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Maria II of Portugal reigned from 1826 to 1828, and again from 1834 to 1853. She became obese at 25 years of age, had 11 children and died in childbirth, aged 34. Queen Maria II is remembered as a good mother and a kind person who always acted according to her convictions in her attempt to help her country. She was later given the nickname "The Good Mother.
John III Sobieski was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696. Sobieski's 22-year reign marked a period of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth's stabilization. After his victories over them, the Ottomans called him the "Lion of Lechistan" and the Pope hailed him as the saviour of Christendom.
Marie Antoinette was the last Queen of France before the French Revolution and her tenure lasted from 1774 to 1792. She was despised by many of her people who accused her of being wildly extravagant and promiscuous and of harbouring sympathies for France's enemies, particularly her native Austria. She was tried for high treason and executed by guillotine on the Place de la Révolution.
Napoléon Bonaparte was Emperor of the French as Napoleon I from 1804 until 1814 and again briefly in 1815 during the Hundred Days. He dominated European and global affairs for more than a decade while leading France against a series of coalitions in the Napoleonic Wars. Napoléon become a worldwide cultural icon who symbolises military genius and political power. When met in person, many of his contemporaries were surprised by his apparently unremarkable physical appearance in contrast to his significant deeds and reputation, especially in his youth, when he was consistently described as small and thin.
Christina, Queen of Sweden reigned from 1632 until her abdication in 1654. She is remembered as one of the most learned women of the 17th century. According to biographer Veronica Buckley, Christina was a "dabbler" who was "painted a lesbian, a prostitute, a hermaphrodite, and an atheist" by her contemporaries, though "in that tumultuous age, it is hard to determine which was the most damning label". Buckley suggested that her low comprehension of the need for most social norms, her lack of desire to act upon such norms and her preference to do only that which she deemed logically practical, point to her having a Pervasive Developmental Disorder such as Asperger's Syndrome.
Peter the Great ruled the Tsardom of Russia, later the Russian Empire (1682-1725). He had fourteen children, including three sons he named Pavel and three sons he named Peter, all of whom died early in their infancy. During his reign, he attempted to acquire control of the Black Sea, which would require expelling the Tatars from the surrounding areas. As part of an agreement with Poland that ceded Kiev to Russia, Peter was forced to wage war against the Crimean Khan and against the Khan's overlord, the Ottoman Sultan.
Leopold II, King of the Belgians (1865-1909) was the founder and owner of the Congo Free State. His administration designed a notoriously brutal system that, instead of improving the lives of the native Congolese people, led to the death of probably 10 million of them. Thousands were sold as slaves, others were exploited and tortured in the rubber industry that Leopold II designed for himself.
Queen Victoria was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. On 1 May 1876, she adopted the additional title of Empress of India. Her reign of 63 years and seven months was longer than that of any of her predecessors and is known as the Victorian era. Victoria's links with Europe's royal families earned her the nickname "the grandmother of Europe". Victoria and Albert had 42 grandchildren, of whom 34 survived to adulthood. Their living descendants include Elizabeth II; Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh; Harald V of Norway; Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden; Margrethe II of Denmark; and Felipe VI of Spain.
Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–1608). His efficiency as a ruler was overshadowed by his preoccupation with the arts, occult sciences and personal life. Historians view him as an ineffectual ruler whose mistakes led directly to the Thirty Years War, which resulted in eight million fatalities.
Marie of Romania was the last Queen of Romania as the wife of King Ferdinand I. After the outbreak of World War I, she and her three daughters took refuge in Moldavia, where they acted as nurses in military hospitals, caring for soldiers who were wounded or afflicted by cholera. In Romania, Marie is known by the nickname "Mama Răniților" ("Mother of the Wounded"), or simply as "Regina Maria", while in other countries she is remembered as the "Soldier Queen" and "Mamma Regina".