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Curated playlist

Sons of emperors

  • 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…
  • George VIGeorge VI, known to his family as Bertie, wrote an anguished line in his diary about the day before his brother gave up the crown. He had gone to London to tell his mother, Queen Mary, what had happened. His entry read: "When I told her…
  • 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…
  • Francis II, Holy Roman EmperorOn August 6, 1806, Francis II ended the Holy Roman Empire with a single signed declaration. He was its last emperor.
  • 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…
  • George VNear the end of his life in January 1936, King George V of the United Kingdom asked his secretary a question. Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin later described the scene. Each time the dying king regained consciousness, he had some kind…
  • Frederick II, Holy Roman EmperorFrederick II won back Jerusalem while excommunicated, and was vilified for it.
  • Henry IV, Holy Roman EmperorEmperor Henry IV stood barefoot in the snow for three days in January 1077. He was begging a pope to forgive him.
  • Joseph II, Holy Roman EmperorEmperor Joseph II issued over 6,000 edicts and 11,000 new laws, yet many subjects came to loathe him.
  • Philip II of SpainPhilip II of Spain ruled the largest empire in the world while his treasury went bankrupt five times.
  • Leopold II, Holy Roman EmperorLeopold II abolished the death penalty in Tuscany in 1786. Historians call it the first permanent abolition.
  • Sigismund, Holy Roman EmperorSigismund wore six crowns, yet the male line of his family died out with him. He was Holy Roman Emperor.
  • Ferdinand Karl, Archduke of Austria-EsteFerdinand Karl founded a noble house even though he never held the duchy he was promised.
  • Napoleon IINapoleon II was Emperor of the French for only two days. He was three years old and never ruled.
  • Dara ShikohMughal heir Dara Shikoh was paraded through Delhi in chains on a filthy elephant.
  • Charles LéonNapoleon never adopted his son Charles Léon, fearing other children would claim the crown.
  • Otto von HabsburgOtto von Habsburg, born to be emperor, spent nearly half a century in exile from Austria.
  • Archduke Charles, Duke of TeschenArchduke Charles of Austria beat Napoleon in 1809 at Aspern-Essling. It was Napoleon's first big pitched-battle loss.
  • Alexandre Colonna-WalewskiAt four, Alexandre Colonna-Walewski visited exiled Napoleon on Elba. Islanders mistook him for Napoleon's heir.

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