TINY TYRANTS
April 28, 2009 by Tap Vann
Mighty countries have often been ruled by children who were grade-school age, or even younger! Take a look at the cute little faces of monarchy gone wrong.
LOUIS XIV, AGE 5
Just a year after Louis became King of France in 1643, the Venetian Ambassador wrote, “He knows that he is King and wants to be treated as such.” At 7, he signed his first decree with his own hand, granting amnesty to defected enemies.
At age 10, when other boys liked to pretend they were kings, Louis would make-believe he was a valet! He ruled for 72 years.
LOUIS XV, AGE 7
The great-grandson of Louis XIV, this Louis liked to pretend he was a cook. Shortly after he became King in 1715, he hid behind a curtain to avoid giving an audience to an ambassador.
Those caring for the young King were so concerned about assassination they kept his food under lock and key – and stored his handkerchiefs in a triple-locked safe, fearing someone would lace them with poison.
KING TUT, AGE 8
The Egyptian ruler assumed the throne in about 1366 B.C. It is unclear on who his parents were, but historians believe his uncle was the ruler Akhenaten. Tutankhamun spent his eleven years as ruler reversing the monotheistic changes his uncle had made to the Egyptian religion.
King Tut died at the young age of nineteen, apparently from gangrene contracted from a broken leg.
EDWARD VI, AGE 10
Edward was the only legitimate male child of King Henry VIII. By the age of six, he was engaged to seven-month old Mary, Queen of Scots. When he was crowned at 10 years old, the ceremonies were shortened due to his “tender age”.
Even more shockingly, Edward not only became King of England and Ireland in 1547, but he became head of the Church of England as well!
IVAN THE TERRIBLE, AGE 3
This 16th-century Russian ruler lived in constant fear of assassination as a child, and at age 13 he had his chief enemy thrown to a pack of hunting dogs, which tore him limb from limb. When he was 17, Ivan had himself crowned Russia’s first Czar.
Ivan ruled until his death in 1584, which scientists later determined to likely be poisoning. Considering Ivan’s long list of crimes, including attempted rape of his daughter-in-law and the murder of his first-born son in a fit of rage, he had many enemies who could have been the culprit.
ANANDA MAHIDOL, AGE 9
“I am not happy to become King of Siam,” Ananda said after being crowned when his uncle gave up the throne in 1935. “I would rather play with trains.” Residing outside of Thailand, he did not even visit the country as its ruling monarch until three years later.
Tragically, 11 years later he was found dead of a bullet wound. Most assumed it was self-inflicted, however a number of historians believe he was murdered by a former Japanese intelligence officer.
