History's Most Controversial Child Rulers

[@shadowfox009x]

Ivan the Terrible is worth a whole episode on his own, maybe for Into the Shadows? His childhood, after his mother was posioned by political rivals, was a mixture of neglect and abuse while political factions fought for control over him and the country. People he trusted were arrested, disappeared or killed. No wonder he grew paranoid. His first wife, the only other person he loved aside from his mother, was probably also poisoned and he completely lost it after her death, growing even more paranoid. He also married several more times but his wives either died (probably poisoned) or were banished to a monastry.

[@JamesDavy2009]

He started the course of events that led to Russia being the world's biggest country and one thing he didn't actually do was take a leaf out of Shah Jahan's book and gouge out the eyes of the lead architect of St Basil's Cathedral after the main building was complete. His death was hilariously stupid-he had a stroke during a game of chess against Bogdan Belsky.

[@i.b.640]

Christina was technically "King" of Sweden.

[@i.b.640]

The law banned Queens from ruling, so her father pointed out, that the rules said nothing about female Kings and made her crown prince

[@jejbsh2191]

That sounds like 🌈 propaganda

[@i.b.640]

@@jejbsh2191 From Christina's birth, King Gustav Adolph recognized her eligibility even as a female heir, and although she was called "queen," the official title the Riksdag gave at her coronation in February 1633 was "king" - I wonder while the woke and the conservatives alike have to screech "PROPAGANDA" before checking. Maybe they are closer in values then they think and just differ in flavours.

[@Treaxvour]

​@@i.b.640the word king itself excluded females. Her father was bullshitting and it worked.

[@st.robespierre]

@@jejbsh2191 you are gay

[@araelthewise]

The painting of Ivan holding his son after killing him...

[@DJL78]

This was fascinating. Thanks Simon and team.

[@ThatWriterKevin]

You're welcome!

[@danoliver7044]

The painting of Ivan holding his son after killing him is, in my opinion, the greatest painting ever made that shows raw emotion. It's Erie to look at! Ivans distraught face, surrounded by darkness and alone.

[@ignitionfrn2223]

0:35 - Chapter 1 - Ivan the terrible 3:55 - Chapter 2 - Shapur II 8:35 - Chapter 3 - Christina, queen of sweden 12:50 - Chapter 4 - John I of France

[@Talisguy]

I feel like the controversy should lie with the idiots who put children in charge of countries, rather than the children themselves. Exhibit A for monarchy being a terrible system.

[@richardgraham7055]

Shallow clickbait from shallow people

[@yairklein-mp8vo]

if you look at some of the leaders who were democratically elected, you would say the same about democracy.

[@Talisguy]

@yairklein It's one thing to elect a leader who turns out to be bad in a system where you can hold that person accountable for doing a bad job by voting them out. It's quite another for a spoiled child or complete idiot to be _destined_ for absolute power despite being totally unqualified to use it, and to keep that power for the rest of their life. Four years of a bad leader with limits on their power is infinitely preferable to _40_ years of a bad leader with _no_ limits on their power. That's why monarchy is a terrible system. Any system where there's no mechanism for removing a bad leader other than killing them is a really bad one.

[@yairklein-mp8vo]

@@Talisguy "Any system where there's no mechanism for removing a bad leader other than killing them is a really bad one." lol, that means monarchs have more accountability then democratically elected, since they pay with thier life if they do bad job. in imperial rome, the praetorian guard routinely got rid of bad emperors. in today world were truth is constantly distorted by bad actors and by political agendas, you have hard time figuring out whats real anymore, so how do you even know if the leadership is good or bad in order to make informed decision? on the other hand, you have canada, that continually elect truduo election after election, even as he is destroying the country.

[@WarblesOnALot]

​@@Talisguy G'day, That's an interesting Hypothesis, Especially from any AmeriKan CitiZen. Adolf Hitler was Elected, proclaimed himself Dictator, and his Reign lasted 12 years. George W. Bush was NEVER Elected..., He was inaugurated after the SCOTUS his father had Stacked before him, Ordered that Counting of the Votes be Halted .. "Least continued Counting Prejudice the Applicant's CLAIM To have "Won"... The "Election". Stalin & Mao Tse-Tung & Pol-Pot were All "Elected" - and then Declined to step down Putin was "Elected", three times. Xin Shi-Ping was "Elected", Too... So, suck THAT up, Munchkin. Such is life, Have a good one... Stay safe. ;-p Ciao !

