Cambodge Soir, a daily, recently reported that he had financed the publication of a book about Sdach Korn, a commoner who, in the 16th century, routed the country's monarchy and created a less hierarchical society.

ECONOMIST: And intends to go on and on

However, due to Sweden's strict royal succession rules -- which at the time did not permit a contender for the throne to marry a commoner -- King Gustav VI Adolph (the current king's grandfather) would not give his blessing to the union.

CNN: Sweden's Princess Lilian dies at the age of 97

The American-born son of a half-Chinese commoner accidentally inherits a throne close to extinction and revives it, creating one of the world's most powerful and wealthy monarchies, and surely the only one of any significance to have gained in political power in modern times.

ECONOMIST: Thailand's king and its crisis