i recall reading a biography of czar alexander I of russia which made a good claim that alexander faked his death so that he could retire to a monastary. the evidence cited was mostly circumstantial but persuasive enough that i would be interested to hear the opinions of other researchers. the same claim is made for ivan IV the terrible, but i have never read the basis. i recall that sometime in the late soviet period a forensic specialist actually excavated the skeleton of the specific monk and tested the skull in some way but don’t recall the conclusions reached.
Welcome to the SDMB. Since the colum you refer to is not a Staff Report, but one of Cecil’s columns, this thread is in the wrong forum. I’ll move it for you.
A link to the column is appreciated. This can be as simple as pasting the URL into your post, making sure to leave a space on either side of it. http://www.straightdope.com/columns/010921.html
bibliophage
moderator GQ