there). Therefore, Rachel must have been in the dining room.
- Rachel didn’t study poisons (Bernice didn’t, and Charlotte studied magic), so she must have studied science.
- Since Bernice is the princess and Charlotte is the servant, Rachel must be the queen.

So, for Rachel:
- Role: Queen
- Location: Dining room
- Loved: King’s bodyguard
- Studied: Poisons

#### Step 4: Confirm the Murderer
- The clue states that the queen murdered the king.
- Rachel is the queen, so Rachel is the murderer.

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Final Answer Table:

| Name | Role | Location | Loved | Studied |
|------------|-----------|-------------|----------------|-----------|
| Bernice | Princess | Kitchen | Lord Hayes | Science |
| Charlotte | Servant | Bedroom | Prince Harold | Magic |
| Rachel | Queen | Dining room | King’s bodyguard | Poisons |

The queen, Rachel, murdered the king.

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Final Answer:

The name of the queen who murdered the king is Rachel.

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\boxed{Rachel}
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