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Curated category

Monarchs who abdicated

  • NapoleonNapoleon Bonaparte was born Napoleone di Buonaparte on the 15th of August 1769, on the island of Corsica, to a family of Italian origin.
  • Charles V, Holy Roman EmperorCharles V was born during a ball in Ghent on the 24th of February 1500, and before he drew his last breath he had ruled more of the world than any Christian…
  • 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…
  • Mary, Queen of ScotsMary, Queen of Scots was six days old when she became queen. Her father, King James V of Scotland, died on the 14th of December 1542 before he ever truly…
  • Henry IV, Holy Roman EmperorHenry IV stood barefoot in the snow outside Canossa Castle for three days in January 1077, dressed in sackcloth, waiting for a pope to forgive him.
  • DiocletianDiocletian retired from the most powerful office in the world and went home to grow cabbages. When rivals begged him to return to the throne in 308, he wrote…
  • Carol II of RomaniaCarol was born in Peleș Castle as the son of Crown Prince Ferdinand and Crown Princess Marie. He spent his early years under the thumb of King Carol I, a…
  • 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…
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.