Curated category
Sons of kings
- Henry VIIIHenry VIII once dressed all in yellow, with a white feather in his bonnet, the day after he learned that Catherine of Aragon had died.
- 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…
- Ferdinand I, Holy Roman EmperorFerdinand I chose as his motto a sentence that sounds almost reckless: Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus, "Let justice be done, though the world perish".
- Charles VIII of FranceCharles VIII of France was born on the 30th of June 1470 at the Château d'Amboise, and he died in that same place under circumstances that still puzzle…
- 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…
- Edward IIIEdward III was born at Windsor Castle on the 13th of November 1312, and a contemporary prophecy described him as "the boar that would come out of Windsor".
- Frederick William I of PrussiaFrederick William I of Prussia woke his young son each morning with the firing of a cannon. The boy, Fritz, was six when he received his own regiment of…
- Frederick II, Holy Roman EmperorFrederick II was born in Jesi, near Ancona, on the 26th of December 1194, and the circumstances surrounding that birth were so extraordinary that rumors…
- Emund the OldKing Emund the Old died in the summer of 1060 after ruling Sweden for roughly a decade. His father was Olof Skötkonung, the first Christian ruler of the…
- Louis XIVLouis XIV ruled France for 72 years and 110 days, the longest reign of any sovereign monarch in history. He came to the throne on the 14th of May 1643, a boy…
- 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…
- Maximilian I, Holy Roman EmperorMaximilian I was born at Wiener Neustadt on the 22nd of March 1459, the son of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III and Eleanor of Portugal.
- Edward the ConfessorEdward the Confessor died on the 5th of January 1066, and within a year, England had been torn apart. Three men would claim or hold the throne he left vacant.
- Leopold II, Holy Roman EmperorLeopold II carried a name full of contradictions. Born on the 5th of May 1747 in Vienna as the third son of Empress Maria Theresa and Emperor Francis I, he…
- Charles I of EnglandCharles I walked to his own execution on the morning of the 30th of January 1649 wearing two shirts. He had chosen them deliberately: the day was bitter…
- Edward VIEdward VI was born on the 12th of October 1537 at Hampton Court Palace, and the entire realm erupted in celebration. Bonfires blazed across England.
- Olof SkötkonungOlof Skötkonung ruled Sweden at a moment when the Viking Age was ending and something new was taking shape. His coins carry the Latin inscription OLUF REX…
- Napoleon IINapoleon II was Emperor of the French for exactly two days. He never sat on the throne. He never held a scepter. He never gave an order that anyone was bound…
- Arthur, Prince of WalesArthur, Prince of Wales was born on the night of the 19th-the 20th of September 1486 at about one in the morning, and he was dead before he turned sixteen.
- Charles LéonCharles Léon Denuelle de la Plaigne was born on the 13th of December 1806 at No. 29, Rue de la Victoire in the 9th arrondissement of Paris.
- Otto von HabsburgOtto von Habsburg was born on the 20th of November 1912 at Villa Wartholz in Reichenau an der Rax, at a moment when Austria-Hungary still stood as one of the…
- Archduke Charles, Duke of TeschenArchduke Charles of Austria was the man Arthur Wellesley named the greatest general of his time. That verdict carries real weight, coming from a commander…
- Henry FitzRoy, Duke of Richmond and SomersetHenry FitzRoy entered the world in June 1519, born to Henry VIII and his mistress Elizabeth Blount. The timing of this birth was calculated with precision to…
- Alexandre Colonna-WalewskiAlexandre Colonna-Walewski was born on the 4th of May 1810 during a thunderstorm, and according to family lore, the lightning was taken as a sign that his…
- Christian IV of DenmarkChristian IV of Denmark was crowned at the Church of Our Lady in Copenhagen on the 29th of August 1596, at the age of nineteen.
- Frederick II of DenmarkOn the 1st of July 1534, a boy named Frederick was born inside Haderslevhus Castle. His father Christian III had just become King of Denmark three days…