40 Weird Facts About Monarchies
Kings and queens have fascinated people since the earliest monarchies, and with good reason. The kind of power that monarchies can hold is bound to create interesting and even scandalous situations.
Below, we’ve gathered some of the oddest facts about monarchies both old and new.
40. American King
King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who would reign Thailand for 70 years, is the only monarch who was born in the US. His father was studying medicine at Harvard, and Adulyadej was born on December 5, 1927 in a Massachusetts hospital.
39. Loophole
A maternity ward in Ottawa was declared to be “extraterritorial” in 1943 by the Canadian government in order to preserve a newborn’s place in the line of succession to the Dutch throne.
Crown Princess Juliana of the Netherlands had fled to Canada after the Nazi invasion of her country, and this decree enabled the newborn Princess Margriet to be declared a Dutch citizen, allowing her the right to inherit the throne.
38. Peasant Queen
Marie Antoinette had an authentic peasant village built on the grounds of her opulent palace at Versailles, complete with farm animals, so she could stroll through the grounds as a humble shepherdess.
The real peasants, who lived in wretched conditions under the reign of her husband Louis XVI, would, of course, eventually start a revolution.
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37. Three Is a Party
William of Orange's uncle, King Charles II, watched him consummate his marriage while shouting encouragement from the sidelines.
