Weirdest Things Royals Did With Their Power

The Corrupting Nature of Absolute Power00:00

Power is the strangest drug in human history. Not because it corrupts, but because of what happens when someone gets so much of it that nothing remains to stop them. No budget, no consequences, no one who can say no and be heard. History is full of people who got there.

Frederick William I and the Potsdam Giants00:32

Go back to Prussia, early 1700s. Frederick William I became king of Prussia in 1713 and spent 27 years building one of the most disciplined military machines in Europe. He was efficient, frugal, and capable. He laid the groundwork his son Frederick the Great would use to turn Prussia into a major power. He was also one of the most bizarre individuals to hold a throne in European history.

Frederick William created a personal regiment composed entirely of extremely tall men. The Grand Grenadiers of Potsdam, the Potsdam Giants, had one entry requirement: at least 6 ft 2. Pay was determined by height alone. The taller you were, the more you earned. Their uniforms included 18-in grenadier caps to make them look even more imposing. They ate the best food, slept in the best quarters, and were never once sent into battle because Frederick considered them too precious to risk.

When he was depressed, he had 300 of them march past him, led by turbaned drummers and a live bear on a chain, to cheer himself up. When he was ill, they paraded through his bedroom. He painted their portraits from memory and showed them to visiting heads of state like a collector displaying rare objects.