Sunjong of Korea

Yi Cheok became Emperor Sunjong on 25 March 1874, ascending after his father Gojong was forced to abdicate. Historians describe him as a powerless puppet, his rule orchestrated by the Japanese from the start. He held the title Yunghui Emperor, but the sovereignty was hollow. On the throne from 1907, he watched Korea's independence collapse around him until formal annexation erased the monarchy in 1910. He lived sixteen more years without a country, dying on 25 April 1926.