Abstract

Post-revolutionary Europe saw a number of sovereigns return to their throne. This is why the decades after 1815 are often referred to as «Restoration». At the same time, however, though often overlooked, a large number of monarchs were overthrown, abdicated, or lost their crown in some other way. The article discusses how former sovereigns (and their families) survived dynastically, how they found financial support to live in exile and under what circumstances they remained part of the exclusive group of European dynasties. To exemplify the intricacies of dynastical survival the founding of the "Wiener Bank" is discussed as a case study. King George V of Hanover invested a substantial sum to support the launch of a conservative banking house in the Austrian capital. He provided more than half of the Bank's founding capital. He also placed three of his courtiers in the board of directors. However, the institution failed in the course of Austria's so-called «small recession» of 1869.