[@ianray8823]

Ivan at 16: czar of russia Me at 16: smoking weed out of a soda can in the woods

[@qigongkylar944]

Usually I went apples over soda cans 😂

[@state_song_xprt]

Surprised you didn't mention Louis XIV, who became king at age 5 and reigned for 72 years - the longest confirmed reign in history

[@pyromania1018]

Longest reign of a *major* European monarchy.

[@zynathera8140]

@@pyromania1018I believe he’s the longest CONFIRMED monarch ever. Anywhere. There are some who historians think ruled longer but their reigns haven’t been definitively confirmed. Unless I’m mistaken?

[@ThatWriterKevin]

Nope, there are 17 longer reigns with confirmed exact dates. The longest is Sobhuza II of Swaziland at 82 years and 254 days.

[@ThatWriterKevin]

@@zynathera8140 That is correct. All the monarchs who reigned longer than Louis XIV were rulers in a protectorate or dependent state, but they still matter

[@dougiephresh]

Probably because he wasn't terrible at his job🤷

[@Redfoot138]

"This was a time of great political instability in Russia" Pick a decade.

[@michaelverbakel7632]

Ivan the Terrible might not have become Ivan the Terrible if he had a happy childhood growing up. He might not have been Terrible at all. If Ivan had a happy childhood, he might have grown up to become Ivan the slightly above average.

[@krystinajo]

Ivan the Mid

[@manavmadhu9383]

Swathi Thirunal of Travancore(1813-1846), British India, was also crowned in utero.

[@puppetguy8726]

Fun fact: Christina was actually crowned king, rather than queen, of Sweden

[@o.mcneely4424]

Also I’m surprised by how much Simon’s writers downplayed her abuse from her mother. The woman likely tried to kill her at least once and the attempt maimed Christina for life; she wasn’t just “suspected of being a bad mother”, she genuinely wasn’t a safe person for King Christina to be around.

[@jorgelotr3752]

4:23 but not the only one born king: it's just that in other cases they waited for the child to be born before putting the crown on them.

[@coolbonen]

Love the pronunc of oxenstiana. It's old swedish for oxenstar

[@wardarcade7452]

Also, how about Alfonzo XIII who became King of Spain at the moment of the attendants confirming his gender at birth with his father Alfonzo XII having died six month earlier. He had two older sisters but since they didn't want to chance having to take away any crowns from his elder sister Mercedes, they simply had the ruler be the Queen Mother Maria Cristina [of Austria] until she bore her last child who turned out to be the king . However Maria Cristina remained the Regent until her son's 16th birthday. Alas, he didn't have the smoothest rule and wound up being forced to abdicate then into exile when he was 45 in 1931.

[@seandelap8587]

I don't blame the children i blame the adults that put them into power in the first place because they should have known better than give a child responsibility something that they had no business to be responsible for at such a young age

[@Talisguy]

If you read the correspondence of Kaiser Wilhelm's family and Imperial German officials, everyone in his life agreed that he'd be a _terrible_ Kaiser because of his ignorance, impulsiveness, belligerence and severe inferiority complex...but they were all resigned to him eventually getting a job that everyone agreed he was obviously dangerously unqualified for, a job that gave him command of arguably the best military in the world at the time, because he was royalty. Thank God monarchies fell out of fashion in most of the world after WW1 - a war caused, in part, by Wilhelm being a terrible Kaiser who seriously disrupted European politics - because that correspondence really highlighted the idiocy of the entire concept.

[@Mike-hu3pp]

Unfortunately a lot of adults weren't or aren't any better.

[@thereub8166]

​@@Talisguyhe had to be 1 belligerent sob for his cousins to go to war against him.

[@Nazuiko]

yet most of these children were better rulers than any of the useless adults that proceeded or followed them. Ivan the Terrible only got bad after his wife died and he was already old and grown

[@justinkauffman731]

The demise of the very powerful Taira clan really picked up steam over the politics of a child emporer in Japan.

