World Monarchs Trivia

Crowns have a way of concentrating history into single lifetimes: wars started and ended by royal marriages, empires built or broken by one ruler's decisions. This quiz gathers monarchs from Egypt to Russia to test how well you know who sat on which throne.

Empire Builders and Palace Builders

Some monarchs are remembered for what they built. Louis XIV turned Versailles into the most famous palace in Europe and used it to keep his nobility close, and dependent, on royal favor. Peter the Great built an entire capital, St. Petersburg, as a window onto Europe, while Catherine the Great expanded Russia's borders and courted the era's leading philosophers by mail.

• William the Conqueror's victory at Hastings in 1066 reshaped the English monarchy and language for centuries.
• Isabella I of Castile helped fund Columbus's 1492 voyage, permanently altering global trade routes.
• Queen Victoria's 63-year reign gave its name to an entire era of British culture and design.

Dynasties That Ended in Revolution

Other monarchs are remembered for how their reigns ended. Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia, was executed with his family in 1918 as the Romanov dynasty collapsed under revolution, a fate that echoed the fall of other royal houses when the old order of hereditary rule met the modern world.