1. Louis IX, France
   George IV, England
2. George I, Greece
   Philippe, Belgium

In March 2019, King Philippe of Belgium attended a summit with South Korea President Moon Jae-in to discuss mutual cooperation in the areas of science and technology. King Philippe was the first king of Belgium to visit South Korea in 27 years.

1. Ferdinand I, Bulgaria
   Francis II, Italy
2. Karl I, Liechtenstein
   Albert, Monaco

Bulgaria, Montenegro, Serbia and Greece had joined forces against the Ottoman Empire during the first Balkan War of 1912. When Bulgarian allies refused to withdraw from disputed territories, Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria started the Second Balkan war of 1913 by declaring war on Serbia and Greece.

1. Charles III John, Norway
   Margrethe II, Denmark
2. Pedro V, Portugal
   Louise I, Spain

Denmark's Margrethe II secured the throne in January 1972 after her father passed away due to illness. In her youth, Margrethe II studied economics and political science at Cambridge, London, Paris and Copenhagen universities.

1. Louis XVI, France
   Oscar I, Sweden
2. Leopold II, Belgium
   George I, England

Louis XVI also experienced a ceremonious end by guillotine. The National Convention convicted the French monarch of treason on January 21, 1793 during the French Revolution. His son, Louis XVIII, was imprisoned in a fortified monastery in Paris soon thereafter.

1. Constantine I, Greece
   Christian X, Iceland
2. Francis I, Italy
   George III, England

George III of England ruled from 1760 to 1820 and was the last English monarch to preside over the American colonies. In 1775, King George officially declared that the American colonies had rebelled.

1. Johann I Joseph, Liechtenstein
   Charlotte, Monaco
2. Constantine II, Greece
   William II, Netherlands

Constantine II was 24 when he married 18-year-old Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark. Three years later, in 1967, the royals were exiled in England, which lasted for four decades. In 1974, Greece abolished the monarchy and seized all royal assets.

1. Manuel II, Portugal
   Albert I, Belgium
2. Ferdinand II, Italy
   Louis-Philippe, France

Ferdinand II secured the throne on November 8, 1830. Pope Francis beatified his wife Princess Maria Cristina, called Reginella Santa by her subjects, on January 25, 2014. Ferdinand II was nicknamed "Re Bomba" after he suppressed a revolt in Sicily in 1848.

1. Hans-Adam II, Liechtenstein
   George V, England
2. Hans-Adam I, Liechtenstein
   Oscar I, Norway

Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein is one of the world's 500 richest people. He resides in a cliffside castle and owns two palatial estates in Vienna. The prince ascended to the throne in 1989.

1. Luis I, Portugal
   Henri, Luxembourg
2. Ferdinand VII, Spain
   Charles XV, Sweden

At the age of 45, Crown Prince Henri was sworn in as monarch of Luxembourg in October 2000. The royal assumed power dressed in full military attire after his father, Grand Duke Jean, stepped down after 36 years. He is shown here with his son Felix in New York during a 2013 United Nations session.

1. George II, England
   Albert II, Monaco
2. Alexander, Greece
   William III, Netherlands

Prince Albert II of Monaco married Charlene Lynette Wittstock, a South African Olympic swimmer, on July 22, 2011. The couple married in a ceremony held in the same room that the prince's parents, Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier III, had married in 55 years earlier.

1. Charles X, France
   Willem-Alexander, Netherlands
2. Edward VII, England
   Franz Joseph II, Liechtenstein

In 2013, Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands became the first king of the country in 120 years. Celebrants gathered in Amsterdam's Dam Square, which was decorated in the royal color orange, to welcome the new king.

1. Oscar II, Norway and Sweden
   Charles IV, Norway
2. Carlos I, Portugal
   Alfonso XII, Spain

King Oscar II of Norway and Sweden granted the Norwegian sardine canning company King Oscar "special royal permission" to use his name and likeness on the company's products. The producers catch wild sardines in the Norwegian fjords and the North Sea.

1. Oscar II, Sweden
   Charles IV, Spain
2. William IV, England
   George II, Greece

The mint in Spain was slow in shipping Spanish currency off to New World colonies during the 18th century. During the delay, a Mexico City mint used the likeness of King Charles III, who died in 1789, with the legend Charles IV until 1791.

1. Wilhelmina, Netherlands
   Carl XVI Gustaf, Sweden
2. Francis I, France
   George VI, England

Carl XVI Gustaf was born the youngest child of Princess Sibylla and Prince Gustaf Adolf on April 30, 1946 at Haga Palace near Stockholm. Carl Gustaf's parents were both descendants of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Great Britain.