[@jaydenglasgow2487]

Comment section - Americans finding a way to bring politics into any and everything

[@Nazuiko]

Man I sure hope theres no politics on the comment section of a video about monarchies

[@theboxingarmadillo1610]

If Ivan IV married a Romanov, does that mean that he founded the Dynasty or a pre-cursor to it? Thank you. Awesome video!

[@Geraduss]

No Romanovs were at the time just another prominent noble family in Russian, thing is that after Ivans death and the death of his second childless son, his dynasty ended and Russia was flung in to "Times of trouble" or basically an interregnum a period without a ruling monarch. After a time oc civil strife, chaos and mass death, the remaining ruling families appointed a child from the Romanov dynasty to succeed the throne. Thus starting the Romanovs as the main ruling Dynasty of Russia.

[@theboxingarmadillo1610]

@@Geraduss Thank you. I've always wanted to know more about this Tsar dynamic. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge.

[@Pfischful]

Regarding Christinas strange behaviour giving away titles, Oxenstierna had enormous power and followed the warplans of christinas father without the money to pay especially the officers of the army. So titles were given in lieu of payment to keep the officers and by extension their soldiers happy. A lot of the negative stories about Christina are unfounded and believed by many to be a smear campaign due to her abdicating and converting to catholicism. Rumours about her tanking the economy, being a lesbian, hermaphrodite, nymphomaniac etc were spread widely. Simply because she rather abdicated than be forced to marry and have a man decide over her life. Something she had stated she would do as early as her second year on the throne.

[@wardarcade7452]

Surprised you didn't mention Mary, Queen of Scots who became the reigning monarch of Scotland in 1542 after her father James V's death when she was just six DAYS old! Yes, Scotland had regents (including her own mother Marie of Guise) from that time until Mary's return from France after her 1st husband Francis II's early death. However, Mary WAS the ruler from that point on and would rule/reign until she was forced to abdicate in 1567 after she married the Earl of Bothwell very soon after her 2nd husband Lord [Henry] Darnley's murder! And, of course, Mary wound up being executed in 1587 by her cousin Elizabeth I after having fled to England in the vain hope that her cousin (and fellow queen regnant) Elizabeth I would get her crown back for her. Instead Elizabeth I held a grudge against her for having claimed Elizabeth's own crown right after her own half sister Mary I's death [back when she was married to the Dauphin then King of France] and wound up detaining then outrightly imprisoning Mary before Elizabeth's hints at having Mary being quietly snuffed out got ignored so Elizabeth had her openly executed (with Mary doing her best to upstage everyone there) THEN claimed it had been done against HER will. However, Mary HAD borne James VI via her 2nd husband Lord Darnley and James VI would become the SOLE heir of Elizabeth I as James I of England since the last Tudor monarch had had no offspring. It wasn't for nothing that Mary's motto had been 'in my end is my beginning'! EVERY single monarch of England (and later Great Britain) after Elizabeth I has been the direct descendant of the Queen of Scots!

[@ISeeWhatYouDidThere]

Love you Simon ❤

[@Contessa6363]

Well there you go! Genius is a kin to Madness. 😮😮😮

[@wetfries3241]

All better than king joffrey 😂

[@darlenefraser3022]

😂 😂 😂

[@garyclark3843]

Who?

[@aburdett85]

​@@garyclark3843 Game of Thrones character.

[@garyclark3843]

@@aburdett85 That would explain why I didn't know that.

[@Young3Choppa]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@o.mcneely4424]

Nearly all of the Stuart kings were minors when crowned, and the constant jostling for power during the associated regencies really kneecapped Scotland. The so-called Scottish golden age during the late Middle Ages and renaissance was heavily hampered by issues caused by having SEVEN consecutive minor rulers crowned.

[@lonewanderer3603]

I was hoping for Baldwin the IV.

[@addicted2monster88]

Like 10 bot comments on this video. Yt has just completely given up apparently

[@2l84t]

Pornbots get a pass apparently.

[@OfftheWallTales]

Yeah, I pay for YT premium to avoid ads because I watch videos instead of TV after work. And it is a right pain to know how terrible they are at solving new issues. I’m not surprised though. Elsa video gate only got fixed when the news reported on it. They don’t rush to deal with new issues if it isn’t costing them money. I’ve debated canceling my subscription a few times, but in all honesty they’d probably earn more by the amount of commercials they’d force me to watch than my monthly subscription.

