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Curated playlist

Collars of the Order of Isabella the Catholic

  • Nelson MandelaNelson Mandela wore a Springbok shirt to the 1995 Rugby World Cup final. He gave the trophy to an Afrikaner captain.
  • Ferdinand MarcosFerdinand Marcos was convicted of murder as a law student, then rose to president.
  • Ferdinand VIISpain's people called Ferdinand VII "the Desired One" before they came to call him the Criminal King.
  • François MitterrandFrançois Mitterrand, who ended France's death penalty, once urged rejecting mercy in 80% of cases.
  • Abdullah II of JordanIn 1996, a man who would become King Abdullah II of Jordan appeared on screen in an episode of Star Trek: Voyager titled Investigations. At the time he was a prince commanding his country's Special Forces, and his part had no lines. He was…
  • Hamad bin Khalifa Al ThaniSheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, born on the 1st of January 1952, ended his time as Emir of Qatar with a short televised address on the 25th of June 2013. He told the nation: "The time has come to open a new page in the journey of our…
  • Wojciech JaruzelskiWojciech Jaruzelski declared martial law in Poland on the 13th of December 1981. Later he helped end Communist rule.
  • Alfonso XIIIAlfonso XIII was carried on a silver tray to Spain's prime minister, already a king.
  • Diego ForlánDiego Forlán was 45 years old when he received a wildcard into the main doubles draw of the 2024 Uruguay Open in Montevideo. It was his first professional ATP tournament. The man walking onto the court had spent two decades as one of the…
  • Mohammed VI of MoroccoMohammed VI of Morocco was eight years old in 1971 when he received United States Vice President Spiro Agnew at the Royal Palace in Rabat. It was his first public engagement, and he would not become king for another twenty-eight years. In…
  • Abdel Fattah el-SisiAbdel Fattah el-Sisi, the 6th president of Egypt, was born on the 19th of November 1954 in Gamaleya, a quarter of Historic Cairo beside the al-Azhar Mosque. In later life he liked to recall that neighbourhood. Muslims, Jews and Christians…
  • Reza PahlaviReza Pahlavi declared himself king of Iran on the 31st of October 1980, his twentieth birthday, taking the title Reza Shah II from exile. The monarchy he claimed had been abolished the year before. Almost at once, John Trattner, a…

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