Royal Secrets

Britons believed Richard III had murdered his two nephews in the Tower of London, until one of them came back to life. The son of Ivan the Terrible took power after his father's death, or was the son dead too? Denmark was once ruled by an ordinary German doctor who slept his way to power.

In trying to bring justice to England, Henry II brought about one of history's most infamous murders. Henry VII dusted off an outdated law and ate his way to power. Writing two laws a day, Joseph II of Austria failed to please most of his people most of the time, and brought his empire to the brink of revolution.

Sometimes keeping power is harder than getting it. The Normans triumphed on the battlefield but were undone by Mother Nature. The Hapsburgs decided to keep power in the family, and the decision proved their undoing. The Medicis lived, and died, under the spell of a curse.

Good King Wenceslas unfortunately had a wicked brother. The ingenious killers of England's Edward II left no trace of foul play -- except his screams. France's Henry IV survived nineteen assassins--until he went for a fateful ride.

A royal affair could be a dangerous liaison. Anne Boleyn flirted with Henry VIII and lost her head. England's Princess Caroline had flings on the side, like her husband, George IV, but fell victim to double standards. France's Louis XV was the lustiest monarch in history, and paid for it with his life.

When monarchs erred, they erred on a grand scale. Queen Adelaide of Sicily married a cad and was conned out of her wealth dowry: Charles VI of Austria not only bankrupted his nation, he left it defenseless. James IV of Scotland fell under the spell of a drunken quack.

When the love of his life died, Henry III of France went on a binge of free spending, cross-dressing, and self-flagellation, until he got himself killed. Peter the Great dragged Russia out of the Dark Ages yet had his own dark side: he collected freaks of nature, and took a personal interest in torture.

Richard the Lionheart of England went down in legend as a kind king and a great warrior. In fact, he taxed his countrymen to the hilt, got himself captured, and taxed them again to pay his ransom. Frederick the Great proved so brilliant on the battlefield that his tactics are still studied today.

The reign of Louis XIV, France's Sun King, was clouded by black magic. The Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II believed he was possessed by the devil, and resorted to sorcery to exorcise him. The sister-in-law of England's Henry VI tried to destroy him with witchcraft, and nearly succeeded.

Ivan the Terrible killed more people than any monarch in history -- hundreds with his own hands, and enjoyed it. The most famous murder mystery stars a real king: Macbeth. Also: the fatal insanity of Erik XIV of Sweden.