[@DrSuperKamiGuru]

@@OfftheWallTales This is exactly what adblockers are for.

[@addicted2monster88]

@DrSuperKamiGuru Isn't YT cracking down on ad blockers? I thought I saw a moist video about people being warned for using ad blockers? I'm a mobile user, and most ads I get are about 5 to 10 seconds, so I don't really get twisted about it.

[@BaldAndCurious]

Let me guess. Ivan's childhood was.... Terrible?

[@sugarstar2573]

The bots are very busy here in the comments.

[@chrisbrown5050]

How can you tell that they are bot comments? I'm not taking the piss lol, I'm genuinely curious. No I'm not a bot either haha😂

[@sugarstar2573]

@@chrisbrown5050 go to down to the second comment. That's one! Low effort, super generic, sometimes oddly worded comments from accounts that are hours old is the giveaway for me.

[@sugarstar2573]

@@chrisbrown5050 matter of fact-I challenge you to read through the comments and see if you notice any similarities with some of these comments. See if you can figure it out. Once you pick up on it, it's almost comically obvious after that. Makes a great game!!

[@Hetouchesfish]

​@@chrisbrown5050click on the profile and see when the account was made.

[@Kakkarot211]

christina was the first tomboy monarch?

[@AnnaAnna-uc2ff]

Thanks.

[@tt-ew7rx]

Jean the 1st was regarded as not a bad king of France.

[@jovanweismiller7114]

Joan had no right to the French Crown since the Crown of France descends by Salic Law which prohibits females from inheriting or inheritance through the female line.

[@erf3176]

TIL That Ivan the terrible was a complicated man. No one understood him but his woman. After she died, Russians got shafted.

[@dustinprewitt]

these are monarchs who became rulers when they were children, but didnt really rule as children or do their most notable (mis)deeds as children..... Richard II of England is a far better example

[@Crioten]

Starfishes vs the universe

[@Mia-ep4zu]

Axel Oxenstierna = Axel Oxenstar

[@ProjectNOTOS]

Very interesting video from which we will inspire for other content!

[@Pooki2024]

BOTS galore

[@sugarstar2573]

Inspire for other content? Wow. Very convincing bot 😂😂😂

[@justinkauffman731]

Leave Ivan alone!

[@NilsAlbertsson]

Oi, Whistler, you've got your head on upside down... hair goes on top!

[@mohammedsaysrashid3587]

Historical most controversial child rulers....they leftovers glorious pages for their's empire's .better than others

[@thereub8166]

Christina's jaw is looking kinda Hapsburgish...

[@Kingmeri]

Anastasia is pronounced Ah-Nuh-Sta (like "stop")-Sia

[@mistermigraine2779]

Country, accents, and historical language mean that often words are not pronounced the way you prefer. Variances abound, and being smart enough to recognize that is in your best interest. Or you can just sound ignorant.

[@Kingmeri]

​@@mistermigraine2779 No, it's factually incorrect. If your name is Bob, someone calling you "Boob" would not be correct in any accent. For the record, most English speakers mispronounce this name - ty to the late 90's movie of the same name.

[@Kittysniffer]

Do cats count as children? Because my cat runs my house with a stern paw.

[@sydhenderson6753]

I don't think Shapur is particularly controversial.

[@RealJonNewton]

I thought he got shot in Vegas years ago

[@AutisticlyRose]

I get super irritated when King Christina is referred to as queen. Yes, she was a girl but the laws did not allow for a queen to rule so she was actually crowned King! It is a huge thing that it was done like this and she was the first female ruler of the country.

[@jamellfoster6029]

Kind of like Hatshepsut.

[@Mecha82]

You answered your own question. She was called king for that reason. Not queen.

[@darlenefraser3022]

I hadn’t thought of it that way - thanks! ☺️

[@drakeaniha2023]

Ok but words have meanings for a reason so a female regardless of what they call her would be a queen not a king.

[@AutisticlyRose]

@@drakeaniha2023 not in that country at that time period. At that time a king was what you called the ruler of the nation. A queen had no power or authority to actually rule. Hence she is King Christina.

