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Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain

  • NapoleonNapoleon Bonaparte was born Napoleone di Buonaparte on the 15th of August 1769, on the island of Corsica, to a family of Italian origin.
  • Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of WellingtonArthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, was born in Dublin in 1769 as the sixth of nine children, and died in 1852 holding the rank of Field Marshal and…
  • Philip V of SpainPhilip V of Spain holds a record no other Spanish monarch has matched: he ruled for 45 years, 9 months, and 8 days, longer than any king or queen in the…
  • Ferdinand VIIFerdinand VII of Spain was called "el Deseado" - the Desired One - by his people, who longed for his return while Napoleon held him captive in France.
  • Maximilian III JosephMaximilian III Joseph, the Elector of Bavaria, died on the 30th of December 1777 without a single heir to his name. But what made his final weeks so…
  • Napoleon IIINapoleon III was born in the Tuileries Palace in Paris on the night of the 19th-the 20th of April 1808 - the first Bonaparte prince born after the…
  • Louis XVIIILouis XVIII spent twenty-three years as a king without a kingdom. Born on the 17th of November 1755 at the Palace of Versailles, he outlasted the Revolution…
  • Louis XVILouis XVI asked one last question on the morning of his execution: "Any news of La Pérouse?" The explorer Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse, had…
  • Ferdinand I of the Two SiciliesFerdinand I of the Two Sicilies was born in Naples on the 12th of January 1751, a third son with no obvious future as a king.
  • Alexander III of RussiaAlexander III of Russia was born on the 10th of March 1845 at the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, the second son of the future Alexander II.
  • Louis BonaparteLouis Bonaparte entered the world on the 2nd of September 1778 in Ajaccio, Corsica. This island had been conquered by France less than a decade before his…
  • Alexander I of RussiaAlexander I of Russia was born at 10:45 on the 23rd of December 1777 in Saint Petersburg, held at the baptismal font by Catherine the Great herself and…
  • Frederick William III of PrussiaFrederick William III entered the world on the 3rd of August 1770 in Potsdam. His father Frederick William II of Prussia neglected him during his childhood…
  • Nicholas I of RussiaNicholas I of Russia died on the 2nd of March 1855 at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, refusing medical treatment as his empire crumbled around him.
  • Charles IV of SpainCharles IV of Spain was born on the 11th of November 1748 in Naples, where his father was then ruling as King of Naples and Sicily.
  • Joachim MuratJoachim Murat, born on the 25th of March 1767 in a small town in southwestern France, died facing a firing squad on the 13th of October 1815 in Pizzo Calabro.
  • Joseph BonaparteJoseph Bonaparte arrived in the United States in the summer of 1815, hiding aboard a merchant vessel called the Commerce under the false name M. Bouchard.
  • Alexander II of RussiaAlexander II of Russia was born on the 29th of April 1818, and by the time he died he had freed more than 23 million people from bondage, sold an entire…
  • HirohitoHirohito reigned over Japan for 63 years, from 1926 until his death in 1989, the longest reign of any emperor in Japanese history.
  • Paul von HindenburgPaul von Hindenburg stood at 1.98 meters tall, with a muscular frame and striking blue eyes, an imposing figure at the Palace of Versailles when the German…
  • Charles XIV JohnCharles XIV John of Sweden was born Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte on the 26th of January 1763 in Pau, a small city in the southwestern province of Béarn.
  • Alfonso XIIIAlfonso XIII was carried naked to the prime minister on a silver tray moments after he was born, already a king. His father, Alfonso XII, had died the…
  • Louis Philippe ILouis Philippe I stepped onto the throne of France in August 1830 having already lived more lives than most kings ever get.
  • Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-PérigordCharles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord was born on the 2nd of February 1754, and he died on the 17th of May 1838, having served every major French government…