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Curated playlist

Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain

  • NapoleonNapoleon crowned himself emperor with a replica of Charlemagne's crown. The pope had just anointed him.
  • Edward VIIIEdward VIII, King of the United Kingdom, ended his reign with a voice on the radio. On the night of the 11th of December 1936 he spoke to listeners around the world. He told them he had found it "impossible to carry the heavy burden of…
  • Nicholas IINicholas II, the last Emperor of Russia, carried a large dragon tattooed on his right forearm. The artist was Hori Chiyo, and the tattoo was a souvenir of the young heir's visit to Japan. That same journey nearly ended in disaster. At…
  • Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of WellingtonWellington's mother called him her "awkward son Arthur." He later defeated Napoleon at Waterloo.
  • Philip V of SpainA singer performed every night to calm Philip V of Spain. Farinelli's arias eased the king's manic depression.
  • Ferdinand VIISpain's people called Ferdinand VII "the Desired One" before they came to call him the Criminal King.
  • Maximilian III JosephA Munich tower clock struck 77 times, and Elector Maximilian III Joseph said his years had run out.
  • Wilhelm IIWilhelm II, the last German Emperor, spent much of his adult life holding a pair of white gloves in his left hand. The gloves made that arm look longer than it was. He reigned from 1888 to 1918 over a country that had become Europe's…
  • Napoleon IIINapoleon III escaped a life sentence by walking out of prison dressed as a laborer.
  • Louis XVIIILouis XVIII spent twenty-three years as a king without a kingdom. He took the French throne in 1814.
  • Edward VIIEdward VII was barely a month old on the 8th of December 1841 when he was created Prince of Wales. He would carry that title until the 22nd of January 1901, a span of 59 years and 45 days. No heir in British history had waited so long, and…
  • Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and GothaPrince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha never wore a crown, yet the clerk of the Privy Council, Charles Greville, once wrote of him: "He is King to all intents and purposes." Albert was the husband of Queen Victoria, and Greville's line…
  • Louis XVIOn the morning of his execution, Louis XVI asked, "Any news of La Pérouse?"
  • Ferdinand I of the Two SiciliesFerdinand I of the Two Sicilies was raised on purpose to be an unfit king. His regent kept power that way.
  • Alexander III of RussiaAlexander III of Russia answered an Austrian ambassador's threat by twisting a silver fork into a knot.
  • Louis BonaparteNapoleon made his brother Louis king of Holland, and Louis refused to send troops for the Russia invasion.
  • Alexander I of RussiaAlexander I of Russia died in 1825, but a legend says he faked it. The story claims he became a Siberian hermit.
  • Frederick William IIIFrederick William III, King of Prussia, was born in Potsdam on the 3rd of August 1770 into a dynasty celebrated for iron will and military genius. He had neither. A boy so reticent that he habitually omitted personal pronouns from his…
  • Nicholas I of RussiaOn his first full day as tsar in 1825, Nicholas I ordered troops to crush a revolt.
  • Charles IV of SpainNapoleon forced Charles IV of Spain and his son to abdicate at Bayonne in 1808.
  • Joachim MuratFacing a firing squad in 1815, Joachim Murat told his soldiers to aim at his heart. He had asked for a scented bath.
  • Joseph BonaparteJoseph Bonaparte hid on a ship under a false name while British officers searched it three times.
  • Alexander II of RussiaOn the morning a bomb killed him, Alexander II signed a step toward representative government.
  • HirohitoEmperor Hirohito's first radio broadcast announced Japan's defeat.
  • Paul von HindenburgPaul von Hindenburg left retirement in 1914 and destroyed a Russian army. The battle became known as Tannenberg.
  • Charles XIV JohnBernadotte threw his epaulettes on the ground to stop his retreating soldiers. They picked them up and counter-attacked.
  • Alfonso XIIIAlfonso XIII was carried on a silver tray to Spain's prime minister, already a king.
  • Louis Philippe IBefore he became king of France, Louis Philippe I lived above a Boston oyster house.
  • Otto von BismarckIn 1889, Otto von Bismarck was recorded on an Edison phonograph, quoting the opening verse of La Marseillaise among other lines. That recording is the only known capture of his voice. One biographer argues that he chose the French song to…
  • Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-PérigordNapoleon called his own diplomat "shit in a silk stocking." Talleyrand had secretly worked against him.

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