[@buckanderson3520]

Everyone thinks highly of their own opinion but are also highly disappointed when no one else agrees....lol!😆 😮😢

[@N_I_kita]

bruh, oprichniki ≠ опринихи.😂

[@shannonkeys8594]

Throughout history most of the knowledgeable people ie scholars were mad

[@ewrock7635]

Will Trump be included in this?

[@seandelap8587]

Tds

[@nicholasbutler2365]

He really lives rent free in the noggin of your, huh? 😂

[@ZacharyRomine]

Kamala definitely is

[@jakesmiley1988]

You're so funny.

[@Talisguy]

If we include man-children in this list of child monarchs then...we'll, that's most monarchs. It makes sense to limit it to actual children, tempting as it would be to see him on this list.

[@katherinebonkowski8925]

Regardless of who gets into office, reform of housing prices and land rules will need to be done. Within the next 5-10 years? Good luck finding a place, even here in Michigan its hell. To expensive, back taxes, regulations on what you can build on site. The very land you purchased is controled by another....I cant find something basic. Inexpensive land is protected or has a drain ditch...😂

[@ethanaleman]

Let me guess it was terrible

[@chiphausl]

1/137

[@Dyson-yq1mk]

If you know, you know😊

[@NationalTidende]

🎉

[@black5f]

Very informative video and very interesting. Aside .... Please keep doing sponsor promotion by yourself and embedded. When my ad blocker gives up I get ads .... they are so imbecile and childish, obviously aimed at people struggling, or special needs or vulnerable people. Wait a minute .... I can say this because my youngest is 29, but is mentally 4, the ads from California may attract the interest of Californians, but even my youngest gets fed up with them? He doesn't want a neck cushion that looks like a slug, finds silly digging games boring. YT is right out there in some space no one gets.

[@anthonymctigue4206]

Do you even look into the pronunciation of these foreign names 🤣🤣🤣🤦🏻‍♂️

[@alexamg6675]

Interesting 🤔 I seen the word Judea on that map

[@theawesomeman9821]

Ivan sounds just as horrible as Geofry Baratheon.

[@i.b.640]

I think Joffrey was based on Edmund, son of Henry VI.

[@JamesDavy2009]

He wasn't as terrifying as Shah Jahan.

[@OldieBugger]

Hehe, Ivan the Terrible is called Ivan the Great in Russia. That tells us something about russians.

[@ThatWriterKevin]

To be fair, "terrible" is sort of a mistranslation and it's more like "terrifying"

[@NeiyMaritz]

They probably call him great because his reign was literally Russias first step to greatness.

[@pyromania1018]

Actually, that's his grandfather.

[@George_M_]

Stalin's favorite tsar.

[@NeiyMaritz]

@@George_M_ so what?

[@multiyapples]

No Trump? He acts like a child and isn’t a good leader.

[@AlmightyNOG]

Cue Russophobia....

[@mrBobTek]

If you are here because you heard the new Eminem bar where he compares himself to Ivan the Terrible and you want to know more about it, you are curious and listen to good music. Tap yourself on the back. P.S. The song is - Fuel (Shady Edition) feat. Westside Boogie & GRIP

[@Treaxvour]

Don't worry, were not here from that.

[@mrBobTek]

@@Treaxvour you kinda miss the point

[@marsden1001]

When has russia been politically stable

[@michaelproffitt3101]

Trump hell no

[@turtleboy4111]

First l9l

[@brucemitchell5637]

Nope, I'm first! 😊

[@Pei_ling_xoxo]

U forget about fact thar kristina was lesbian

[@nenasiek]

Not proven, aome suspect it tho..

[@Pei_ling_xoxo]

It is prooven do reserch bro

[@Pei_ling_xoxo]

​@@nenasiekher lover was called Ebba Spare

[@boomznbladez405]

wouldnt this belong on biographics?

[@duncancurtis5108]

Stewie Gilligan Griffin 😅😅

[@tracewallace23]

I wonder if Christina was gay (and clever enough to keep it hidden, when she was already pushing so many other boundaries)?. Not that she "must have been" or anything🤷🏻‍♂️ I just wonder 🤔 I also wonder how much money she actually spent in today's dollars? 🙂

[@ChannelStowyn]

The Whistler Strikes Again

[@thedrytortuga7421]

So Simon, now that you've shaved off that rats nest of a beard, can you recommend a decent trimmer?