1. Baudouin, Belgium
   Harald V, Norway
2. Felipe VI, Spain
   Gustaf V, Sweden

King Baudouin of Belgium reigned for 42 years before his death at the age of 62. He was born September 7, 1930 the second of three children of Swedish-born Queen Astrid and King Leopold III.

1. Louis XIII, France
   Anne, England
2. Simeon II, Bulgaria
   Charles II, Spain

Simeon II of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha accepted the role as Bulgaria's prime minister in July 2001. Prior to being deposed, the Bulgarian Parliament declared Simeon king after his father Boris III mysteriously died after meeting with Hitler in 1943.

1. Gustaf V, Sweden
   Henry IV, France
2. Christian X, Denmark
   Philip V, Spain

After Germany invaded Denmark on April 9, 1940, King Christian X refused to fly the German flag over the Danish capitol building. It is alleged that he once wore the yellow star that Nazis required the Jews of Denmark to wear to identify themselves.

1. Charles XVI Gustaf, Sweden
   Henry III, France
2. Charles IX, France
   Philip V, Spain

Thanks to King Charles IX, in 1564 France was the first country to make January 1 the first calendar day of the year instead of what it had been previously, April 1. Anyone who celebrated New Year's Day on or near April 1 was regarded as an April Fool.

1. Charles XVI Gustaf, Sweden
   Henry IV, France
2. Philip IV, Spain
   Frederick II, Prussia

Known as "Frederick the Great," Frederick II was born in Berlin in the Kingdom of Prussia on January 24, 1712. Frederick was the first to assail the Austrian Empire for territories after the death of Charles II. Frederick seized control of Silesia in seven weeks.

1. Louis XV, France
   Ferdinand VI, Spain
2. Edward VIII, England
   Louis XVIII, France

Edward VIII chose to renounce the throne over his choice of a marriage partner. Edward chose to marry American divorcee, two times over, Wallis Simpson, who is famous for the phrase, "You can never be too rich or too thin." They are shown here on their Mediterranean holiday in 1936.

1. Charles III, Spain
   Philippe, Belgium
2. Ferdinand I, Bulgaria
   Johann II, Liechtenstein

Portions of the monetary gifts offered by Johann II of Liechtenstein went to charity and establishing an art gallery. The European monarch was dubbed "John the Good" and was considered the most generous of all the Liechtensteins.

1. Ferdinand I, Bulgaria
   Margrethe, Denmark
2. Leopold III, Belgium
   Louis XVI, France

Leopold III agreed to abdicate the throne in favor of his son Baudouin because of his World War II ties with Nazi Germany. Leopold was criticized for capitulating to Germany 18 days after its armies invaded Belgium in 1940.

1. Frederick II, Prussia
   George III, England
2. Albert II, Belgium
   Constantine II, Greece

On July 21, 2013, Albert II of Belgium abdicated the throne after a 20-year reign. The monarch, who was approaching his eightieth birthday at the time, cited health and age concerns when addressing his constituency about his departure. Albert's son, Philippe, took over as king.

1. Boris III, Bulgaria
   Ferdinand II, Italy
2. Hans-Adam II, Liechtenstein
   Henri, Luxembourg

During World War II, Boris III of Bulgaria defied Hitler by rejecting the Nazi ruler's request to deliver troops to the Russian front, and he refused to deport Jews. Boris ascended to the throne in 1918 after his father, Ferdinand I of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha fled the country after a World War I defeat.

1. Albert II, Monaco
   Christian IX, Denmark
2. Willem-Alexander, Netherlands
   Oscar II, Norway

The mother of Christian IX, Queen Maud, was the youngest daughter of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra of England. Christian was the grandfather of Greece's Prince Andrew, and Empress Maria Fedorovna was his daughter and the mother of Nicholas II of Russia.

1. Charles IV, Spain
   Frederick VIII, Denmark
2. Carl XVI Gustaf, Sweden
   Leopold III, Belgium

At Iceland's Thingvellir National Park, people make wishes and toss coins into a water crevice known as Peningagje, or "money fissure," ever since Frederick VIII deposited a coin in the fissure in 1907. Scavengers of the crevice have dug up coins, as well as some credit cards that are still valid.

1. Boris III, Bulgaria
   Frederick IX, Denmark
2. Christian IX, Denmark
   Charles IX, France

Scholars have asserted that Frederick IX was instrumental in persuading U.S. General Douglas MacArthur to not prosecute Emperor Hirohito of war crimes in 1946. Frederick and other royals believed that keeping Hirohito in power would dissuade civil strife in Japan and the spread of Communism.

