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Nine Kings at Buckingham Palace



Back row, l. to r.: Haakon VII of Norway, Ferdinand I of Bulgaria, Manuel II of Portugal, Wilhelm II of Germany, George I of Greece and Albert I of Belgium; front row: Alphonso XIII of Spain, George V of the United Kingdom, and Frederick VIII of Denmark.

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This grand royal family gathered in late May is for Edward’s funeral. There were twelve crowned heads and forty-seven imperial, royal, apostolic, or serene highnesses. A lone commoner was the former president Teddy Roosevelt representing the United States, who was allocated almost to the last of the procession. Preceding him was the largest gathering of the European royals, but this was their last hurrah. Austria-Hungary was represented at the funeral by Archduke Franz Ferdinand, who assassination four years later would precipitate a world war which would sweep away many monarchies.

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The German Kaiser, the Austrian Emperor, and the Russian Tsar were all forced to abdicate after losing the war. The Tsar and his family were killed by the Bolsheviks after Britain and her king refused to rescue them (fearing a revolution at home). Another losing combatant of the WWI, Ferdinand of Bulgaria abdicated in order to save the throne for his son Boris. The kingdom ­tottered on in a weakened state until the Second World War. ­Alfonso of Spain fled his country when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed in 1931; his descendants still rule the country after the monarchy was reinstated in 1975.

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