I Guess It Just Worked Out That Way …

When Peter III became Czar of All he Russias for a brief while in 1762, George III —who apparently was at that time in full possession of his faculties—made note of the fact that the rulers of Europe were:

• George III, King of England
• Charles III, King of Spain
• Augustus III, King of Poland
• Frederick III, Duke of Saxe-Gotha
• Frederick III, King of Prussia
• Charles Emanuel III, King of Sardinia
• Mustapha III, Emperor of the Ottomans
• Peter III, Czar of Russia
• Francis III, Duke of Modena

Germany did not exist at that time as a single nation state, nor did Italy. But for so many of the monarchs at one time to be the third of their various names was unprecedented in history. (Of course, it didn’t last because Peter III was assassinated, probably at the behest of Catherine the Great, his wife, after six months as Czar.)

This interesting fact comes from one of my favorite sites, The Futility Closet.