Curated playlist

Sons of kings

William, Prince of WalesAt 9:03 pm on the 21st of June 1982, William Arthur Philip Louis was born at St Mary's Hospital in London. He was the first direct heir to the British throne to be born in a hospital. Today he is William, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to…
Henry VIIIHenry VIII broke England from Rome after the pope would not annul his first marriage.
Prince Harry, Duke of SussexPrince Harry, Duke of Sussex, was born at 4:20 pm on the 15th of September 1984 at St Mary's Hospital in London. His grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, was then on the throne. His parents were Charles, who was Prince of Wales and is now King…
Charles II of EnglandCharles II was received in London on the 29th of May 1660, which happened to be his 30th birthday. The crowds met the returning king with public acclaim. He would go on to rule England, Scotland and Ireland until 1685. Contemporaries found…
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…
Charles V, Holy Roman EmperorCharles V was born during a ball in Ghent in 1500. He ruled more of the world than any Christian monarch before.
Ferdinand I, Holy Roman EmperorFerdinand I grew up in Spain and did not learn German until he was a young adult. He still became Holy Roman Emperor.
Charles VIII of FranceCharles VIII of France took Naples in 1495 without a pitched battle or siege. He had entered Italy with 25,000 men.
Maximilian III JosephA Munich tower clock struck 77 times, and Elector Maximilian III Joseph said his years had run out.
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…
Edward IIIEdward III seized power at 17 by capturing Roger Mortimer at Nottingham Castle. Mortimer was executed.
Frederick William I of PrussiaPrussia's Soldier King sold a West African colony to the Dutch in 1717, preferring to fund his army.
Frederick II, Holy Roman EmperorFrederick II won back Jerusalem while excommunicated, and was vilified for it.
Emund the OldEmund the Old ruled Sweden for roughly a decade, from about 1050 until his death around 1060. A rune carver named Åsmund Kåresson left behind a line that may refer to him: "Åsmund Kåresson carved runes right. Then sat Emund." Scholars have…
Louis XIVLouis XIV once played dead asleep while a mob filed past his bed. The twelve-year-old king never forgave Paris.
Napoleon IIINapoleon III escaped a life sentence by walking out of prison dressed as a laborer.
Felipe VIFelipe VI, King of Spain, stands 1.97 metres tall, or 6 feet 5 and a half inches. That height earned him a Guinness World Record as the tallest reigning monarch in the world. It is a small fact about a man whose public life has been shaped…
Maximilian I, Holy Roman EmperorMaximilian I was Holy Roman Emperor for years but was never crowned by a Pope. He held the title from 1508 to 1519.
Edward the ConfessorEdward the Confessor spent roughly a quarter of a century in exile before ruling England.
Henry V of EnglandHenry V of England was crowned at Westminster Abbey on the 9th of April 1413, in the middle of a terrible snowstorm. Onlookers could not decide whether the weather was a good omen or a bad one. That uncertainty suited a king whose…
Leopold II, Holy Roman EmperorLeopold II abolished the death penalty in Tuscany in 1786. Historians call it the first permanent abolition.
Charles I of EnglandCharles I wore two shirts to his own execution. It was bitter cold, and he feared shivering would look like fear.
Edward VIEdward VI was king at nine and dead at fifteen. In those years he helped turn England's church Protestant.
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…
Olof SkötkonungA Swedish lawspeaker once threatened to kill King Olof Skötkonung at a public assembly. Olof then gave in.
Napoleon IINapoleon II was Emperor of the French for only two days. He was three years old and never ruled.
Arthur, Prince of WalesPrince Arthur died six months after his wedding, and England's church later split from Rome.
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.
Henry FitzRoy, Duke of Richmond and SomersetHenry VIII's son was made a double duke at six years old. No illegitimate child had had one before.
Alexandre Colonna-WalewskiAt four, Alexandre Colonna-Walewski visited exiled Napoleon on Elba. Islanders mistook him for Napoleon's heir.
Christian IV of DenmarkA cannonball wounded Denmark's King Christian IV in thirteen places and blinded one eye.
Frederick II of DenmarkFrederick II of Denmark, long called a drunken fool, backed the astronomer Tycho Brahe.