SECOND COMINGS

Which British kings had more than one reign?

As is now well known, only two US presidents have been elected to serve non-consecutive terms. The first was Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th President. The second - well, you know who the second one is.

I - and maybe you - just watched him take the oath of office.

In British history, where I lurk, second comings have been a little more common. Of our Prime Ministers, quite a few have won, lost and won again. William Gladstone came and went four times; the earl of Derby, the marquess of Salisbury and Stanley Baldwin went three; the list of two-timers is too long to rehearse, but includes such famous names as Winston Churchill, Pitt the Younger and the duke of Wellington.

The two-time club is a little more niche, however, when we turn to monarchs.

Once a king or queen is anointed and crowned, they’re supposed to stay that way, bonded in sacred union with their realm until death do them part. Only rarely has a king been put on the throne more than once. It’s kind of a flex to know who they are.

An even bigger flex? Knowing that the first name on the list is King Donald.

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DONALD III (1093-94; 1094-97)

If you know your Shakespeare tragedies, the following names will sound familiar, even if the story that connects them is a tangled one.

Around 1033 a boy known as Domnall Ban (Donalbain, or Donald the Fair) was born, son of a man who became Duncan I. But poor old Duncan didn’t hang around for long: in 1040 he was murdered by a chap called Macbeth, who seized the throne himself.