1. Elizabeth II, England
   Edwina VIII, England
2. Paulette, Greece
   Johanna II, Liechtenstein

In 2015, Elizabeth II surpassed Queen Victoria as the longest-reigning British royal in the history of the country. Elizabeth gave birth to Princess Anne and Prince Charles while she was still a princess. The current-day British queen ascended to the throne on February 6, 1952.

1. Jonathan, Luxembourg
   Julius, Netherlands
2. Haakon VII, Norway
   Paul, Greece

King Paul gave the opening speech at the First World Conference on World Peace Through Law held in Athens, Greece in 1963. Over 100 nations were represented at the conference, the primary aim of which was to revise international law so that it might help maintain world peace.

1. Jean, Luxembourg
   Juan Carlos, Spain
2. Charles XIV John, Sweden
   Baudouin, Belgium

Jean of Luxembourg reigned between 1964 and 2000. His eldest son Henri took the throne when he stepped down. Jean married Princess Josephine-Charlotte of Belgium, eldest sister of King Baudoin, on April 9, 1953.

1. Juliana, Netherlands
   Frederick VIII
2. Elizabeth II, England
   Beatrix, Netherlands

Juliana Louise Emma Marie Wilhelmina reigned in the Netherlands for 32 years. She was born on April 30, 1909 to Duke Henry Vladimir Ernst of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Queen Wilhelmina.

1. Olav V, Norway
   Sofia, Spain
2. Albert II, Belgium
   Beatrix, Netherlands

During Queen Beatrix's reign on Queen's Day, thousands of Dutch citizens, including the queen, participated in a round of games, such as soap box racing and tug-of-war. Her son, Willem-Alexander, also honored the queen on that day by partaking in a toilet-bowl-tossing competition.

1. Christian X, Portugal
   Charles XIV John, Sweden and Norway
2. Queen Victoria, England
   Alfonso XIII, Spain

Born Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, Charles XIV John ascended the French military ranks to become marshal of France and secured the prince Ponte Corvo title when Napoleon became emperor of France. In 1818 at 55, Bernadotte was crowned Charles XIV John, king of Sweden and Norway.

1. Frederick IX, Denmark
   Alfonso XIII, Spain
2. Leopold I, Belgium
   Louis IX, France

General Francisco Franco seized power in Spain at the start of the Spanish Civil War, which signaled the end of the country's republic rule. Grandson of Alfonso XIII, Juan Carlos I, later secured the throne under Spain's constitutional monarchy that's in place today.

1. George IV, England
   George I, Greece
2. Sebastian, Portugal
   Francis II, Italy

Sebastian of Portugal subjected himself to severe self-discipline exercises that included swimming, weapons use and spiritual rituals. After a plague outbreak forced him out of Lisbon, he ventured to Alcobaca and Sintra, where he demanded to inspect the bones of the kings of the House of Avis.

1. Juan Carlos, Spain
   Karl I, Liechtenstein
2. Albert I, Monaco
   William I, Netherlands

Juan Carlos of Spain is considered a symbol of reconciliation from internal strife caused by the Spanish Civil War that occurred between 1936 and 1939. His father, Don Juan, was designated pretender to the Spanish throne during the reign of General Francisco Franco.

1. Charlotte III John, Norway
   Pedra V, Portugal
2. Louise I, Spain
   Sofia, Spain

Queen Sofia of Spain married then-Prince Juan Carlos in Athens on May 14, 1962. She is the daughter of King Paul of Greece and Frederica of Hanover. Sofia was born in the Greek capital city on November 2, 1938.

1. Haakon VII, Norway
   Oscar I, Sweden
2. Leopold II, Belgium
   George I, England

King Haakon VII, first known as Prince Carl of Denmark, secured Norway's throne in 1905. Prior to this, Norway was unified with Sweden from 1814 to 1905 and with Denmark between 1381 and 1814.

1. Constantine I, Greece
   Christian X, Iceland
2. Francis I, Italy
   Olav V, Norway

Christened Alexander Edward Christian Frederick, Olav V of Norway was born July 2, 1903 in England to Princess Maud and King Haakon VII. Haakon gave his son the name Olav in honor of Viking rulers.

1. Johann I Joseph, Liechtenstein
   Charlotte, Monaco
2. Victoria, England
   William II, Netherlands

In 1819, Queen Victoria of England was born fifth in line for the throne. She became queen on June 20, 1837 as a result of deaths and heirs who produced no children. Victoria reigned until her death in 1901 at the age of 81.